Ben wrote:Too many roads dissecting the squares. That's the issue I see as the biggest obstacle to be overcome. Especially Hindmarsh square, its not very pedestrian friendly. I can never see Pulteney Street being closed through the middle though.
Agree with this. I wish the money existed to sink the roads underneath each square, as this would create much more space. Don't know enough about how this would impact traffic though.
In my experience, Hindmarsh and Hurtle Squares at least suffer from being four little islands which aren't really useful for anything other than sitting around in, while Light and Whitmore have a moat in the form of those roads surrounding them. Victoria Square is kind of a combination of both. Obviously, these things don't mix well for a combination of creating attractions/being attractive for pedestrians to enter.
If the green spaces could all be merged together and the side roads removed, the squares would have far more potential for attractions to be built.
Ideally, these areas could become quite family friendly, with parents sitting outside a café while their kids kick a ball/run around in the safer, more open spaces.
The areas could also provide greater scope for their own community events/festivals/pop up markets (I'm not sure if these already happen, they probably do, but they would be better and attract more people if they were bigger). Not to mention more space for public art/better looking decorations, which is another obvious issue with the squares at present. A random hotchpotch of trees doesn't look good in an urban area.
But this is more a pipe dream. As it stands, mono's proposal is clearly more feasible. Not certain if cutting up Light and Whitmore Squares is a great idea, as the larger spaces have a greater scope for attractions, even though they are harder for pedestrians to enter.