This is a guest blog by local journalist Carlton Reid. The wide, smooth and kerb-delineated cycleway on John Dobson Street is believed by many to be the first and finest such infrastructure in the North East for people on bikes. It’s the finest but it’s not the first. Read on to discover how the North East was once a leader in providing for cyclists and how Carlton wants to bring these historic routes back into use. Read more [...] The North East’s hidden heritage
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This is a guest blog by local journalist Carlton Reid. The wide, smooth and kerb-delineated cycleway on John Dobson Street is believed by many to be the first and finest such infrastructure in the North East for people on bikes. It’s the finest but it’s not the first. Read on to discover how the North East was once a leader in providing for cyclists and how Carlton wants to bring these historic routes back into use. Read more [...] 
SPACE for Gosforth received a letter from one of our members in relation to a planning ‘Notification for Prior Approval’ to convert Eagle Star House at the Regent Centre from offices to housing and a potential opportunity to make the currently very busy east-west route between local schools safer for children's travel. We are very grateful to the author for kindly agreeing to allow us to publish the letter and associated graphics. 
A Bike Train is a led ride along safe routes, and the idea is that it shows people a good route to work to get them started commuting by bike.
I heard that GoSmarter was running a Bike Train from Kingston Park through Gosforth to Quorum business park and decided to try it out. I checked out the route and timetable online.
I registered for the Bike Train, joining at my nearest stop which was Regent Centre, and received a confirmation email.
The journey
On the morning of the 
In October 2016 SPACE for Gosforth arranged a review of recent changes to the Salters Road / Gosforth High Street junction with the Royal National Institute of Blind People (RNIB), the Guide Dogs for the Blind Association , engineers from Newcastle City Council and Zoe the Guide Dog. 
Even at 20mph 17% of adults are killed or seriously injured when hit by a car. For children or older residents the figures will be worse. Why then do so many ignore the 20mph speed limits in place throughout Gosforth’s back streets? Walking to school should not be an extreme sport.
This is the story of three of Gosforth’s back streets. One has a low volume of traffic mostly driving within the speed limit, somewhere we all might like to live and where children might reasonably be left to play