The new square

[EMM]

It does make sense to replace the blocks with steel posts as they are a danger to pedestrians.
How soon will traffic revert to the route past metabixo rather than through the square ?
I don,t think any of us can really know how much things will have improved until then.

Carol comments in her newsletter about the parking restrictions outside of the Irish Times, The Signposts are very clear and anyone who gets a ticket has no excuse .

[White Rabbit 2]

As annoying as it is to have all the upheaval , especially to buisness and residents alike , it is starting to look good.

I have seen Armacao de Pera and the whole front is closed off , well not quite if you want to break a leg then ou can risk it. The good thing with CVO is that they have tried to maintain a way through the town.

The beach is still accessible and now has well chair access which is great.

When the boards go back down ( must have a look to see if they are there ) , you will be able to push wheel chairs and buggies right onto the beach.

Carvoeiro is a great town and all this will only make it better.

[Ellie]

What I want to know is: Are the trees planted yet?...and will there be flower tubs?..also is there going to be any seating?
Got to have somewhere to park my bottom and watch the world go by.....

[Gary/Gaynor]

Ellie

I have a feeling you may have to park your bum on the wall next to the beach

Gary

[White Rabbit 2]

They have been run over by the lorries and cars , saves them breaking any legs.

Been to the square today and it is looking nice , and one side of the in road now has the metal posts , what a waste of money all those blocks have been ( and what happens to them now ?).

The area in front of Weetabix , Matabixo is almost clear now .

They seem to be putting lights along the walkway sunk into the ground , nice mood lighting .

[Ellie]

Oh Gary..I thought there were going to be benches?

Mind you, I dont mind the sea wall, specially when theres some music going on

That lighting sounds good Mandy

[Helen]

No Ellie, not one flower or tree to be seen. It's all looking very bleak & charmless. I'm not a fan at all.

[blue]

I hope they pretty it up with some trees & though I didn't like the awful round thingy in the middle of the old square I do hope they put some benches in somewhere for people to sit & watch the world go by (or the cars crossing the new square), the steel bollards are better than the grave stones but they're still not a thing of beauty & of course they've buggered up the calcada where they've had to dig up the headstones & put in the posts. Oh well they'll get there in the end.

[Steen Jakobsen]

Good news: Barry is back! Please see the latest photos at http://www.gallery.carvoeiro.com/spgm/i ... pring_2009

[EMM]

Great photos, I see that the steel posts have replaced the blocks where we noticed cars and trucks trying to park hopefully this will discourage them.

When will the traffic revert to its old route in front of metabixo ??

[e-richard]

Excellent pictures Barry. I think you have captured the essence of the improvements and work still to do.

[Barry]

Thanks Richard. It's great to be back. I am concerned about the traffic crossing the square. The area in front of Metabixo is finished, as the photo's show, so this could be used to link the in road to Farol, as I thought was intended. But the current arrangement is starting to look permanent, with the area in front of Metabixo to where the cars cross a no-mans-land. There is also no restriction on traffic across the square, and we found it very difficult to to cross to the beach-side part of the square, with no pedestrian crossing. Also traffic coming down Rua do Paraiso ( past the Ice Cream Parlour) comes down faster than it used to go up. Hate to think what might happen if a child dashed out of the Parlour, since there is no pavement. If the idea was to make the centre of Carvoeiro pedestrian friendly, it's not working yet.

[blue]

As you say if anything it's worse, so I can't believe the current set up is intended to be permanent. I followed a car down Rua do Paraiso on Saturday morning, couldn't believe the speed they where doing.

[Barry]

My concern, blue, is that there is no defined link across the square, between the in and the out road. If you look at my photo's, 17 looks like a road in front of Soares Garafeira, but by 27 it has been blended in with the rest of the square. If you have an in road leading on to the square, and an out road leading away from it, you need a road linking the two. Currently this is missing. The best bit is in front of the restaurants, but even here we have gained better paving, but have lost the seating and a bit of greenery.

[blue]

Oh dear, another moan, I really don't like the new lamposts either, they look like something out of the War of the Worlds. What were the planners thinking? Have they got something against Carvoeiro, I suppose we'll get used to it, but where's the charm?