Newcastle Cycling Campaign

‘It no longer looks like a car park’ – praise for huge Grey Street changes to cut down on traffic

22nd August 2020 NewCycling Press

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[…]

‘Ludicrous’ or ‘wonderful’? Reaction from day one of Newcastle rat run bridge closures

22nd August 2020 NewCycling Press

Chronicle – 13 August 2020 (Daniel Holland) Newcastle City Council closed five bridges in residential neighbourhoods to traffic on Thursday morning, in an experimental move that has sparked fierce debate in recent weeks. Controversial traffic bans on five Newcastle bridges have come into force – and were met with a mixture of anger, joy, and calls for constructive talks after weeks of fierce debate. Traffic cones and closure signs appeared on Thursday morning in the first stage of Newcastle City Council’s plans to cut rat-running by shutting five crossings to traffic – Salters Bridge in Gosforth, Castle Farm Road next[…]

New images reveal how five rat run Newcastle bridges could look after vehicles are banned next week

9th August 2020 NewCycling Press

Chronicle – 7 August 2020 (Daniel Holland) Newcastle City Council is set to close five crossings in residential neighbourhoods to vehicles from next Thursday, August 13, in an effort to cut pollution and create safer space for walking and cycling. The affected sites will be Salters Bridge in Gosforth, Castle Farm Road next to Jesmond Dene, Haldane Bridge in Jesmond, the Argyle Street Bridge near Manors Metro station, and Stoneyhurst Bridge in South Gosforth. The Stoneyhurst closure in particular has sparked a fierce debate among locals, some of whom fear that cutting off access will lead to heavy congestion on surrounding roads.[…]

Councils urged not to back down amid anger over huge road changes to boost walking and cycling

20th July 2020 NewCycling Press

Evening Chronicle – 17 July 2020 (Daniel Holland) Opposition from motorists and businesses has led campaigners to fear that emergency overhauls of busy streets across the region could be watered down or scrapped Campaigners are pleading with North East councils to not back down over emergency walking and cycling measures being installed, amid mounting objections from motorists and businesses. Busy roads across the region are seeing major changes to help pedestrians and cyclists get around while safely social distancing, with highway space and parking for vehicles reduced or road traffic completely banned. … Sally Watson, from the Newcastle Cycling Campaign,[…]

Queen Victoria Road – July Update #SpaceForDistancing

18th July 2020 Infra Team Uncategorized

In June we gave our opinions on the temporary scheme that the council put in place on Queen Victoria Road. Click here for that article. The council have continued to review the scheme and have now improved it. The changes have led to the cycleway now being one lane in each direction with the flow of traffic, and the installation of poles to separate the cycle lanes from motor traffic. Both these changes are great improvements. The move to with flow cycle lanes was one of our suggestions when we looked at the initial measures in June. This change makes[…]

Shopping Streets #SpaceForDistancing

17th July 2020 Infra Team Uncategorized

In a previous post we outlined recently confirmed funding and government guidance for local authorities to enable the creation of safe walking and cycling space in response to COVID-19. Newcastle council has now published the first of its plans for #SpaceForDistancing in neighbourhood shopping streets. Four of its five shopping streets proposals have been announced, leaving Shields Road in Byker still to come. You can see the plans and provide feedback by following the links below: Adelaide Terrace West Road Gosforth High Street Chillingham Road Shields Road General Feedback If you go shopping at any of these streets, we recommend[…]

North Tyneside schemes for #SpaceForDistancing and #activetravel

12th July 2020 NewCycling News

What has happened Not so far from Newcastle, North Tyneside Council is also making use of the government funding to put in place temporary measures across the borough to create space for distancing and increase active travel. These are progressive and more ambitious than anything that Newcastle has proposed yet and could prove to be transformative for the coast both in terms quality of life for its residents and as an attractive destination for visitors. Here we look at what their plans are and how they are getting on with it. Phase 1 plans were publicly announced on 11 June[…]

Newcastle Bridge Filters #SpaceForDistancing

10th July 2020 Infra Team Uncategorized

Some good news! Newcastle City Council has announced plans to filter a number of bridges across the city as part of its Covid-19 response. Click here for their article. We welcome the news that Newcastle is to trial the removal of through motor traffic on five bridges across the city. We think these filters are a fantastic first step towards creating low traffic neighbourhoods, making Newcastle a more liveable city and enabling more journeys to be made on foot or by cycle. The five bridges will be filtered using temporary measures. The bridges are: Salters Bridge – At the eastern[…]

What do we know about Newcastle City Council’s #SpaceForDistancing plans?

10th July 2020 NewCycling Uncategorized

The Government has now announced the successful funding bids for measures to make walking and cycling safer in response to COVID-19. They state that there is an urgent need to keep people cycling: The coronavirus (COVID-19) crisis has had a terrible impact on the lives and health of many UK citizens, as well as severe economic consequences. But it has also resulted in cleaner air and quieter streets, transforming the environment in many of our towns and cities. And millions of people have discovered, or rediscovered, cycling and walking. In some places, there’s been a 70% rise in the number[…]

Huge support for safer neighbourhoods

14th June 2020 NewCycling News

A big thank you for those who responded to our call for action, wrote to Newcastle City Council and want to see safer streets in their neighbourhoods for social distancing. In this article, we would like to share the thoughts and stories of local residents in Newcastle. We hope we can amplify their voices, inspire others to re-imagine their neighbourhoods and ask for change to support local decision-making. The pop-up cycle lane on Queen Victoria Road in the city centre is a a great start and a clear example of road space reallocation and how quickly it can be done.[…]