Newcastle Cycling Campaign

Queen Victoria Road #SpaceForDistancing

9th June 2020 Infra Team News

Newcastle City Council have rolled out their first emergency Covid-19 related scheme on Queen Victoria Road, outside the Royal Victoria Infirmary (RVI). We would like to congratulate the council on this for two key reasons: The speed at which the scheme has been rolled out. The removal of car parking to create space for cycling. The cycle route runs directly in front of the RVI, providing a link between Exhibition Park to the north and Leazes Park to the south. It provides a much needed link for key workers at the hospital. The measures are not just limited to a[…]

Huge social distancing changes to Newcastle’s iconic Grey Street are still weeks away from starting

4th June 2020 NewCycling Press

Evening Chronicle – 3 May 2020 (Daniel Holland) Plans were unveiled in May for a major reconfiguration of the historic city centre street to give pedestrians and cyclists extra space as more shops and businesses reopen. A dramatic redesign of Newcastle’s iconic Grey Street will not start until the end of June. Plans were unveiled in May for a major reconfiguration of the historic city centre street to give pedestrians and cyclists extra space for social distancing. But while new cycle lanes and one-way pavements have been introduced on busy routes around the Royal Victoria Infirmary, it will still be several weeks[…]

Action you can take! Campaign: Safe streets for social distancing

16th May 2020 NewCycling Politics

Newcastle City Council has announced ambitious plans to make more space for walking and cycling in response to Covid-19. We need your help to let them know how urgent and necessary this work is and where changes are needed in your neighbourhood to enable you to get around safely at this time. You can use one of the links below to generate an email to the Leader of the Council, Cllr Nick Forbes, and the Cabinet Member for Transport and Air Quality, Cllr Arlene Ainsley. If these don’t work, you can copy and paste the text below. Please consider adding[…]

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 Uncategorized

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,[…]

Retail Core Proposals – Our Response

28th January 2020 Infra Team Consultation replies

The council are currently seeking views on changes to the main retail area of the city centre, covering Blackett Street, Northumberland Street and the surrounding streets. The information on the scheme is available here: https://www.newcastle.gov.uk/our-city/transport-improvements/city-centre-improvements/transforming-our-city . If you also wish to provide personal feedback to the council, time is limited as the survey is only available until Friday 31st January. Our Response We are delighted to see that the Council is finally looking at making more improvements to the city centre. What has been shared for engagement has many positives, but for cycling there seem to be a number of[…]

Cycle Safari: Elswick and Benwell

14th November 2019 Infra Team Event, News, Politics

It is with great pleasure that this year we were able to start running our cycle safaris again. For those who don’t know what this means – no we are not going looking for lions! But we do hope to spot a few new zebras on our streets. The aim of the safaris is to check out potential routes where we would like to see protected cycle lanes in the future, and to review new infrastructure on some routes previously identified. On 6th July this year we had the pleasure of cycling along the new cycle route on Elswick Road[…]

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[…]

Junctions in the West of the City – NewCycling Response

5th October 2019 Scott Consultation replies

This is the response for NewCycling on the multiple schemes presented through Commonplace as the “Junction improvements in the west of the city” at https://newcastlejunctions2019.commonplace.is. The proposals for the junctions in the West of the city leave us deeply concerned about the direction the council is heading with its highways. At a time when a climate emergency has be declared by the council and when the council is still failing to meet the legal levels for air quality in the city, is absolutely the wrong decision to plan to increasing motor traffic volumes anywhere in Newcastle. The council is condemning[…]