Cost revealed to fix kerbs on notorious Hereford street

A busy Hereford street notorious for trips and falls may finally see the problem addressed. But it won’t be quick, or cheap.

Last month cabinet member infrastructure and transport Coun John Harrington authorised a range of projects in under the £3 million Hereford City Centre Improvement (HCCI) plan.

Now the council’s director for economy and environment Ross Cook has approved work to replace the 5cm (2-inch) high kerbs replaced with what are described as “channel blocks and a linear drainage system”.

His decision puts the budget for the whole job at £1.3 million, intended to cover any additional surveying, the lifting of the road surface, incorporating new porphyry “setts” and drainage, as well as traffic management and communications.

The cost is nearly double the £715,000 earmarked for the work in March. But the latest decision says: “There is sufficient capital budget to carry out this scheme within the HCCI package of works.”

The work is expected to take 16 weeks. A start date has not yet been given.

The existing scheme, intended to informally separate pedestrians from the restricted one-way traffic along the street, was completed in 2011.
It straight away brought complaints that the kerbs were hard to spot and hence easy to trip over. But several technical design and safety reviews “have concluded that the scheme is fully in line with design guidance and best practice”, the council’s latest decision says.

However, it did acknowledge that “some members of the public continue to experience difficulties in traversing the street despite the scheme compliance”.

All works in the HCCI programme, which also concludes must be completed by the end of March 2024.