Newcastle Cycling Campaign

Consultation response: Concerns about new Grey Street plan only showing one-way cycling

Newcastle City Council are consulting on a permanent scheme for Grey Street, but unlike the current temporary scheme, there is no protected northbound cycleway in their plan and northbound cycling will not be permitted. By not providing two way cycling on the street, we feel this proposal is significantly flawed and undermines all the other very positive changes such as widened pavements and reduced traffic. We have asked for clarification on this plan and have been promised a meeting with officers to discuss the changes. We hope that city leaders will ensure that the scheme outlined in the funding bid,[…]

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City Centre Improvements – Our Response

Newcastle City Council have been running a consultation on numerous changes to the city centre, including the removal of buses and other through traffic from Blackett Street. Details of plans can be viewed online at https://www.newcastle.gov.uk/our-city/transport-improvements/city-centre-improvements the consultation closes soon on Friday 15th October. If you want to provide your views please do so. We have written to the council praising their ambition, while also raising concerns and questions that exist at this stage of the schemes development. Here is our response: Regarding GH/P44/1237 Blackett Street Area and Associated Consultation Documents We congratulate the Council on pushing ahead with further[…]

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Retail Core Proposals – Our Response

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[…]

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Council comes under fire for scrapping plans to boost cycling in Newcastle

Evening Chronicle – 10 January 2019 Newcastle Cycling Campaign members say they are ‘disappointed’ after the plans were scrapped. Sally Watson said: “”The most recent of these is Barras Bridge, where cycling has been quietly removed from plans. We recently wrote to Coun Arlene Ainsley, cabinet member for transport and air quality, to express our concerns. We are still awaiting a response to this letter.” https://www.chroniclelive.co.uk/news/north-east-news/council-comes-under-fire-scrapping-15652798

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Open letter to Cllr Arlene Ainsley, cabinet member for Transport and Air Quality

Newcastle’s new cabinet member for Transport and Air Quality, Cllr Arlene Ainsley, has now been in post for over a year. On 7th November 2018 she delivered a report on transport and air quality to the council. We have a number of questions to raise with the council in relation to this report and have written to Cllr Ainsley: Dear Cllr Ainsley We read with great interest your report on transport and air quality, which you delivered to full council on 7th November 2018. It is fantastic to see you acknowledging the important part cycling infrastructure can play in improving[…]

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Crushed cycle contraflow for Newcastle city centre

One year on from the original request, and Newcastle now does have its first cycle contraflow. But when it was first built it was left in a rather precarious position for weeks. How come? Katja Leyendecker, chair of newcycling.org, says “Newcastle city centre is absolutely littered with one-way streets. Yes, it’s good to restrict access for private cars, but not so good for supporting cycling. For a few years, and then again a year ago (1), we made a strong plea to the council to rectify that. Now Newcastle has its first real cycle contraflow. You’d think: marvellous! Inexpensive and[…]

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John Dobson Street – formal order

We again congratulate the council planning to reallocate space to walking and cycling along the length of John Dobson Street. Reducing its strangling motorway appearance and improving its sense of place will be an asset to the public environment and to people using it. As a constituted community group with 1,600 local members we respond on their behalf to the newly reiterated plan for John Dobson Street. See bottom of page for the plan we are commenting on. Please note, that comments and questions have remained from the earlier plan. Creating and designing context For the city centre economy to[…]

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