Residents, councillors and business owners have cut the ribbon on the revamped Castle Road, which aims to provide a “real hub of the community”.
One of Portsmouth’s oldest streets now features new pedestrianisation works, including a level paved surface, planters and trees.
The works, which began in October, have been completed following designs by local artist Pete Codling of the Castle Road Community Association (CRCA), with funding from Portsmouth City Council.
The new brick paving stretches from the junction off Hambrook Street down to Southsea Common, with a central pathway.
Cutting the ribbon, Councillor Steve Pitt, leader of the council, said it looks “fantastic” and praised the collaboration with residents and businesses, resulting in a project “that everyone is happy with and invested in”.
He said he supports pedestrianisation when it’s “right for the space”, stating that maintaining vehicular access for residents and deliveries is a “good compromise”, adding he “would love to see Guildhall Walk look like this”.
He welcomed a new space for residents to “chill, have something to eat and drink, visit the shops and host a market without shutting the road down every single time”.
CRCA chairman Steve Tyacke said he hopes it will become “a real hub for the community”.
He added it will change the road “for the better”, adding that since it finished it has made it easier for locals and visitors to socialise.
“We can come out and enjoy the space now, instead of dodging cars.”
Avril Lewis, CRCA’s heritage director, said the road is “one of the oldest” on the island, with development beginning in the early 1800s in Croxton Town, the area now known as Southsea.
She welcomed how restaurants can have more tables and chairs outside, promoting a cafe culture.
Steve Brazier, CRCA secretary, said the cafe culture was “the vision”, serving as a place where “people can mix – not just for the people that live here, but for the people of Portsmouth and visitors to the city.
“The cafe culture was the vision, a place where people can mix and want to come to not just for the people that live here, but for the people of Portsmouth and visitors to the city.”
Local ward councillor Mark Jeffrey said the road “already looks great and it’s only just the beginning” adding the project could be a model for other roads in the city.
He said the works are long overdue, recounting a local election manifesto pledge to pedestrianise the road from 1979.
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