Section of seafront road in Portsmouth to reopen earlier than planned

Under the latest revision a small section of the western seafront road, in Southsea, between the Hovercraft and Mozzarella Joes is set to be re-opened from September 12 before 9am.

But the rest of that section of the road - from the D-Day Story - will re-open from September 30 as originally planned.

This has been changed due the closure of the nearby Clarence Parade car park for coastal defences work, in a bid to restore some car parking space. The Southsea Common overflow car park will also be open during the weekend to provide further car parking spaces ahead of this change.

Council leader Councillor Gerald Vernon-Jackson said: ‘We continue to monitor and adapt the temporary changes to roads in the city in response to the way people’s travel needs evolve during the pandemic.

‘Changes like the closure of Palmerston Road South has created an enjoyable cycling and walking route to the seafront and has helped businesses by providing them with a more pleasant space for eating and drinking.’

As decided last month, the rest of the western seafront closure will reopen on 30 September and the eastern seafront closure - from Canoe Lake to the Coffee Cup - will reopen on 13 September. Both roads were closed to cars at the start of the pandemic to allow social distancing.

It comes as part of the city council’s ‘flexible approach’ to monitoring roads in Portsmouth with changes expected this month as children return to school and more people return to work.

As university students return to the city, Charlotte Street and Guildhall Walk in the city centre will remain closed to vehicles to encourage cycling and walking. People will also be able to continue cycling through Guildhall Square.

Under the review the improvements to cycling and walking along Canal Walk and Castle Road, in Southsea, are now in place with the road closed to vehicles.

It is also planned the proposed segregated cycle route along Elm Grove will continue to be reviewed and further consultation will be carried out soon, based on the initial feedback.

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