Why are changes being proposed to Goldwire Lane?
Goldwire Lane is a one-way street allowing vehicle access from Somerset Road and Goldwire Lane onto Drybridge Street. Monitoring has shown that Goldwire Lane is also a popular pedestrian and cycling route on a desired line to the main trip attractors in Monmouth, such as shops, the Comprehensive School and the Leisure Centre. There has also been feedback from residents around the local area who use Goldwire Lane regularly, saying it is becoming increasingly difficult to use the road, especially with walking frames and mobility scooters having to navigate uneven surfaces and narrow pavements. We will work with local businesses such as The Green Dragon Pub and Ty Price Community Centre to safeguard their access.

What are the changes currently?
Following an Individual Cabinet Member Decision on Wednesday, 27 March, an Experimental Traffic Regulation Order—Prohibition of Driving (Except For Access) was approved for Goldwire Lane, Monmouth. A sign will now be erected near Abbeyfield House to inform drivers that Goldwire Road will be for access only. Access only means only residents, visitors, deliveries, blue light services, and refuse vehicles can use it. What are the proposed changes?

What are the proposed changes within the Active Travel scheme?
A number of options will be trialled over the next few months on Goldwire Lane:

Change of use
Initially, a Traffic Regulation Order (TRO) will change the use of the road to an ‘experimental prohibition of driving, except for access’ route, meaning that access will only be permitted to vehicles that have a legitimate requirement to drive along the road, such as; residents, visitors, deliveries & refuse collection. Signage will be erected to inform drivers of this. All other traffic will have to drive down to Wonastow Road. This will create a safer environment for all users and a more attractive route for walking and cycling. This change can happen fairly quickly as it simply involves the erection of signage and will not involve any deletion of car parking spaces. The route will be monitored via traffic counters to see how effective this initial stage has been.

Resurfacing works
The next stage would be the construction works, which again have a couple of options dependent upon monitoring the trial TRO and further resident consultation. The first option would be to increase the width of the current pavement by 1m to make it 2m wide in total. This would take up some of the current road space but would allow enough room for residents to gain access to their properties.

The second option would consist of removing the pavements entirely making a level surface along this small section of Goldwire Lane. This would incorporate pavement improvements where Goldwire Lane joins onto Drybridge Street, allowing this section identified in the map to become a shared space.

Potential Installation of bollards
Following the completion of the previous works and very dependent upon results from monitoring data and public feedback, bollards may be installed to the north end of the road so that vehicles cannot exit Goldwire Lane onto Drybridge Street. This section of Goldwire Lane would then become a 2-way road to allow residents to get in and out of their homes. The purpose of these bollards will be to completely stop vehicles using this short section of Goldwire Lane as a through-road, reducing the number of vehicles using the road and so making it even safer and attractive for people to walk, wheel or cycle. This is seen as more of a last resort option if high numbers of cars are still using the lane as a cut through.

Will this apply to all vehicles?
The order would restrict access to all vehicles other than residents and those motorists with a legitimate access requirement, such as visitors, deliveries, refuse collection vehicles, emergency services, etc.

Will residents have a say in this?
Letters confirming the details of the proposed changes have now been distributed to all residents of Goldwire Lane between Abbeyfield House and the Green Dragon pub. The letter includes contact details for residents to provide feedback. Further consultation will be carried out with residents of Goldwire Lane in the coming weeks.

What are the timescales for these works?
Once this initial consultation has finished, and dependent upon resident feedback, the Traffic Regulation Order (TRO) will be processed and signage erected. As part of this TRO, there will be a six-month consultation period during which residents and/or members of the public can submit comments/objections. During this six-month period, MCC will monitor the usage of Goldwire Lane to see if the change of use is being adhered to.

When will any construction take place?
Construction work will only be started once further consultation with residents has been completed, a suitable design has been selected, and a full review of data has been collected during the trial periods. Construction work is still being carried out on Drybridge Street and Wonastow Road, so this would also need to be completed first to minimise any disruption. At this stage, no timeframe has been put in place for any potential future construction work.