LEESTEN very carefully, I shall say zis only once!A touch of Gallic charm is to be introduced to one of the busiest roads in Ipswich.Until now Wherstead Road has been seen as a functional, if not exactly inspiring, route into the town centre for traffic from the Shotley peninsula.
LEESTEN very carefully, I shall say zis only once!
A touch of Gallic charm is to be introduced to one of the busiest roads in Ipswich.
Until now Wherstead Road has been seen as a functional, if not exactly inspiring, route into the town centre for traffic from the Shotley peninsula.
Mais Sacre bleu! Now Ipswich council has big ideas for this humble street . . . they want to turn it into a boulevard!
That will involve creating official parking spaces for residents on the side of the road and planting trees to improve the views.
There are, however, no plans to put up a new Eiffel Tower or Arc de Triomphe on the Bourne Bridge roundabout!
A new look for the whole length of road from the Oyster Reach through to the Novotel is being drawn up.
But a key element is introducing a "Boulevard Effect" for the road.
That means creating paved parking spaces for residents and planting trees beside the roadside – the key aim is to create a more attractive entrance to the town.
"This isn't something we can create overnight – you can't plant trees there until the civil engineering has been completed," said council environment and transport spokeswoman Penny Breakwell.
A "Boulevard Effect" has already been created in some streets in Bury St Edmunds, but work will only start on Wherstead Road when the money is available.
As part of the package new pedestrian crossings will be installed, and there will also be changes to make life safer for cyclists.
But the council is remaining tight-lipped on whether it will ask the Live and Let Die pub to become a French-style bar or get Tony's Café on the Bridge to change its name to Antoines sur la Pont!
We managed to introduce a touch of Gallic charm to the road with the help of an onion-seller costume from Games and Giggles in the Walk in Ipswich.
It could soon be that Wherstead Road – or rather Boulevard de Wherstead – has a French charm all of its own!
nWhat do you think? Can Wherstead Road rival the Champs Elysée in Paris? Write to Your Letters, Evening Star, 30 Lower Brook Street, Ipswich, IP4 1AN or e-mail eveningstarletters@eveningstar.co.uk
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