Stourbridge High Street may be closed to traffic to aid with social distancing
Stourbridge’s High Street could be closed to traffic as part of plans to allow social distancing to be maintained as shops reopen later this month.
Dudley Council is considering plans to close Stourbridge’s High Street during the day due to its narrow paths.
Elsewhere in the borough, the authority is looking at widening footpaths in busy pedestrian areas.
Council bosses are working on a raft of measures to guide visitors in Dudley borough town centres and to ensure social distancing can be followed – after the Government announced non-essential retail stores could reopen from June 15, as steps to ease the coronavirus lockdown continue.
They will also look at places with narrow footpaths and busy pedestrian areas as a priority. Measures could include widening footpaths by using part of the road in areas where there is high footfall. Signs, floor markets and one-way pedestrian access are also planned in some areas.
To allow this to take place, some car parking bays could be temporarily suspended in town centres, so they can be used to widen footpaths.
The council is looking at the measures in line with a revised seven-day legal process introduced by Government, which allows councils to introduce the temporary measures, which includes installing barriers and informing pedestrian flow in each of the town centres. Car parking charges also currently remain suspended.
Stourbridge Labour campaigner Cat Eccles has also called for Stourbridge High Street to be temporarily pedestrianised for public safety.
