NewCycling

Dramatic changes to Grey Street unveiled which will give people more space to walk and cycle

16th May 2020 NewCycling Press

Evening Chronicle – 15 May 2020 (by Daniel Holland) The temporary plans include one-way walking routes, markings on the ground to indicate a safe two metre distance, the removal of benches, and new cycle lanes. Dramatic changes to Newcastle city centre have been revealed to make sure people can maintain social distancing as lockdown is eased. Newcastle City Council bosses have revealed an initial set of measures, which will start coming into force next week, to give cyclists and pedestrians extra space as workplaces and shops begin to open again in the coming weeks. Sally Watson, of the Newcastle Cycling Campaign,[…]

Cycling, walking and Covid-19: Our thoughts on what Newcastle can do now to help keep people safe

29th April 2020 NewCycling Uncategorised

The spread of Covid-19 and the lockdown have dramatically changed the way we live and move around our city. It’s looking increasingly likely that physical distancing is going to be with us for a while and we want to take a look at some ideas that Newcastle City Council could consider implementing now to make living in the city safer and easier. We think that these ideas could be implemented quickly and with limited resources – eg. with temporary measures such as those used in roadworks. The dramatic reduction in traffic in Newcastle appears to have resulted in considerably more people walking and cycling, whether[…]

Our response to Newcastle City Council’s climate change call for scientific evidence

28th January 2020 NewCycling Consultation replies, News

This is Newcastle Cycling Campaign’s response to the Newcastle City Council climate change call for scientific evidence 2020. Individual responses can be sent through through a survey here. Who we are The Newcastle Cycling Campaign is a constituted community group, with more than 1,600 members. It was established in October 2010 to address economic, social and spatial inequalities in the transport system by lobbying for high quality cycling infrastructure to enable people of all ages and abilities to cycle in an around the city. What we do Over the last ten years, we have documented our actions and demands using evidence,[…]

Calls to keep cyclists safe as Newcastle’s most dangerous roads for bikes are revealed

12th November 2019 NewCycling News, Press

Evening Chronicle – 3 November 2019 A cycling campaigner has called for action as the North East’s most dangerous roads for bikes are revealled. Newcastle’s New Bridge Street roundabout and parts of the Great North Road are hotspots for crashes. At Bluehouse Roundabout, on the Great North Road, police recorded five accidents involving a cyclist in which at least one person was hurt between January 2017 and December 2018. Sally Watson, a pro-cycling activist from the Newcastle Cycling Campaign, said many of the areas highlighted were well-known to be dangerous, and had been considered for improvements by Newcastle City Council. For the full[…]

Call for new commissioner to tackle ‘woefully underfunded’ walking and cycling in Newcastle

18th August 2019 NewCycling Press

Evening Chronicle – 30 July 2019 Campaigners are calling for a ‘Walking and Cycling Commissioner’ in the North East. A new figurehead could be appointed to spearhead efforts to improve “woefully underfunded” walking, cycling, and public transport infrastructure in the North of Tyne. Campaigners are calling on metro mayor Jamie Driscoll to appoint a new ‘Walking and Cycling Commissioner’ to help tackle the region’s air pollution and climate crisis. Sally Watson, chair of Newcastle Cycling Campaign, said “Walking, cycling and public transport are woefully underfunded, despite being the cleanest and greenest options. In the light of a climate emergency, now declared by[…]

‘Clean Air Coalition’ demands new vision to solve Tyneside’s pollution crisis – on top of the toll

27th May 2019 NewCycling Press

Evening Chronicle – 13 May 2019 Prominent action groups are urging Newcastle, Gateshead and North Tyneside chiefs to do more to convince people of the need to slash toxic emissions. Campaigners have united behind demands for council bosses to deliver more innovative plans to cut dangerous pollution levels on Tyneside – on top of a new clean air toll. Sally Watson, chair of Newcastle Cycling Campaign said: “They need to move away from behaviour change campaigns which put the responsibility on individuals to change their behaviour and should outline concrete plans for a high-quality walking and cycling network. “People will choose[…]

‘A real shame’ – cyclists react to Mobike’s Newcastle exit and demand action from council

25th May 2019 NewCycling Press

Evening Chronicle – 1 May 2019 The cycle hire firm confirmed on Tuesday that it is pulling all of its bikes out of Newcastle and Gateshead from the beginning of May. ampaigners say that a Mobike-style project will not work in Newcastle until more action is taken to make the city’s roads safer for cyclists. … Newcastle Cycling Campaign leaders say that efforts to get more people cycling in the city through bike-sharing schemes are doomed to fail unless there are big changes to boost cycle routes. Sally Watson, of the Newcastle Cycling Campaign, said: “This is a real shame, but it[…]

Extinction Rebellion – NewCycling’s support statement

13th May 2019 NewCycling Uncategorised

NewCycling fully supports Extinction Rebellion and will promote any events and actions they organise, with a focus on local ones happening in Newcastle and the North East. Extinction Rebellion has three demands: Tell the truth: Government must tell the truth by declaring a climate change and ecological emergency, working with other institutions to communicate the urgency for change, Act now: Government must act now to halt biodiversity loss and reduce greenhouse gas emissions to net zero by 2025 Beyond politics: Government must create and be led by the decisions of a Citizen’s Assembly on climate and ecological justice This international apolitical[…]

Streets for People – response to draft plans for Jesmond

4th February 2019 NewCycling Consultation replies

On 10th November we were asked to respond to more draft plans for Jesmond by the Council’s Community Engagement Officer for Streets for People. We responded on 25 November 2018: We are extremely pleased to see that the plans for Jesmond are of such high quality and, in fact, go above and beyond those drawn up by Phil Jones Associates. We have some very minor comments, which relate more to detail than to substance and hopefully these will be useful for the designers. We hope that these plans will also be going to the Technical Advisory Group (for cycling schemes)[…]

Fury as £500k projects to make Jesmond roads safer for children and cyclists put on hold

3rd February 2019 NewCycling Press

Evening Chronicle – 31 January 2019 SPACE for Jesmond has hit out after two schemes disappeared from Newcastle City Council’s ‘Streets for People’ programme NewCycling Chair, Sally Watson, said: “One of these schemes was designed to make the street outside West Jesmond Primary School safer for children travelling to school following the removal of the two crossing patrols. “The other scheme saw improvements to Osborne Road between Haldane Bridge and Holly Avenue. These two schemes are in areas highlighted as the most dangerous and unpleasant in the initial neighbourhood wide consultation.” https://www.chroniclelive.co.uk/news/north-east-news/fury-500k-projects-make-jesmond-15754668