Finally, after more than 18 months of work, the cycle lane is back!
The Grey Street Gala today was the perfect opportunity to showcase some of the changes to the iconic street. Work began in January 2023 and the cycle lane, first installed back in August 2020 as part of Covid measures with funding from the Active Travel Fund Tranche 1, was removed and it was no longer possible to cycle north on Grey Street.
Given the extensive work on Pilgrim Street also ongoing during this time, the lack of a safe route north has been difficult so we’re very glad to see that this connection finally restored.
But there’s a catch…
Our concern has always been that without protection, the Grey Street cycle lane would become parking space. While it is, for the most part, a mandatory cycle lane with a solid white line and therefore parking infringements are enforceable, it remains to be seen whether this will be a sufficient deterrent. With the road being narrowed, and the potential to be squeezed into the door zone of taxis as well as the oncoming path of southbound buses, it would not take much to mean that this previously well loved route becomes a space to avoid.
Originally a single direction northbound protected lane, a bid for Active Travel funding was won based on a design that included upgraded this protected cycle lane to and made it a permanent, 2m wide segregated cycle track. Announced in January 2021 a further 2.5 million of funding was received from the Active Travel fund Tranche 2. One of the core objectives of this bid was to deliver “our contribution to the Government’s “Gear Change” cycling and walking strategy by reallocating road space to create segregated, safe and secure facilities that give greater confidence to existing and new cyclists and pedestrians.”
By the time the consultation was launched in January 2022, the cycle lane had entirely disappeared. The Newcastle Cycling Campaign, along with other groups and residents in Newcastle, responded swiftly to demand that the cycle lane be reinstated. By October 2022, revised plans revealed the protected cycle lane was now an unprotected single direction contraflow.
We will be writing to the council to raise our concerns and ask what measures they are taking to ensure this space remains safe for Active Travel.