The new square

[redford]

Lot of disturbing negative comments being posted?? Will see for ourselves in September, but not hopeful that all will be sorted even by then now?? This truncated work must surely be causing a lot of harm for trade and tourism in Carvoeiro??

[Barry]

On a positive note (he says, trying to remove the Victor Meldrew image), they are continuing to replace the tombstones with the stainless steel poles, which says if they find they have made a mistake they will correct it. So there is hope that all will be OK in the end. Oh look, my glass is half full.

[blue]

I know, I'm sorry I'm just pessimistic by nature, that way you're never disappointed & sometimes even pleasantly surprised. And it's raining here which doesn't help.
I wish I was a glass half full kind of person, but I'm afraid to me a half empty glass is a half empty glass no matter what positive spin you put on it.

[Barry]

You, a pessimist, blue, I don't believe it! Oh, there I go again.

[EMM]

I have no affection for the " Old Square " it was cramped, noisy and surrounded by cars.
The changes are a great improvement there is acres more space, some of the traffic is being diverted away and parking is no longer allowed in the square.

Should there be seats, yes, trees would be nice but we do not have too long to wait to see the finished product.
Having seen and corrected the problems caused by the stone blocks I hope that the council will also act with regard to traffic coming past the ice cream parlour. speed bumps, a few strategically placed bollards are all that is needed.

[Barry]

Just checking it out this afternoon, I think one of the problems is that the cut through between the in and out roads, by the old bakery, is closed. This means all traffic coming into the village finishes up crossing the square. This should correct itself on completion of the out road. But as we have said a number of times on this thread, we will have to wait and see.

[jonfromdon]

Just checking it out this afternoon, I think one of the problems is that the cut through between the in and out roads, by the old bakery, is closed. This means all traffic coming into the village finishes up crossing the square. This should correct itself on completion of the out road. But as we have said a number of times on this thread, we will have to wait and see.

Thanks for that info, Barry. We arrive on Friday and normally cut through there (by the old market) as our "digs" are off the out road just before the Pottery, so it looks like I will have to cross the new square and approach via the road past the market?

[Barry]

Yes, you will have to go up Farol and turn left by the market, and through MD. Hope you can get close enough to park.

[jonfromdon]

Yes, you will have to go up Farol and turn left by the market, and through MD. Hope you can get close enough to park.

Parking at our accommodation is no problem but maybe problems parking during the daily "shopping trips" etc? We are in the habit of leaving a car at the bottom of the hill leading to our "digs" so as to prevent "cardiac arrest" by attempting the 1 in 4 gradient to our beds

[Ellie]

No Ellie, not one flower or tree to be seen. It's all looking very bleak & charmless. I'm not a fan at all.

Im sorry to hear that Helen
I was really hoping for the avenue of trees (wasn't that in the original plan?) and hopefully a few benches and some flower tubs...ahh well, looks like Gary is right Ill have to park my bum on the sea wall
nite to you x

[Alison]

Got back from cvo last night and I think the square will 'eventually' look very good - they have now put in the runway style blue lights leading up to the beach and the granite blocks down the RH side of the 'in' road have been replaced with poles - a definite improvement. I just hate to think how much money was wasted on supplying and laying, then replacing those stupid blocks of granite. The 'cut through' between the in and out road was open in the evening some of last week, just not in the daytime and they had completed the flagstones on the LH side of the out road up to Ele and Ela - the dust and cutting noise from this made sitting in any of the nearby cafes during the day bad news but .... this should be finished soon and it was all peaceful, if messy, in the evenings. They were putting the drainage channel down the centre of the out road so the last step of filling in calcada round that shouldn't take too long?! One of our friends pointed out that they were laying the flagstones on sand which, with just a few days use, was already resulting in many of them being slightly uneven - cue stories of people tripping and suing - time will tell!

I am concerned about access to the square and surrounds for people who are not very mobile - we had a friend with us who had recently broken his ankle so couldn't walk very far - it was a pain having to drop him off in the square and then go miles up Restaurant Hill or way up the out road to park the car, then do the same again to collect the car when we wanted to return but this seems to be the way many of the town centres are going. It would be a shame to have an attractive but empty square!

[e-richard]

I am concerned about access to the square and surrounds for people who are not very mobile - we had a friend with us who had recently broken his ankle so couldn't walk very far - it was a pain having to drop him off in the square and then go miles up Restaurant Hill or way up the out road to park the car...

I heard a statistic today that 162 car parking spaces have been "lost" with the new roadworks.

However, the irony is that once you are downtown, for those with mobility problems, getting around seems a whole lot easier now that you don't have to dodge cars parked up against the buildings, and the wider pavements seem to offer a much more pedestrian friendly environment.

The other irony, that I observed is that those businesses offering eating/drinking services who have been suffering while the roadworks have been going on will have substantially more outdoor seating area once its all completed.

I just hope that home common sense control is exerted so that outdoor seating does not end up replacing parked cars as a barrier to wheelchairs, buggies and others with mobility issues.

[Gary/Gaynor]

I'm going to be very optimistic here, I like the new arrangement and when out there last week I though we'd have difficulty getting around but they are getting on with the work and it's starting to take shape. The Square is looking fine with plenty of room for the bars to spread out their table and chairs, access to the beach is now a lot easier with wide steps and also a ramp for mothers with prams and people on walking sticks or those less able. The road going up to Hemmingways is now wider on each side. At one time we had to squeeze passed parked cars on the curbs whichh made life difficult for those less able. Hopefully they will line the square with some nice plants and containers eventually but on the whole, please don't be worried, it wasn't as bad as I thought when we arrived.
gaynor

[Rampage]

From previous posts and comments and looking at the latest photos I think the plan is to eventually make the sqaure, and the scenic roads connected to it, all pedestrian only. The hatched areas in the sketch below I see as being closed to normal traffic. I have had a guess at the likely traffic directions - some may be wrong, but it should be possible to get frome east to west of the village and vice versa without driving through the square or along the scenic roads on either side.
[attachment=0]CVO Road Map.ppt[/attachment

[EMM]

I think and hope that you are right, its much less hassle than the new " Narrow Roads ".