WORK on a pedestrian- friendly area at Northumberland Place , Teignmouth, is due to start in two weeks. The first phase, which will take contractors until the middle of July, begins on the Devon Hotel side of the street. All parking will disappear from there and temporary yellow lines put in place. Some residents have raised concern about new parking arrangements in the area. They say that trying to find a space, even in the car parks, is impossible during the summer months. Some parking in Somerset Place will be reduced from two hours to 10 minutes and the echelon parking opposite will be reduced from one hour to 30-minute limits. The traffic orders will not be imposed until the autumn when the works are complete. An extra 13 on-street spaces have been created elsewhere. These include five at Brunswick Street and six in the Strand. Devon County Council highways engineer Bob Jones hosted an exhibition at the Tomorrow's Teignmouth office on Tuesday. It was an opportunity to explain the scheme that aims to create a tree-lined continental style boulevard. 'Parking is an emotive issue and it was always going to be difficult but we just cannot accommodate everyone's needs. 'Parking in some areas has been reduced to 30 minutes which was the most popular period of time among traders. 'Some has been reduced to 10 minutes because the idea is to increase turnover. It means that even though we have reduced car parking spaces in the immediate area, it will be possible for more people to park,' he said. The works are due to stop for seven weeks throughout the school holidays. The first phase is set to be completed by then with no evidence of road works in the summer period. Work is due to pick up again in late September.
