At the Your-Streets Your-Views survey feedback meeting at Trinity Centre at the end of January we asked residents for ideas on how to build a better Gosforth. In particular:

1. Opportunities for more trees and greenery.
2. Routes to school and how to make them safer.
3. Suggestions to reduce traffic on busy residential streets.
4. New locations for or changes to crossings on main roads.

These were the top four answers from residents in the Your-Streets Your-Views survey for how to build a better Gosforth.

To help with this we shared a few ideas from around Gosforth as examples of what has already been done.

These were:

• Yetlington Drive – No through route to vehicle traffic.
• Rectory Terrace – Narrowed junction making crossing easier.
• Ivy Road – A road hump, so the Ivy Road crossing is level with the pavement.
• Alwinton Terrace – An entrance / exit to allow cycles through a no vehicle route.
• Graham Park Road – Trees placed in the carriageway as traffic calming.
• Hyde Terrace – No entry for vehicles. Cycles are allowed.
• Station Road – A side road turned into a bus bay to allow buses to stop out of the way of passing traffic.
• Ilford Road – Pavement build-outs so it is not as far to cross the road.

We split into three groups. Residents had about 30 minutes to discuss their area and come up with ideas for what might be possible. Clearly, with such a limited amount of time these are just ideas for what might be possible rather than fully developed proposals. It does show though that there is quite a lot of potential to build a better Gosforth if the opportunity allows.

Group A – Regent Centre

1. Junction of High Street/ Christon Road/ Regent Farm Road – this should be a single phase crossing so as to reduce the risk of overcrowding in the pedestrian refuge, particularly at school pick-up and drop-off when the volume of pedestrian traffic crossing makes the refuge dangerous.
2. Junction of Regent Centre/ High Street/ Holywood Avenue – the bus exit should have its own sequence.
3. East of High Street from Marks and Spencer to Christon Road – this path should be a shared space for pedestrians and cyclists so as to reduce the need for cyclists to use the High Street cycle lane on this extremely busy section of road.
4. Reduce the retail section of the High Street to one lane, adding in off-road bus stops and re-greening with trees.
5. Re-green Regent Farm Road at the Partnership House/ swimming pool roundabout; remove the south and west section of the road around the roundabout to create a park (it was noted that the roundabout is much too large for the volume of traffic and re-greening the area could create a much needed outdoor space/ park for local residents, office workers and “commuting” children).
6. Great North Road cycle route – whilst this was generally applauded, it would be preferred to have a segregated cycle lane, off-road. It was mentioned that this route felt unsafe for children and casual users of bicycles.
7. Regent Centre carpark/ park and ride – the group differed in their approach to this. One of the group said that plans had been drawn up to renovate the multi-storey car park at a cost of £3-4m. Some in the group saw this as necessary to reduce High Street traffic and encourage bus/ Metro use. Others thought the cost/ benefit of this was not favourable as the capacity of the car park is restricted to 60 spaces and there could be better use of those funds to encourage other methods to reduce traffic congestion.

Group B – West of Gosforth High Street

1. More trees on Salters Road (west side).
2. Add zebra crossings on Salters Road where there are currently traffic islands.
3. Add a protected cycle lane on Salters Road.
4. Provide for walking and cycling access from Salters Road to St Nicholas / Baronswood.
5. Reduce through traffic on Linden Road by replacing the roundabout with an arrangement where traffic heading south on Linden Road would have to turn right and traffic heading west on West Avenue would have to turn left (and vice versa).
6. Reduce through traffic on Elmfield Road by introducing an arrangement where traffic heading east on Elmfield would have to turn left at Park Avenue and traffic heading west would have to turn left at Westfield Drive (and vice versa).
7. Reduce waiting time for people who want to cross the road at pedestrian crossings on the High Street.
8. Continuous pavement over side streets on the High Street. [See e.g. this blog for how this might work.]
9. Stop through traffic from Ashburton Road to Elmfield Park.

Group C – East of Gosforth High Street

1. Pedestrianise (as far as possible) St Nicholas Avenue from the High Street to Gosforth Central Park.
2. Residents only parking near South Gosforth Metro.
3. Time-based restrictions on the bridge over the Metro on Stoneyhurst Road.
4. Remove parking near South Gosforth school.
5. Reduce through traffic by stopping vehicles accessing Rectory Terrace from The Grove.

Thank you again to everyone who participated in the survey, and those that turned up on what must have been the coldest night of the year to find out the results and discuss ideas.

If you have any thoughts or ideas to add to these please do share them via the comments below or via our Facebook Group.

The Council consultation on how to improve the city for walking and cycling runs until 8 March 2019 if you want to contribute to that.

The post Your Streets – Ideas for a Better Gosforth appeared first on SPACE for Gosforth.

The month of May is Living Streets National Walking Month and with your help we want to build a map of all the different ways in which the streets of Gosforth could be made better for walking.

We’ve included some examples and ideas below. If you know of somewhere in or around Gosforth that could be improved for walking please add it via the comments section and tell us where it is, what the issue is and/or any suggested solutions. We will add your ideas to our interactive map over the course of the month.

There are a number of ways in which streets can be made better for walking. For example:

• By making it easier to cross busy roads or other ‘barriers’ to walking such as railway lines or rivers.
• Local improvements focused on areas where lots of people walk e.g. around schools or shops or where people work.
• Changes that help children, older people or people with disabilities.
• Reducing traffic speeds – e.g. by having narrower traffic lanes and/or tighter corners – or reducing traffic volumes.

Barriers to walking

In recent posts we’ve written about improving the High Street for pedestrians, issues faced by the visually impaired and a plan for a more accessible crossing on the Great North Road, and there are plenty more places to look for inspiration.

Living Streets have written a document Creating Walking Cities – A Blueprint for Change that says we should design ‘healthy streets; that are accessible and inviting to everyone, including disabled and older people, so everyone can enjoy walking and spending time there’.

Transport for London in their Healthy Streets Guide include the following indicators for ‘healthy streets’ including being easy to cross, having shade and shelter, places to stop and rest and where people feel safe and relaxed.

The Local cycling and walking infrastructure plans technical guidance and tools released alongside the Government’s Cycling and Walking Investment Strategy on 21 April also contains a long list of ideas for improving streets for walking, including how to determine and assess a walking network. The technical guidance says that walking routes should be attractive, comfortable, direct safe and coherent.

The ‘Who is the pedestrian?’ diagram at the top of this post was taken from an illustrated Charter of Pedestrian Rights drawn by Edgarseis, an illustrator and designer for sustainability, political participation, community-building, urban transport, and related projects.

The Charter sets out that as pedestrians we should have the right to:

• Cross the street calmly and safely
• A city that fits my needs
• Adequate public transportation services
• Organised urban centres
• Socialize in public spaces
• Play in the streets
• Suitable street furniture
• Spacious sidewalks
• A health environment and enjoyment of the space
• Walk calmly on the streets

Wider Benefits

Walking isn’t just good for your health. Living Streets have published research on the Pedestrian Pound that found that ‘Investing in better streets and spaces for walking can provide a competitive return compared to other transport projects; walking and cycling projects can increase retails sales by 30%.’ and that ‘Many car journeys are short and as the volume of goods purchased is small, these trips could be made on foot.’

It is also more than just being about transport. Wikipedia defines ‘placemaking‘ as creating public spaces that promote people’s health, happiness and well being. The Project for Public Spaces says ‘Great public spaces are those places where celebrations are held, social and economic exchanges occur, friends run into each other, and cultures mix. They are the “front porches” of our public institutions – libraries, field houses, schools – where we interact with each other and government. When theses spaces work well, they serve as the stage for our public lives.’  They also have lots of advice for what makes great public space.

Your ideas

Please use the comments section below to tell us your ideas for how we can make Gosforth’s streets better for walking. Please try to be as specific as possible. E.g.

• What improvement is needed? E.g. slower traffic or safer crossings
• Where specifically is this needed? E.g. outside a school, or on a particular street
• If you have an idea for how the improvement might be achieved e.g. a zebra crossing or tactile paving.

You can also rate your walk on the Living Streets Website to help them build a national picture and potentially win a family city break.

The post National Walking Month – May 2017 appeared first on SPACE for Gosforth.

“Gosforth High Street is one of the key routes into the city-centre but suffers from high levels of congestion causing long delays for commuters, safety worries for cyclists and poor reliability of public transport, as well as high levels of pollution”

This is from the Council website, but is it right? Does it actually reflect the views of those who live in Gosforth? If we want to propose changes to the High Street then we need to be sure what it is we are trying to fix, and what is it that we value about the High Street that we don’t want to lose.

At the SPACE for Gosforth launch event we asked those present, all residents and users of Gosforth High Street, to tell us what they liked and disliked about the High Street and this is what they said.

What do we like about Gosforth High Street?

• ‘It’s a community hub with a long history of community focus.’  ‘You see familiar people.’  ‘It used to be known as the village.’ ‘Lovely feeling.’
• ‘Lots of useful, good quality independent shops’ ‘Close convenient shops within walking distance of home.  No need to go to the city for shopping.’  ‘Good variety of amenities including pubs and restaurants.’
• ‘Lots to do for families’ ‘Close to the park.’
• ‘Good buses into town. Generally fast except at rush hour.’
• ‘Cycle parking.’

And what are the issues we need to fix?

• ‘Volume of traffic’ ‘Traffic splits the shops in two’ ‘Speed of traffic’ ‘Congestion’
• ‘Lorries and vans unloading on double yellow lines (sometimes for a long time)’ ‘Taxis stopping on double yellow lines.’ ‘Cars parking on double yellow lines – drivers just popping into the shops’.
• ‘Air pollution’
• ‘Noise’
• ‘Feeling vulnerable as a pedestrian or cyclist.’  ‘Poor pedestrian and cycling provision’
• ‘Insufficient open car-free pedestrian areas’ ‘Too much concrete, not enough ‘green’’
• ‘Cycle lanes stop and start; they are not mandatory and consequently are often obstructed.  High Street is not good for cycling.’  ‘Not enough cycle parking places on the High Street or particularly in the park’ ‘Poor provision for cyclist at junctions’
• ‘Non-local buses going through the High Street – could they be routed elsewhere?’ ‘No metro station’
• ‘Empty shops. Need to understand what businesses need to remain and be profitable’
• ‘Insufficient parking’

So broadly the Council’s statement is right, but it isn’t complete. Those of us that live in Gosforth share the Council’s concerns: we want to be able to walk and cycle in safety and without pollution, but we see our High Street as a destination, not as a transport corridor, and we want it to flourish and thrive.

The post We love Gosforth High Street, but … appeared first on SPACE for Gosforth.