A family cycle ride on quiet roads and cycle paths meet @ Gosforth Central Park to ride to the Civic Centre with SPACE for Gosforth in order to meet up with other riders from Heaton, Fenham and Arthur’s Hill, finishing at the Journey Cafe for Coffee and cake.

There are other rids coming from Fenham or Heaton you could join instead if you prefer. Details below.

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There are lots of cycling activities in and around Gosforth over the summer including family cycle rides, children’s cycle coaching, Dr Bike sessions, challenge rides and even a Shakespeare play by a cycling theatre company.

If you know of any other related events please do let us know so we can add them into the programme, and keep checking back as we’ll be updating the list with more activities as they are confirmed.

Dr Bike*

Come along to a free Dr Bike session and get your bike fit for the summer.  During the Dr Bike session, the mechanic will give the bikes a general check over and will give advice and recommendations if needed.

HSBC UK Let’s Ride Newcastle

Sunday 29th is the annual HSBC Newcastle City Ride – where a loop around the City Centre is closed off to vehicles – so totally safe.

SPACE people are planning to ride in together, meeting at Gosforth Central Park War Memorial at 10:30 leaving at 10:45. We’ll be heading down through Jesmond on quiet roads and the new cycle paths near Jesmond Metro.

Link to our route below, do come and join us, always nice to ride in a large crowd.

Route map for Newcastle Let’s Ride Meetup Route 2018 by Peter Macdonald on plotaroute.com

The City Ride itself starts by the Civic Centre and does a loop around the centre of Newcastle including pitch-side at St James’ Park. Further details on the Let’s Ride website.

The BIG BIKE Revival 
The Big Bike Revival has been running for four years to inspire the 42% of people who own bikes, but who don’t cycle, to start riding. With events across England and Scotland, people attending benefit from free cycle checks, servicing, cycle maintenance workshops, cycle training and accompanied rides.

Cycling Without Age

Cycling Without Age – Newcastle upon Tyne will be joining us at Gosforth Central Park. He’s a video from BBC Newcastle showing what they are all about.

https://twitter.com/bbcnewcastle/status/960560802326564866

The Handlebards – Twelfth Night @ The Cycle HUB, Saturday 11 August 6.30pm

The world’s first cycling theatre company, The HandleBards, pedal from venue to venue with all the set, props and costume necessary to perform environmentally sustainable Shakespeare across the globe.

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Dr Chris Stenton FRCP FFOM

Dr Stenton is a Consultant Physician at the RVI Newcastle. His main interest is in work-related lung disease, particularly asthma, COPD and asbestosis.

Here he looks at some of the history, causes and effects of atmospheric air pollution. He also considers some of the emerging evidence on several insidious consequences air pollution is connected with.

In my work as a chest physician I see patients with many different types of lung conditions. Almost all lung disease is caused by something we breathe. Stretched out, the lungs would cover the size of a tennis court and with each breath inhaled bacteria, viruses, dusts and fumes can come into contact with the very delicate lining of the lungs and air passages. It is unusual for patients to make a connection between their symptoms and pollutants since in most cases the effect is insidious in that it accumulates over time and goes unnoticed until there are clear symptoms. Some who are sensitive to a particular pollutant may make a connection, as with traffic fumes affecting their chests. However, studies show that many people who live in cities are harmed by pollution from traffic, which is a major cause of death and disease. It is something we should all be concerned about.

The London smogs of the 1950s killed about 12,000 people and led to the introduction of the clean air acts of the 1950s and 1960s. After that it was believed for many years that the problem of atmospheric pollution was solved. However it became increasingly apparent in the 1980s that pollutants were causing increasing amounts of ill health. The older pollutants such as soot and sulphur dioxide from open fires and steam engines were often obvious. Less obvious but equally harmful pollutants, many of which arose from motor vehicles, replaced them. They included small easily inhalable particles (known as PM10 or PM2.5), ozone and nitrogen oxides (NOx) derived from motor vehicles and other sources. These pollutants are now recognised to be killing many more people each year than died in the London smogs with an estimated 40,000 premature deaths each year⁽ⁱ⁾. That is an estimate and the true figure could be higher.

Pollutants from motor vehicles are generally produced together and it is difficult to disentangle the effects of one from another. Nitrogen dioxide is the most easily measured and so has the greatest amount of local data. There are measuring sites in Newcastle and other cities for other nitrogen oxides (NOx), ozone and small particles (PM2.5).

The first major modern study of pollution-related deaths came from the US. In the Six Cities study the average age at which people died in several cities showed a clear relationship with levels of pollution in the city⁽ⁱⁱ⁾. The death rate was 30% higher in more highly polluted areas where average PM2.5 levels were 30ug/m3 compared with less polluted areas where PM2.5 levels averaged 10 ug/m3. A number of later studies have confirmed these findings and shown beneficial effects of reducing pollution levels. For comparison, PM2.5 levels in the UK are generally in the region of 10-20 ug/m3 but they vary considerably and can be much higher than that.

The Committee on the Medical Effects of Air Pollution applied the US data to the UK in their 2010 report and concluded that around 30,000 deaths in the UK can be attributed to particulate air pollution⁽ⁱⁱⁱ⁾. The figure rises to about 40,000 if the additional effects of NOx pollution are taken into account. That is equivalent to everyone living on average almost a year less than they otherwise would if there were no atmospheric pollutants at all.

These effects of pollution are largely unseen. Individuals die earlier than they otherwise would and that can be identified when a large numbers of people are studied but for any individual it is very difficult to determine whether and by how much their life might have been affected by the air they breathe.

Some effects of atmospheric pollution are easier to demonstrate in individuals. Asthma is the prime example and many sufferers notice worsened symptoms when exposed to high levels of traffic fumes. In one study^(iv) researchers in London got 60 people with asthma to walk down Oxford Street which is quite heavily polluted by fumes from slow moving buses – nitrogen dioxide levels averaged 140 μg/m3 which is slightly higher than the peak seen in Gosforth High Street (110 μg/m3) and well above the current legal limit of 40 μg/m3. On average the people’s lung function had fallen by 6% at the end of the walk and the effect was greater in those with worse asthma. Walking though Hyde Park where the air is cleaner did not have the same effect.

There are many other studies that show the effect of air pollution on asthma and in those with other lungs diseases. Hospital admissions with bad asthma increase by 2% with every 10 μg/m3 increase in nitrogen dioxide levels^(v). Similarly, admissions with pneumonia increase by 1.4% with every 10 μg/m3 increase. The average nitrogen dioxide levels around Gosforth High Street of 30-40 μg/m3 are therefore likely to be causing up to 8% more severe asthma and 5% more pneumonias than would otherwise be the case.

Potentially one of the most worrisome effects of atmospheric pollution is its apparent effect in slowing the growth of children’s lungs and potentially making them more vulnerable to a variety of diseases when they get older. In the first study of this in California^(vi), children’s lungs grew 6% less between the ages of 10 and 18 in polluted areas compared with non-polluted areas. Nitrogen dioxide levels in the most polluted area was 66 μg/m3, about 50% more than that seen on Gosforth High Street. A number of other studies have shown similar results and demonstrated the beneficial effects of decreasing pollution levels.

Although the lungs are an important target for pollutants – they are our biggest interface with the environment and stretched out they cover the size of a tennis court – they are not the only organ that is affected. Small pollutant particles can pass through the lungs into the blood stream where they can set off inflammation that leads to heart attacks and other problems. Many of the excess deaths seen with pollutants are caused by heart problems.

Several studies have shown that heart attacks are more common during periods when pollution levels are high^(vii). A large European study showed 13% more heart attacks for every 5 µg/ m3 increase in the level of small particles (PM2.5). A substantial proportion of cardiac problems are likely to be preventable by better control.

There is a wide range of other possible adverse health effects of pollution that are currently being explored. The European and American Respiratory Societies have outlined these in a recent joint paper^(viii).

There is emerging evidence linking outdoors air pollution to diabetes and poorer control of diabetes, probably related to inflammatory effects of exposure to pollutants. There is even evidence linking childhood obesity to pollutant exposure possibly also brought about by inflammation causing resistance to the effects of insulin. Pregnant women are likely to be particularly vulnerable to the effects of pollution, and prematurity and low birth weight of children have both been linked to atmospheric pollutant levels. One study estimated that 11% of low birthweights in infants’ cases would be avoided if PM2.5 concentrations were reduced by 5 µg per m3 (reduced by about half to one quarter for the UK).

There is ample evidence of the wide-ranging adverse effects of atmospheric pollution on our health. The challenge now is for politicians and others to take these seriously and to take the steps necessary to protect the health of everyone.

Dr Chris Stenton

References

(i) Royal College of Physicians. Every breath we take: the lifelong impact of air pollution. Report of a working party. London: RCP

(ii) Dockeryet al. An association between air pollution and mortality in six US cities. New England Journal of Medicine 1993;329:1753–1759.

(iii) Committee on the Medical Effects of Air Pollutants. The Mortality Effects of Long-Term Exposure to Particulate Air Pollution in the United Kingdom HMSO 2010.

(iv) McCreanor et al. Respiratory Effects of Exposure to Diesel Traffic in Persons with Asthma. New England Journal of Medicine 2007;357:2348-58

(v) Zheng et al. Association between Air Pollutants and Asthma Emergency Room Visits and Hospital Admissions in Time Series Studies: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis. PLoS ONE 2015; 10(9): e0138146

(vi) Gauderman et al. Effect of exposure to traffic on lung development from 10 to 18 years of age: a cohort study. Lancet. 2007; 369:571–7.

(vii) Brook et al. Air Pollution and Cardiovascular Disease A Statement for Healthcare Professionals From the Expert Panel on Population and Prevention Science of the American Heart Association. Circulation. 2004;109:2655-2671

(viii) Thurston et al. A joint ERS/ATS policy statement: what constitutes an adverse health effect of air pollution? An analytical framework. European Respiratory Journal. 2017 January; 49(1):

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In January 2018, SPACE for Gosforth, together with SPACE for Heaton and SPACE for Jesmond wrote to Newcastle City Council to express our concern that no cycle ways and few pavements are cleared of ice in winter, despite it being the Council’s own policy to encourage people to walk and cycle more often.

– Letter to the Council January 2018
– Update 9/11/2018 Winter Service Policy November 2018

UK Roads Liaison Group best practice for local authorities suggests that snow and ice clearing approaches should be developed with local stakeholders and so we asked that this be discussed as part of the Cycle Stakeholder Forum on Thursday 25 January 2018.

We also shared the following map that shows that if you were to try to cycle using the currently gritted network you would have to use either 40mph+ or multi-lane roads  to enter the city from the north, east or south.

Following discussion at the Cycle Stakeholder Forum, we understand that:

1. The Council does have a winter service plan that covers current operation including some pavements but not cycle lanes.
2. The Council will do a review after March of the service plan and will consider the points raised in our letter as part of that review.
3. The output from that review will be brought back to the Cycle Stakeholder forum for further discussion and action.

Details for the Newcastle Cycle Stakeholder Forum can be found on the Newcastle City Council website.

This is the letter that we sent to the Council.

Re: De-icing pavements and cycle routes in winter.

We are writing as we are concerned by the Council’s current stance that no cycle ways and few pavements are cleared of ice in winter and that this is leading to a number of negative consequences, not least the potential and actual injury of people cycling or walking.

From speaking to Council officers we understand that budget is a significant issue, although also a matter of prioritisation as clearly the Council does have a budget for gritting including via its contract with Colas Ltd (1). That prioritisation however seems to be largely at odds with the Council’s own strategy. It is also at odds with UK Roads Liaison Group best practice guidance (2) as applied to the implementation of section 41 part 1A of the Highways Act 1980 which states that Newcastle Council as a highways authority is “under a duty to ensure, so far as is reasonably practicable, that safe passage along a highway is not endangered by snow or ice.” (3)

Clearly under current policy, safe passage for people walking or cycling is endangered, and many might consider advice for people cycling to stick to the gritted network to be unacceptable given the only gritted routes into the city are dual carriageway and often with speeds that mean any collision would lead to serious injury or death.

It is also easy to determine that it would be reasonably practicable to de-ice the City’s main cycle routes and pavements both from the fact that a number of other local authorities do so and from the legal definition of ‘reasonably practicable’ that requires that risks must be averted unless there is a gross disproportion between the costs and benefits of doing so (4). In this case the benefits are obvious in reducing harm, in supporting Council strategy to promoting sustainable transport choices (Policy CS13); in meeting national air quality targets; and in maintaining access to the city for people who wish to, or have no choice but to, walk or cycle.

If the Council is serious in its wish to support the growth of active travel to improve the health, environment and economy of the City and its residents, then this is an issue that needs to be addressed. The question is not if but when, and planning for this should start immediately.

We are grateful that the Council has already taken up our request to publicise the lack of ice clearance so that people wishing to cycle are aware of the potential dangers.

In addition we ask that the Council prepares a target Winter Service Policy for walking and cycling networks with stakeholders (as suggested in the UK Roads Liaison Group best practice) including the Cycle Stakeholder Forum. This should include routes to be cleared, effective approaches for how they are to be cleared and also consideration of funding, though work on the former should not be delayed while funding is sought.

To support this work we have included below links to Highway Authorities in London, Manchester, Bristol, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Nottingham and Cambridgeshire, all of which have plans for clearing snow and ice from their cycling networks.

I would be grateful if you could include this on the agenda for the next Cycle Stakeholder Forum along with a draft plan from the Council for how it will develop the Winter Service Policy.

Kind regards,

SPACE for Gosforth, SPACE for Heaton, SPACE for Jesmond.

Notes

(1) Newcastle City Council’s contract with Colas Ltd. https://www.newcastle.gov.uk/news/keeping-city-moving-winter-weather

(2) UK Roads Liaison Group, Well-maintained Highways – Code of Practice: http://www.ukroadsliaisongroup.org/en/utilities/document-summary.cfm?docid=C7214A5B-66E1-4994-AA7FBAC360DC5CC7  See in particular section 13.2

(3) Highways Act 1980 Section 41: http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1980/66/section/41

(4) Legal definition of ‘reasonably practicable’: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edwards_v_National_Coal_Board

Update 9/11/2018 Winter Service Policy November 2018

The revised Winter Service Policy is to be presented to Council Cabinet on Monday 19 November. Details can be found on the Council’s website.

The updated policy (item 6 on the agenda) includes statements on both walking and cycling.

Certain walking routes will be treated if frost or ice is expected to last more than 48 hours, or if snow is expected to remain for more than 24 hours.

Most of the walking routes to be treated are in the city centre but they also include Gosforth High Street, Ashburton Road, Kenton Park shops, Park Avenue shops, Brunton Park shops, Melton Park shops and Wansbeck Road shops.

Cycling routes will not be treated except where they are on a road that will be gritted e.g. a shared bus and cycle lane, or where they share a pavement with one of the named footpaths.

The updated policy also contains a statement in a section on legal responsibility (page 3) that says that “it is recognised that it would not be practical for a Highway Authority to treat every road and footpath in the event that ice forms and/or snow falls.”

This does not exactly align to Section 41 of the Highways Act 1980 that says that Highway Authorities must “ensure, so far as is reasonably practicable, that safe passage along a highway is not endangered by snow or ice.”  We would welcome any input from any legal professionals to assist in clarifying the extent of the Council’s legal responsibilities.

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2018 is an important anniversary for Newcastle upon Tyne as it marks 10 years since Air Quality Management Areas (AQMAs) were declared for the city centre (which includes parts of Jesmond and Heaton) and for South Gosforth in 2008.  The city centre AQMA replaced an earlier AQMA in this area.

Newcastle City Centre AQMA

Both Air Quality Management Areas were declared due to levels of the pollutant nitrogen dioxide exceeding legal limits.

Nitrogen dioxide has been linked to a wide range of diseases and other health conditions including cancer, low sperm counts, dementia and cognitive delay in children.

Newcastle City Council recently released figures for nitrogen dioxide levels in 2016, and these showed that a previous trend of nitrogen dioxide levels decreasing in Gosforth has halted and that nitrogen dioxide levels in Gosforth have once again risen to above legal limits.

The South Gosforth AQMA

Members of the public can obtain real time information about levels from pollution from Newcastle University’s Urban Observatory. SPACE for Gosforth has written several previous blogs highlighting high levels of nitrogen dioxide in both AQMAs:

• Black Friday, Smoggy Saturday… (on Gosforth)
• Black Friday Part 2 – Newcastle City Centre
• Pollution Update – February 2017
• The New Newcastle Air Pollution Plan
• Air Quality Update 2016

Air pollution monitoring in 2015

As well as nitrogen dioxide pollution, previous monitoring carried out by SPACE for Gosforth in 2015 suggested that there might also be a problem with particulate pollution on Gosforth High Street.

2018 will also be an important electoral date for the city of Newcastle upon Tyne as residents in all wards will have the opportunity to elect all their three councillors due to the boundary changes. 

Locations where Defra have ordered a reduction in emissions

At SPACE for Gosforth we believe that this election offers residents of Newcastle upon Tyne the opportunity to raise the issue of our filthy air with candidates of all parties and to ask how they would tackle this issue.

Poor air quality affects everyone who lives and works in Newcastle upon Tyne. It is not an issue that our elected representatives can ignore, as they have been ordered to take action by Defra to reduce air pollution on the key city arteries of the Tyne Bridge / Central Motorway, the A1 and the Coast Road. This was following the defeat of the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) in the High Court by the environmental law firm Client Earth.

Nitrogen dioxide levels on Blackett St last July – only legal when the road was closed to traffic!

Client Earth has launched further legal action against Defra this year, so it is entirely possible that as one consequence of this action Newcastle City Council may be required by the Government to do even more.  It is also worth noting that Newcastle City Council is currently controlled by the Labour Party, and Jeremy Corbyn, the leader of the Labour Party, has recently publicly stated that tackling air pollution is a national priority for his party should they form a government.

Air pollution monitor on Gosforth High St

The seriousness of this issue, both in its impact on public health and due to the legal obligations that are falling on Newcastle City Council, means that it is one which every candidate for public office in our city needs to understand fully.

In 2018 we hope to hear more from both elected councillors and candidates about what they will be doing this year to ensure that councillors, council officers and others in Newcastle take decisive and effective action to reduce levels of nitrogen dioxide in our city.

Ten years is too long for the health of the public to be put at risk in this way – our ambition for 2018 is that this tenth birthday for both AQMAs is also their last.

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As part of its draft Development and Allocations Plan, Newcastle City Council has set out the detail policies that it believes will help it achieve the objectives set out in The Core Strategy and Urban Core Plan, and which together will guide how the city is to be developed up to 2030.

In this second blog on the draft DAP we want to look at proposed policy DM10 covering pedestrian and cycle movement.

You can comment on the new plan on the Let’s Talk website until 20 November 2017. Our previous blog on the proposed policy for Protecting Open Spaces is here.

The Overwhelming Case for Walking and Cycling

In our post The Case for Healthy Streets we set out much of the evidence for why walking and cycling should be prioritised when considering new transport schemes, including the benefits to health and the economy, in creating more and better choices for how we travel and for children’s independence and safety. New policy should therefore require best practice for walking and cycling provision to ensure that maximum benefits can be gained for the city and its residents.

DAP policies also have to be consistent with the National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) and other national legislation.  It also needs to be consistent with The Core Strategy and Urban Core Plan, which has already defined the strategic objectives  (S07, S08) and policy (CS13) that this more detailed policy is to support.

Getting this right is very important as we saw at Gosforth Business Park where a poor design would almost certainly lead to much more traffic passing through the South Gosforth Air Quality Management Area.

The SPACE for Gosforth Proposal

Broadly we support the new policy however we wish to propose some amendments in particular to ensure anyone can use new walking and cycling routes and to avoid conflict between people walking and cycling.

We have set out these changes below shown in red and underlined along with supporting evidence to show that the proposals are consistent with the NPPF and the Core Strategy.

1. Direct routes that also minimise conflict between walking and cycling.

The Newcastle Core Strategy Policy CS13 section 3(vii) requires that development “provides for direct, safe, secure and continuous pedestrian and cycling links.” Policy DM10 should therefore be updated to also require that routes are direct to support this.

NPPF Section 35 requires that developments be designed where practical to “create safe and secure layouts which minimise conflicts between traffic and cyclists or pedestrians, avoiding street clutter and where appropriate establishing home zones.” The NPPF is right to say that danger mostly comes from conflict with vehicles but routes should also be designed to avoid conflict between people walking and cycling.

Safety in this context means both from vehicle traffic and also ensuring people feel safe from crime. So, for example, unlit alleyways would not be appropriate.

2. Giving priority to walking and cycling

Section 35 of the NPPF also says where practical to “give priority to pedestrian and cycle movements, and have access to high quality public transport facilities;” Updating the policy to include this priority will help make walking and cycling viable choices for local journeys, where often design is currently an after-thought leading to long circuitous routes and long waits at multi-stage crossings.

This is also consistent with the Core Strategy Section 11.12, which states that “The aim of the Plan is to create sustainable communities, centres and new developments where priority is given to sustainable modes of transport. The hierarchy of sustainable modes of transport is: walking, cycling, public transport (including taxis), freight, car traffic.”

3. Ensuring walking and cycling routes are suitable for all ages and abilities

Section 1(i) of Core Strategy Policy CS13 requires the council to promote “sustainable travel choices including … improving equality of access to transport for everyone“. We wish to propose this addition as ensuring equality of access to transport is a key part of SPACE for Gosforth’s objectives.

As per those objectives ‘everyone’ includes “all ages and abilities.” and “residents or visitors with limited mobility and residents or visitors with disabilities or conditions for whom travel is a challenge.” For examples of how hard it can be to navigate some local streets see the SPACE for Gosforth blogs on Gosforth High Street and the Salters Road junction.

Core Strategy Policy CS14 – Wellbeing and Health backs this up by stating “The wellbeing and health of communities will be maintained and improved by … Requiring development to contribute to creating an age friendly, healthy and equitable living environment through: i. Creating an inclusive built and natural environment” and “ii. promoting and facilitating active and healthy lifestyles.” Core Strategy Policy CS15 Place-Making also requires development to create “safe and inclusive environments“.

Although a fairly weak statement, NPPF paragraph 35 requires that where practical developments should “consider the needs of people with disabilities by all modes of transport.” Also, one of the objectives of the Government’s Cycling and Walking Infrastructure Strategy (CWIS) is “better integrated routes for those with disabilities or health conditions”.

Much stronger still is The Equality Act 2010, which the RNIB summarise as follows. “It is unlawful for a public authority to discriminate in the exercise of its public functions. This includes highways functions. Section 20 (4) requires that where a physical feature (which includes increases in traffic) puts a disabled person at a substantial disadvantage in comparison to a person who is not disabled, an authority is required to take such steps as is reasonable to have to take to avoid the disadvantage.”

4. Clarifying a minimum list of local services

This policy is derived from NPPF paragraph 38 which mentions schools and shops: “For larger scale residential developments in particular, planning policies should promote a mix of uses in order to provide opportunities to undertake day-to-day activities including work on site. Where practical, particularly within large-scale developments, key facilities such as primary schools and local shops should be located within walking distance of most properties.”

As the purpose of the DAP is to expand on the objectives set out in the Core Strategy we wish to clarify what the minimum set of services that people can walk to should be. The full list we propose are from the SPACE for Gosforth objective 3: “There is good walking and cycling access to local community destinations including schools, shops, medical centres, work-places and transport hubs.” This should be the minimum for any new development.

5. Making walking and cycling the natural choice for short to medium journeys

We wish to propose this new paragraph to include a number of NPPF and Core Strategy objectives to maximise the use of walking and cycling in order to minimise the impact of the development on the wider road network and public health.

NPPF paragraph 17 states that one of the core principles for planning is to “actively manage patterns of growth to make the fullest possible use of public transport, walking and cycling, and focus significant development in locations which are or can be made sustainable;” Only by making the fullest possible use of walking and cycling can the wider negative impacts be minimised.

Newcastle Core Strategy CS13 section 3(ii) supports this by “Ensuring development … minimises car trips, promotes and enhances public transport and for major development provides sustainable travel plans“. (Public Transport is covered in the DAP by a separate policy DM11.)

NPPF paragraph 110 states “In preparing plans to meet development needs, the aim should be to minimise pollution and other adverse effects on the local and natural environment.” This is very relevant to transport as it is both a significant contributor to local air pollution and to a number of other adverse effects including noise.

Consistent with all the above, the Governments’s Cycling and Walking Investment Strategy (CWIS) sets out “the government’s ambition to make cycling and walking a natural choice for shorter journeys, or as part of longer journeys“. Planning for new developments will be a key part of enabling this to happen.

6 Secure parking for cycles (not cyclists)

Our proposed change to section 6 is to provide cycle parking (in the same way as we have car parking and not motorist parking).

The full proposal is as follows. SPACE for Gosforth will be providing this response to the DAP consultation as well as commenting on other policies related to SPACE for Gosforth’s objectives.

Policy DM10 – Pedestrian and Cycle Movement (SPACE for Gosforth proposal)

Development will be required to:

1. Provide safe, direct, convenient, attractive and continuous pedestrian and cycle links to key local facilities and services that minimise conflict between traffic, cyclists and pedestrians;
2. Provide connections through developments that link to existing and planned wider pedestrian and cycle networks and ensure that those connections give priority to pedestrian and cycle movements;
3. Ensure that walking and cycling routes are suitable for all ages and for people with disabilities;
4. Demonstrate that major developments are within acceptable walking distances of key local facilities and services including schools, shops, medical centers, work-places and transport hubs;
5. Demonstrate that the development makes the fullest possible use of walking and cycling in order to minimise car trips and minimise pollution and other adverse effects on the natural and local environment; and
6. Provide employee changing and shower facilities and secure parking for cycles for major non-residential developments.

References to Planning from The Cycling and Walking Investment Strategy

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Newcastle City Council has just published its draft Development and Allocations Plan, which is the second part of the local plan that, with the first part The Core Strategy and Urban Core Plan, will guide how the city is to be developed up to 2030.

You can comment on the new plan on the Let’s Talk website until 20 November 2017.

The new plan sets out policies for Economic Prosperity, Homes, Transport and Accessibility, People and Places, Minerals and Waste, and Infrastructure and Delivery. One aspect of People and Places is Open Space and in this blog we want to look at the proposals for protecting Open Space.

“Surplus” Open Space can now be developed

In the old UDP Policies that include the current Open Space protections, there is a list of sites that are protected through the policies where the policies state development ‘will not be allowed’.

The new Open Space policy standards have ‘quantity standards’ which set out the amount of open space that should be provided per 1000 people. Anything over that will be considered surplus and therefore can be developed providing there is no conflict with other policies, for example relating to nature or wildlife. Using these standards for parks and for amenity green spaces, which are smaller more informal open areas, we have derived the following graph that shows how much surplus Open Space there is by ward according to the new standards. In total we believe approximately 93 hectares, equivalent to 130 football pitches, is at risk as a result of the new standards.

In fact, the area at risk is possibly larger than this as the above graph combines two categories, Parks and Amenity Green Space, and it is possible that development might be justified using just one category. So for example, Dene ward has less Open Space than the standards suggest is required for Parks and Amenity Green Space combined. The total for Parks by itself suggests that there is surplus and therefore current parkland in Dene could be built on.

As part of the assessment the Council’s consultants have drawn up plans of each of the City’s political wards to show where current provision exists. The map below is for East Gosforth but also shows Paddy Freeman’s Park, which is in Dene ward and under these standards could be built on.

Most of the green space in East Gosforth is shown in purple, which are school playing fields and therefore not open to the public. Light blue areas are private facilities such as the golf course just north of Garden Village. Amenity Green Space, what most people would just call greens and are open to the public, are coloured dark green and parks are in lime green, some with blue sports pitches. Also shown in dark red, within parks, are basketball courts and skateparks which collectively are called Youth Play Space, allotments in brown and Natural Green Space (The Town Moor and Jesmond Dene) in beige.

Open Space Standards 

Each of these classifications has its own standard both from quantity as well as access. The Access standard distance is given as a straight line and the times calculated based on walking at 3mph on a route that is 1²/₃ longer than the straight line route. For example 720m straight line distance = 1200m actual walking, which at 3mph will take 15 minutes.

Typical speeds at pedestrian crossings are calculated based on 1.2m/s = 2.7mph, but with guidance suggesting older people are more likely to walk at 0.8m/s = 1.8mph. That would make a nominal 15 minute walk in these standards more like 25 minutes. A similar issue would exist where parks are located near Metro lines and walking distances are actually much further than the1²/₃ times assumed.

The approach taken to coming up with these standards is described in the 2017 Newcastle Open Space Assessment, which is part of the evidence base for the draft Development and Allocations Plan. For Amenity Green Space, the assessment appears to be based on a city-wide average (0.83ha/1000people) and a survey that said 52% of people said more informal open space areas were needed and 43% felt there were enough. No results are given for whether anyone thought there were too many open space areas but if that was counted it would have been less than 5% of responses.

The assessment also mentions a Fields in Trust guideline suggesting 0.6ha/1000 people, so slightly less generous than proposed but with a much shorter walking (not straight line) distance of 480m. The proposed standard suggests a walking distance over twice this, which is counter to separate evidence that children’s independence is being ever more curtailed to a large extent due to danger caused by large volumes of traffic.

Separately in the evidence base for the new plan there are assessments, based on the new standards, to justify development on four existing green spaces. These are:

• Hartburn Walk in Kenton
• Hallow Drive, Throckley
• Thornley Road, Denton
• Somerset Place, Elswick

The guidelines for protecting Open Space are set out in proposed new Policy DM29. This sets out a presumption that Open Spaces are not to be built on but with the new exception 1(i) where there is a surplus over the quantity standard.

Development where there is no surplus

Arguably though, it is not clear what protection this new standard is going to give when planning assessments made by the Council so easily override stated policy based on a ‘material consideration‘ unrelated to Open Space, and when the Planning Committee appears unwilling in these circumstances to assert the priority of the Open Space policies the members themselves approved. Ultimately, unless clear guidelines are put in place to set limits on the use of material considerations to over-ride policies that protect Open Space, far more green space could be irreparably lost to future development.

If you wish to comment on these proposals now is your chance. You can see the proposed Development and Allocations Plan here, and submit comments here until 20 November 2017.

This blog is a very brief summary of the Open Space considerations for Newcastle. For anyone interested in Open Space in the city the 2017 Newcastle Open Space Assessment sets out all the previous policies for Open Space and how they have changed over time, and if you spot anything else interesting in the standards please let us know via the Comments section below.

The post Protecting Open Spaces – comments by 20 November 2017 appeared first on SPACE for Gosforth.

Cycling is a healthy, low cost, low impact way of travelling but currently for many people in Gosforth it is not a viable choice. Although cycling is a relatively safe activity in itself and suitable for many everyday journeys, Gosforth’s roads often feel very dangerous because they are so busy with traffic, especially at rush hour and when children are travelling to or from school.

In our post National Walking Month – May 2017 we asked you to help us document locations in Gosforth where there were issues with walking and to share ideas for how Gosforth could be improved for walking. In this post we want to do the same for cycling.

Background

1. How Gosforth as a whole might benefit from a safe cycling network

Local authorities are required by law to “to secure the expeditious, convenient and safe movement” for cycling as well as for vehicle traffic and for pedestrians. That in itself should be sufficient to expect a safe and direct cycle network, but there are further proven benefits that mean investing in cycling facilities gives a very high return on investment compared to other road schemes. For example:

• Desirable Neighbourhoods. Designing streets to be cycle friendly makes them better for everyone: less traffic, less noise, less air pollution, safer for children to play, and can increase property prices.
• Air Quality. The chair of the government’s independent advisors on air quality COMEAP have recently confirmed that in order to meet air quality targets we will need not just cleaner vehicles but also fewer vehicles and “as much active transport in the form of walking and cycling as is feasibly possible.” Plus, children cycling are less exposed to pollution than if they were in a car.
• Road Safety. Introducing cycle lanes separated from traffic have been found to reduce injuries from road collisions for all road users including for people walking and driving.
• Public Health. Safer cycle lanes encourage more people to cycle, which leads to all sorts of health benefits and reduces the burden on the NHS, which all tax-payers contribute to.
• Economy. Cycling means people can make the same journeys for less cost, which when added across all journeys contributes to a significant economic benefit including locally where good quality cycling facilities can boost the local economy.
• Feeling Good. Cycling to work can help you be less stressed and more productive. Children who walk or cycle to school tend to be more attentive and achieve better results and that also means less school run traffic to hold up other drivers.
• Road Capacity. One of the main purposes of main roads is to help people to get from A to B. Because bikes are much smaller than cars, far more people can travel on the same road if cycling than if everyone was to drive.

That’s not to say everyone has to cycle. Many of these benefits can be achieved even with a small shift from driving to cycling, which initially could just be from the 24% of people who cycle once a month or more in Newcastle leaving their car at home a bit more often. Allowing those who can cycle to do so takes traffic off the road that would otherwise be holding up those who do need to drive.

2. Features of good quality cycling networks

The key features of a good cycling network are well understood and are very similar to what is needed for a walking network.

1. It links where people live with where they want to go to.
2. It is sufficiently dense that you are never too far from a safe cycle route.
3. Routes and junctions are safe and feel safe. This includes making sure there is sufficient lighting and avoiding isolated locations as well as ensuring protection from fast moving vehicles.
4. Everyone can use it: older or younger people, families and groups, confident cyclists and those that are less confident, people with disabilities, and all travelling at a range of different speeds.
5. It needs to be safe for key journeys e.g. to/from school and not just on a Sunday morning when roads are quiet anyway.
6. It doesn’t put people cycling into conflict with other road users.
7. Routes are direct to avoid adding unnecessary time and effort to journeys.
8. It is coherent so different routes connect and there is no need to get off and push.
9. It is intuitive, comfortable and attractive to use even if you do not cycle regularly.

A good quality cycling network would help prevent injuries. The map below from crashmap.co.uk shows where people cycling have been injured in Gosforth due to road traffic collisions from 2007 to 2016.

Injuries to people cycling that could have been prevented. Road Traffic Collisions 2007-2016 www.crashmap.co.uk

3. Networks for cycling vs road networks for motor vehicles

For any form of transport to be viable, there has to be a connected network of routes that link where people live and destinations such as schools, shops and workplaces. That is true whatever the mode of transport whether cycling, driving, walking or using public transport.

The density of a transport network – how close routes are to each other – depends on its purpose. The motorway network and national rail have just one north-south route each passing through NE England, whereas the network of pavements and paths used for walking in cities  cover almost every street.

The map below shows a view of the main local road network for vehicle traffic in Gosforth and surrounding areas. Local through roads are shown in red, which shows a density of about one road every one kilometre. Streets not marked red are typically residential areas where the function of the street is much more about the place rather than enabling through traffic. Currently many of these streets, shown in orange, are also very busy with traffic.

Cycle network guidance based on cities with existing high levels of cycling suggests a mesh of one route every 250m, although the Department of Transport have recommended a less ambitious target of one every 400m. As Newcastle, in common with most UK cities, currently has very little by way of a cycle network, a more realistic initial target would be for there to be one route every one kilometre, in this case similar to the local road network.

These cycle routes don’t have to follow the local road network if good alternatives are available, though they do need to meet the criteria above especially connecting homes and destinations and being direct to avoid adding unnecessary time and effort to journeys.

In our blog Lots of children want to cycle to school, but hardly any do. How do we make space for child cycling in Gosforth? we summarised what parents think would make an acceptable safe cycling route for a 12 year old cycling by themselves. Typically for main local through routes this would require physical separation from traffic. Roads with no through motor traffic were also acceptable.

This map from the Strava website shows current cycling routes used by people registered on the Strava website, with thicker lines representing higher numbers of people cycling. Almost certainly actual numbers will be higher than this as many more people will not be registered on Strava. Potentially they could be higher still if not limited by the existing road conditions, in particular where people do not feel safe cycling on Gosforth’s busy roads. Building safe cycling networks has been shown across multiple studies to increase the number of people using those routes.

4. Destinations in Gosforth where people want to travel to

Overlaying local destinations on the map it is clear that many are located on or near main roads, in particular on the Great North Road and Gosforth High Street. We listed some of the destinations for children and families on Gosforth High Street in the SPACE for Gosforth post 20 mph – the right speed for Gosforth’s children. These are the places that people want and need to go to regardless of how they travel.

5. Current cycling provision in Gosforth

Travelling on the quieter residential streets we see many people who are cycling to work, or to the shops or to meet friends.  It is also possible to avoid much of the traffic (and danger) if you know when and where to cycle, and are prepared to take longer, less direct journeys to get to your destination.

The lack of a wider safe network does significantly limit the wider take up of cycling though. From the 2015 Bike Life report for Newcastle:

• only 38% of people rate cycling safety in Newcastle as good or very good.
  
• only 25% of people believe that safety for children riding a bike is good or very good.
• 8 in 10 residents want better safety for people riding bikes.
• 27% of residents do not ride a bike but would like to.

If Gosforth is evaluated against the features of a good cycling network (as set out above) and the road characteristics that parents would consider to be safe for riding with their children, the conclusion can only be that currently local provision is poor.

The map below shows:

• In green, mostly around the edges of Gosforth, traffic-free routes which would be acceptable for families cycling with children.
• In blue, streets where there are no through routes, which would be considered safe where traffic volumes are low. In much of Newcastle this is standard but it is still relatively unusual in Gosforth. Generally in these areas with no through routes no specific changes are needed to support cycling.
• In yellow, other painted cycle lanes and light separation using Orcas on the Great North Road between Regent Centre and Broadway roundabout, neither of which would be considered safe for children.
• In red, major roads with no cycling facilities of any form where anyone wishing to cycle (including children) would currently be expected to share the road with large numbers of cars, buses, vans and HGVs.

Comparing this to the destinations map it shows that most destinations in Gosforth are not served by any safe cycling route acceptable for families cycling with children. Note also that we have not included signposted cycle routes, such as Moor Road North / South, where there is no separately marked space for cycling as the signposting is not sufficient by itself to make the route suitable for families with children. 

Clearly from this map there is plenty of room for improvement, both in terms of creating a safe connected network linking homes and destinations and for more immediate quick wins to connect together quieter areas or to improve safety and liveability for residential streets.

Creating a safe cycling network for old, young and everyone in between

To help with creating a safe cycling network we are looking for your thoughts about:

• Specific locations where small changes could help link up existing safe routes (‘missing links’).
• Possible route alignments for cross-city cycle routes that go through Gosforth e.g. from Kingston Park to Gosforth Business park via Broadway and Heathery Lane (a 14 minute journey by bike according to Google Maps).
• Issues with existing routes that make them difficult or impossible to use, including where there are issues for non-standard cycles such as those towing a child trailer and cycles used as mobility aids.
• Existing quiet routes that might not be obvious to others who don’t know the area.
• Dangerous junctions or stretches of road that are hard to avoid.
• Destinations e.g. schools or shops that are hard to reach by bicycle.
• Shared space that creates unnecessary conflict with pedestrians or other vulnerable users.
• Anything else that makes cycling less attractive as a way of getting round compared to other modes of traffic.

Please share your ideas via the comments section below or via the SPACE for Gosforth Facebook page and we will add them to our on-line map.

The post Building a Safe Cycling Network for Gosforth appeared first on SPACE for Gosforth.

A packed Trinity Church at the SPACE for Gosforth Blue House Meeting

In our look back at 2015, the year SPACE for Gosforth was formed, we wrote that this was only the beginning and that in 2016 we had a whole year to make a difference.  What we could not have anticipated at that time was the immense difference that 2016 would bring to our community.

Something old … Gosforth High Street

A better Gosforth High Street was the reason SPACE for Gosforth was founded in 2015, and we continued to focus on the High Street 2016.

A High Street filled with hidden dangers!

We began the year by publishing an account of a walk by one of our members on Gosforth High Street to raise awareness of the challenges faced by those with a visual impairment.  Our member was blindfolded and accompanied by a volunteer guide from Guide Dogs for the Blind, and his walk revealed a High Street filled with hidden – and not so hidden – dangers.  This would be an issue for any community given that the UK has an ageing population, but it is a particular issue for Gosforth as three Gosforth schools house Newcastle City Council’s Visual Impairment Additionally Resourced Centres.

Gosforth High Street

Newcastle City Council also agreed to work with SPACE for Gosforth and local traders to improve plans for Gosforth High Street.  These improvements will take place in stages – the first stage to be agreed was improvements for pedestrians, which has recently been the subject of a consultation.

South Gosforth AQMA

Gosforth High Street is part of the South Gosforth Air Quality Management Area.  The South Gosforth AQMA was declared due to high levels of nitrogen dioxide, and is one of two AQMAs in Newcastle upon Tyne (the other is the City Centre AQMA, which has even higher levels of nitrogen dioxide).  SPACE for Gosforth began investigating this issue in 2015 and we continued to highlight the issue of air pollution during 2016 as well as other costs to the community of the negative impacts of traffic.  By contrast, research confirms that increasing cycling has a positive effect on local business.

Air pollution monitor on Gosforth High St.

During the autumn, we were able to track daily readings from the Gosforth High Street air pollution monitor thanks to Newcastle University’s Urban Observatory project.

We were very worried to note the increase in levels of nitrogen dioxide on Gosforth High Street before Christmas  – and a similar increase in the City Centre Air Quality Management Area.

This is an issue SPACE for Gosforth intends to continue investigating due to the risk to residents’ health from air pollution.

Responses to Brunton to Broadway Consultation

Further north from Gosforth High Street on the Great North Road, we also looked at the responses to the proposed new cycle route between Broadway and Brunton Lane, a proposal that received strong support during the consultation.  The graph on the left shows the reasons why respondents liked the proposals.

Despite this, there have been concerns raised relating to the introduction of a toucan crossing.  We examined the issues relating to this crossing, in particular the need for a fully accessible crossing at this point.

Something new … adding to the local debate

SPACE for Gosforth was founded to add new information to the local debate and to take action on the challenges facing Gosforth, and we did this in a number of ways in 2016.

One important local issue we wished to examine at was the issue of drivers speeding on many of Gosforth’s residential streets, so we obtained and analysed traffic counts from Newcastle City Council to provide residents with accurate data about this issue.

When  Gosforth’s speed cameras made the local news, we analysed speed camera data to show that there has been a reduction of accidents since these cameras have been installed.

East Gosforth crash map

We returned to the issue of speeding at the time of the East Gosforth Ward Survey and Priority Event, when we also examined air pollution levels and road traffic casualties in East Gosforth Ward to provide residents with information on this issues .

Protected cycle lane on the Great North Road

Another issue we examined was children’s experience of cycling in our community.  We began by looking at safe cycling routes for children when we applied the research of Dr Rachel Aldred of Westminster University to our local cycling routes.  We found that while Gosforth does have examples of routes that are safe for children to cycle, these do not link together to form a coherent network and many streets are unsuitable for children.

We were also able to give an insight into how children see their school run in March, when we were privileged to be given permission by Archibald First School to publish a letter written by some of their pupils describing the near misses they have experienced on their way to school and requesting that parents drive safely around their school.

In April several local schools took part in The Big Pedal, a challenge to encourage children to cycle safely to school.  We reported on the results at the end of the first week and at the end of the Big Pedal, when three Gosforth headteachers all commented on how much their pupils enjoyed travelling by bike.

A close pass at the Regent Centre

We also looked at the Safe Overtaking petition, a parliamentary petition for a safe overtaking distance, and published a YouTube video clip showing a close pass near a Gosforth primary school.

The petition closed with 23,834 signatures, however the Government responded that it does not currently have any plans to change the legislation.  This is concerning as many of our members have shared their experience of suffering close passes when cycling in our city.

Electric bike in the park

Also in April we organised a taster session of Electric Parks in Gosforth Central Park.  Despite torrential rain, this session proved popular and one resident even arrived before the session began as he was so keen to try the bikes.  “Just brilliant” was the verdict of our members who collected the bikes from the Cycle Hub!

SPACE for Gosforth would like to see more events like this in Gosforth and we were pleased to see Go Smarter to Work organising an event in December at Trinity Church.  We also created the Bike Bingo Card for Bike Week.

John Dobson Street

2016 also saw the opening of Newcastle’s flagship cycle route on John Dobson Street, and we were impressed to find that the improvements have humanised a street that was previously inhospitable for both pedestrians and cycling.

Newcastle / Amsterdam

During the media debate following the opening of the John Dobson Street route Newcastle was often compared with Amsterdam, so we looked at what the two cities have in common.  We found that while both have iconic bridges, lively nightlife and great architecture, there is much we can learn from Amsterdam as it has higher numbers of cyclists, higher driver satisfaction and a much higher GDP.

Something borrowed … working with others

Crash Map for Station Road

In January SPACE for Gosforth members met East Gosforth Councillor Henry Gallagher on Station Road to investigate residents’ concerns about proposals for parking, which were felt to be a possible danger to cyclists.  The plans were later withdrawn and other plans included as part of the Haddricks’ Mills proposals (more on these proposals below).

We ended January by holding a talk with a guest speaker, Professor Mark Tewdwr-Jones of Newcastle University, about the City Futures project, which looked at what Newcastle might look like in 2065.

Monitor on the High Street

Following our air pollution monitoring on Gosforth High Street in 2015, we held a joint meeting in April with the Tyne and Wear Public Transport Users Group on air pollution with guest speakers Professor Margaret Bell and Dr Anil Namdeo from Newcastle University to explain this threat to our health.

The Netherlands is an inspiration for Almere Consulting

Finally in November, we held a meeting with Tom Bailey of Almere Consulting as our guest speaker to introduce his Garden City Guide to Active Travel.  Tom created his Guide after realising there was a gap in design standards for new large scale developments – and with so many new estates planned for Newcastle and its neighbouring communities, this was a gap that urgently needed filling.

Something Blue … Blue House Roundabout, Jesmond Dene Road and Haddricks Mill

The Blue House roundabout

In April we looked at the North-East Combined Authority’s survey on the future of transport in our region.  NECA’s vision of the future for Gosforth became clear in July when plans for “improvements” to the Blue House roundabout, Jesmond Dene Road and Haddricks’ Mill roundabouts were published.

The proposals for Blue House

All three proposals caused outrage throughout the Gosforth Community and beyond, particularly Blue House, which would have had a devastating effect on Newcastle’s iconic Town Moor.

The iconic Town Moor cows

SPACE for Gosforth objected to these proposals on these grounds and due to the risk to public health,  and because the proposals would not work.  We wrote an open letter to the NE Local Enterprise Partnership, who were contributing funding for the proposals and later received this reply.

Protest ribbons on the Little Moor

As SPACE for Gosforth believed that improvements for pedestrians and cyclists were needed at all three locations, we arranged a public meeting at Trinity Church to discuss alternatives.  We thought it was important that our community must not only say what it did not want, but also what it did want.

SPACE for Gosforth public meeting at Trinity Church

The result of the unprecedented community rejection of these plans led to a public meeting organised by Chi Onwurah, MP for Newcastle Central, and also attended by Catherine McKinnell MP (Newcastle North), Cllr Ged Bell and Graham Grant (Head of Transport Investment).

Chi Onwurah MP speaking at Trinity Church

Following this meeting SPACE for Gosforth was invited to join the Blue House Working Group. Information about the group can be found on the Blue House Working Group website, and we have also blogged about the first, second, fifth and sixth Blue House meetings.

Graphic Representation of the 2nd Blue House Meeting

The future of Blue House will continue to be decided during 2017, and we set out a series of measures of success for both policies and for people movement against which the final plans (when published) can be judged.

Poor planning at Gosforth Business Park

Shortly after the Blue House public meeting, plans were submitted to North Tyneside Council for a development on Gosforth Business Park which illustrated how planning can influence the type of journeys we make. We were very concerned to find that these plans made no reference to the nearby South Gosforth Air Quality Management Area and were likely to increase traffic in the AQMA.  With many other nearby developments planned, planning will remain an issue of concern in 2017.

And 2017?

Looking back on 2016, we are amazed at challenges our community has faced and are proud that we have added to local debate and have taken action to improve road safety and air quality in our community.

But these challenges will continue in 2017 – please join us to help make a difference!

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