Clarendon Road’s transformation into a safer, more attractive and greener street has now been completed by Watford Borough Council (WBC).
WBC worked closely with Watford BID, with funding from Hertfordshire LEP and Hertfordshire County Council.
The £10.1million project included works such as widening pavements and narrowing the road to create a safe, pedestrian-friendly environment, and to help support cycling, walking and public amenity.
To also help transform the street’s previous character of a traffic dominated road to a more open, multifunctional space, a whole host of major improvements have additionally taken place over the last three years.
These works have focused on the importance of Clarendon Road as a gateway and primary link between Watford Junction and the town centre, as well as being a key business area for Watford.
This has been achieved by focusing on improving accessibility, wayfinding and lighting, connectivity, pedestrian and cycle circulation, street and road layout and air quality.
Specific works have included:
- Raising tables and adding additional crossings on the road to assist pedestrian movement and slow down traffic
- Widening the pavements to create a safe, pedestrian-friendly environment with greater social and recreation space
- Integrating private frontages of properties and office forecourts into the streetscape
- Installing new lighting and street furniture to create a more welcoming environment
- Adding rain gardens and tree planting to create a greener streetscape
- Implementing the ‘shifting edge’ concept to see the widened pavements swap sides creating flexible spaces for social activities and offering street-scale benefits
- Reducing the impact of the old junctions, which created barriers to walking and cycling whilst buses, taxis and other vehicles impact on congestion.
Elected Mayor of Watford, Peter Taylor, said: “Clarendon Road is one of the town’s most important hubs for business and visitors.
“With national and international businesses basing their headquarters there, it is important we ensure that our town’s infrastructure matches the ambitions they have for their business.
“These improvements will make it easier and more accessible to travel here.
“A key gateway into the town, we know that over nine million people travel through Watford Junction each year and Clarendon Road is one of the first impressions they get of the town.
“That’s why it is so important to create a really appealing area and a better link from the station to the town centre.”
Adam Wood, head of infrastructure and regeneration at Hertfordshire LEP, said: “It is fantastic to see this project come to fruition.
“Watford has seen strong growth over the past three years and our £4.8million Local Growth Fund investment towards the regeneration of Clarendon Road, the gateway to Watford town, will help it fully live up to its growth potential and provide a more attractive and green environment for residents, visitors and businesses.”
But when you look in the other direction, in a few years time the flats going up at the old Range site will dwarf the view as 9 blocks. Some being over 25 storeys tall. These going up that tall will be a disgrace and an eyesore.
Great to see some improvements to the 1970/80s planning and pro-car anti-pedestrian designs.
Well done to all involved. Hopefully it will in time slow and reduce vehicle traffic