The Isle of Wight Council is seeking funding of £700,000 to create enhanced pedestrian routes through the heart of Ryde Town, connecting with the new interchange on the Esplanade.
It’s hoped that the injection of cash will transform Ryde High Street by making it safer and more pedestrian-friendly, whilst creating new amenity areas, increasing accessibility and adding emphasis on the historical elements of the town centre.
The proposed scheme aims to improve the entrance to the High Street from the south by rationalising and upgrading street furniture; repaving; enhanced planting; new traffic calming measures to slow permitted vehicles and enhanced cycle parking.
It all forms part of the Ryde High Street Heritage Action Zone programme being delivered by a partnership of Ryde Town Council, Isle of Wight Council and Historic England. A successful bid would fund the completion of the scheme, maximising the overall impact.
Local MP Bob Seely is supporting the bid and has written to Rupert Furness, Deputy Director of Active Travel at the Department for Transport, to express his support.
Bob said:
“The Island is a trailblazer in terms of walking and cycling routes as well as being one of the UK’s leading destinations for active travel tourism. As a UNESCO Biosphere, we are internationally recognised for our approach to sustainable development.
Article continues below this advertisement “That is why I have encouraged the council to apply for this available Government funding. The bid they have developed will make travel through the town an even more pleasant experience for residents and visitors.
“Linking with the investment in the new Interchange on the seafront, it will continue the regeneration of Ryde, promoting healthy, greener travel through the whole town.”
No, no, no. Haven’t we had enough chaos in Ryde with the ongoing fiasco along the Esplanade. It is just another excuse to waste even more public money and disrupt lives. Better to use ‘available’ money to control the council’s want to spend our very hard earned money.
This isn’t “available” money for the Council. This is a Government Grant that will go to Ryde solely for this purpose, or it will go to benefitting somewhere else in the UK.
I first thought I’d rather see the funding go to the IW Council to help bring down the Council tax increase, but then I thought no, the money would be wasted on some unnecessary scheme with no benefit to us the tax payer.
The money will be ring-fenced and can’t be used for anything else.
Ryde High St is definitely a worse place for a family walk than Cowes High St. It’s just not fun to spend your weekend walking through a place that’s effectively 75% a parking lot. Just look at a pic attached and how much space people are given vs vehicles. And that’s supposed to be a high street? That’s just parking.
Sorry Kate, but the cyclist rarely, if ever, dismount in cowes High Street. It is a constant danger to pedestrians and if you dare say anything you are guaranteed a mouthful of verbal abuse…
You can throw as much money as you want at Ryde but we all know you can’t polish a turd.
Improve pedestrian areas? How’s that going to work? Install cages for the druggies and feral kids.
Ah, that’s called a town perimeter fence though isn’t it?
but councils cutting a mere £70,000 on stroke clubs!! for people who ACTUALLY NEED IT .APPAWLING WHAT OUT Taxes keep getting squandered on. stealing corrupt bunch
It would clearly be better spent on education. #Appalling #punctuation
How to waste £700,000 the Isle of Wight way.
Ample spare cycle parking by the side of the Co-op. Nobody uses it, I wonder why.
Street furniture, absolute nonsense.
New amenity areas – not needed, there are plenty.
Re-paving. Done a few years ago, not needed.
Traffic calming, really.
Wouldn’t mind if there was something unique proposed but it’s all faff, as usual.
That is a pointless idea if there are NO public toilets enroute !! Spend the money on keeping the toilets..
Ryde Town has no cycling tracks. Going up any road from the bottom of town/seafront is unpleasant, George Street (the new improved bus route) being the worst. So it would make sense to spend £700,000 on something unique to encourage cycling in a safe way from the bottom to top of town. But are they proposing this? NO. They are obsessed with spending money on street furniture and heritage fluff.
What a waste of an opportunity, and Seely puts his stamp on this.
Oh no not another cyclist, they need to be banned especially in town centres with people walking they are a rule unto their selves
I want a Funicular. Not the crap stuff proposed.
What a selling point for tourism that would be.
Let ryde town council pay for it they put the precept up enough.
Good point
Clearly aimed at the holiday makers. But why oh why would anyone coming to the Island on a walking holiday want to walk the streets of Ryde??
Do you think they’re going to put an escalator up Union Street?
Isn’t that picture of the North end of the high street though?
up the tax that will pay for it
It’s not to help anyone! Just a war on the private car ownership! As Seeley knows ,after coming back from Davis at the wet.
Davos,WEF.sorry predicted txt
So yet again, forget about the motorist and fixing the ever growing pot holes and bad road surfaces. It seems they don’t want cars in the town centre, which equates to nobody going to the shops, why not invest in a free car park with a park and ride from the esplanade for those with walking difficulties. And what’s wrong with the pavement in the town centre, wasn’t it just redone recently, surely it should last 20 years without need of changing repair maybe, the pavement outside where I live hasn’t been resurfaced for at least 40 years
Just what we need, more money wasted on cycle tracks. They don’t use the existing ones, preferring to deliberately cause delays on the roads.