Chronicle – 7 August 2020 (Daniel Holland)

Parking bays and a lane of traffic have been removed from Newcastle’s most beautiful street to make way for cyclists, pedestrians, and more pavement cafes

A major redesign of Newcastle’s most iconic street to cut down on city centre traffic has been applauded by local businesses and cyclists.

Huge changes on Grey Street were introduced last week – removing most of its parking bays and restricting traffic to southbound only to create extra social distancing space for pedestrians, pavements cafes, and a new cycle lane.

The Georgian street, once named the best in the UK, has repeatedly been likened to a car park in the past.

But council bosses hope this temporary revamp will be the first step towards a permanent overhaul of Grey Street that will be the focal point of a cleaner, greener city centre.

The Newcastle Cycling Campaign’s Sally Watson said: “It’s good, I think it looks much better without all the parked cars. I think it could be even better in a permanent scheme – maybe having just buses and bikes but no taxis. But it is really good to see that the council has done something there.”

For the full article, go to: https://www.chroniclelive.co.uk/news/north-east-news/grey-street-car-park-cycle-18729300