On 12 April, six days before the General Election was announced, the Evening Standard published an article quoting Theresa May stating that toxic air pollution is the fourth biggest public health risk behind cancer, obesity and heart disease.
While there are multiple causes for each of these public health risks,
we can dramatically reduce the impact of all these risks - and more -
by changing how we travel. Read more [...] The Case for Healthy Streets
On 12 April, six days before the General Election was announced, the Evening Standard published an article quoting Theresa May stating that toxic air pollution is the fourth biggest public health risk behind cancer, obesity and heart disease.
While there are multiple causes for each of these public health risks,
we can dramatically reduce the impact of all these risks - and more -
by changing how we travel. Read more [...] 
In previous posts we looked at air quality data on Gosforth High Street and on Jesmond Road in the run up to Christmas last year, which showed a marked increase in pollution after Black Friday, 25 November 2016. In this post we look at what has happened to air quality at these sites since then. 
In this post we look at the City Centre Air Quality Management Area (AQMA), including equivalent figures from the air quality monitor sited at Jesmond Road, 150m west of the Osborne Avenue traffic lights, to see how this compares to Salters Road and whether the recent increase in air pollution is replicated there. 
Since Black Friday, 25 November 2016, readings from the new air quality monitor at the Salters Road car park say the average level of nitrogen dioxide (NO2) has been 50.3 micrograms per cubic metre (μg/m3) or 26% above the legal limit. The legal limit is 40 μg/m3 averaged over a year. It was high levels of nitrogen dioxide that led to the creation of the South Gosforth Air Quality Management Area in 2008.
While air pollution is damaging to health, personal exposure travelling further 
In this post we want to look at the new street layout on John Dobson Street, and whether it has improved the experience of those who use this street. The improvements are a flagship project for Newcastle upon Tyne City Council, with a new traffic-free cycle lane that links Newcastle Civic Centre at St. Mary's Place and the Blue Carpet in front of the Laing Art Gallery and the Journey (Newcastle's healthy travel centre) on New Bridge Street West.
1. Walking
The new cycle lane has 
In this post we look at the Environmental Impact Assessment Screening & Scoping Report ("the EIASSR") lodged as part of the planning documents for the original plans for the Blue House roundabout and Jesmond Dene Road. The EIASSR's aim was to identify the different types of environmental assessments that would have been needed had those plans gone ahead. 
One of the reasons stated for the size of the proposed Blue House roundabout was extra traffic generated by new housing developments to the west and north of the city. Planning approval is currently being sought from North Tyneside Council for a development of 238 new houses on Gosforth Business Park. This development, and in particular decisions made relating to its layout and design, will directly influence the volume of traffic through Haddricks Mill and Blue House junctions. 
At the SPACE for Gosforth public meeting in Trinity Church we outlined how the size of the Blue House roundabout was due to a predicted increase in vehicle traffic; and how an alternative that prioritises helping people get about on foot, by cycle and public transport could be a viable alternative that meets Newcastle City Council's objectives and saves the Town Moor.
This post is our feedback to the Blue House to Haddricks Mill scheme. You can comment on these proposals up to Sunday 21 
Ms H. Golightly,
Chief Operating Officer,
North East Local Enterprise Partnership.
Dear Ms Golightly,
Re: The Northern Access Corridor funding criteria
I am writing on behalf of SPACE for Gosforth, a residents' group based in Gosforth, Newcastle Upon Tyne. Like many others in Newcastle, we are very concerned about the current proposals put forward for the Northern Access Corridor and their likely negative impact on public health right across the city.
While we fully support 
The new Blue House is not designed just to cope with current traffic levels. The Council, we believe, is forecasting significant growth in traffic through this roundabout, leading directly to the junction's massive size and loss of green space on the Town Moor. We thought we would have a look at the Council's plans to see where this additional traffic might come from and what the impact might be on Newcastle as a whole.
Helpfully the 'Newcastle City Council: Pinchpoint Application Fund