Street Dilemma

It seems an age already that one of the main roads into the town centre at the Hampshire town of Romsey has been sealed off while major road alterations are under way.
The aim, according to the highways people is to make the streets around the Abbey more attractive to pedestrians, and while not quite banning traffic, at least discouraging it to use the street a through route.
Not sure that I am convinced this will work, because the street is the main approach to the Abbey, the local council offices and the Post Office, not to mention the series of shops which are on Church Street. So short of making the area a pedestrian only area, the idea of discouraging traffic is not really practical.
That means a mix of shoppers, church goers and pedestrians all continuing to share road space with cars, buses and commercial vehicles, including delivery trucks to the shops. To my mind the idea of making it more pedestrian friendly is nothing short of confusing for those who use the street.
In the meantime with only one road access into the town centre, it seems through traffic in the one-way main street is considerably less, although inevitably parking space is at a premium.
Today I was asked by a visitor to the town for directions to the Post Office. It did not seem very welcoming to tell her to negotiate the pavement alongside one side of these road works, and then pick her way across the street, and the works, to the Post Office. 

I am sure we will all welcome a conclusion of this work, even though that is when the real test of the practicality of this work, begins.