Councillor Kemp responds

At the 12 June 2024 City Council meeting, Councillor Woodwark (Lib Dems, Gosforth Ward) asked a question about injuries recorded on Gosforth High Street since the Council’s bus lane trial was installed.

Item 7: Oral question 2 to Councillor Williams from Councillor Woodwark

Accident data from the North East Road Users Casualty Dashboard indicates that in the last year, pedestrian accidents have increased nearly threefold on Gosforth High Street, compared to the average across the past decade, since the new bus lanes were introduced.

Given that the Council’s policy on transport and travel is clearly in flux, given U-turns on a range of schemes across the City, does the Cabinet member believe that the policy for Gosforth High Street should similarly be reviewed in light of the concerning trend of increasing pedestrian accidents?

City Council meetings are recorded on You Tube. You can see Councillor Kemp’s response from about 33 to 38 minutes, or in our transcript below, along with SPACE for Gosforth’s response to Councillor Kemp’s comments.

Response from Councillor Nick Kemp, leader of the Council

“We have had eight collisions on Gosforth High Street since the introduction of the bus lane. There was a pedestrian accident at the crossing adjacent to North Cross Street where the pedestrian was hit by a car. A person got their fingers caught when exiting a taxi. Two accidents involved cyclists turning into and out of the side streets. Four accidents involved buses and included passengers falling on the bus. Two of the bus accidents involved vehicles changing lanes at West Avenue. The speed limit on Gosforth High Street is 20mph. Officers are continuing to monitor data, including accident data, before deciding whether to make the scheme permanent and any decision will be informed by the data and feedback from the consultation process which is now closed.”

Councillor Woodwark’s Supplemental Question

“Given the the upward trend that the accident statistics on the High Street clearly show and given the implementation of the bus route is against what was unanimously agreed by this Council in 2019, would the leader of the Council say that there was any ability for a move towards looking at using a District Centre which is what Gosforth High Street is rather than a thoroughfare conscientious it is the cause of these accidents?”

Councillor Kemp’s response

“I’m not in a position to answer directly behalf of my cabinet colleagues but what I would say is I’m not clear that what you state or suggested as being empirically accurate. I’m not sure whether there is an upward trend in accidents if incidents such as an individual catching their fingers in a taxi door counts as an accident in this instance because I think we are correlating a number of issues together and I think it would be worthwhile looking a bit more in detail at the accidents, the causation of the accidents where there’s a relation to. The principle of district hearts I am entirely wedded to, but that’s not the same as saying a point around the bus lanes. I am committed and have been committed for a long long time about the rebirth, regeneration and repurpose of district hearts across the whole of our city.”

Councillor Ferguson’s (Lib Dem, Gosforth Ward) Supplemental Question

“Picking up on your final comments there Councillor Kemp, would you then agree with the Liberal Democrats that the High Street should be a destination, not a thoroughfare as it is currently configured?”

Councillor Kemp’s response

“I find it always quite difficult to agree with the Liberal Democrats to but honest Councillor Ferguson but hey I think actually it is slightly more semantic than you are suggesting because for many people the district heart is a district heart, and it is a destination for many people who visit to access the facilities and services that exist there rather than a thoroughfare. I think some of it is about perception. I would like to see Gosforth HIgh Street continue to thrive and grow and develop and provide increased local services for people both locally and further afield.”

SPACE for Gosforth’s response

These are the nine injuries recorded on the central section of Gosforth High Street between April 2023 and February 2024, recorded on the NE Road User Casualty dashboard.

In line with Media Reporting Guidelines for Road Collisions we don’t say “accidents‘ as road traffic injuries are caused by preventable factors such as poor driving and badly designed road layouts. 

Councillor Kemp states that he is “not sure whether there is an upward trend in accidents”.

The bar chart below shows the number of people injured by year on Gosforth High Street. The nine injuries in the year following the installation of the bus lane in April 2023 is the highest recorded for at least a decade.

The 20 mph limit, implemented in May 2020, should mean there are fewer collisions, not more. After a default 20 mph limit was introduced in Wales, injuries dropped by a third. 

There have been ten injuries since Newcastle Councillors, including the current Cabinet, voted unanimously for Gosforth High Street to be “designed to the highest possible safety standards for both pedestrians and all road users.”

Based on Councillor Kemp’s statement we now know seven of the collisions on Gosforth High Street collisions are linked to or were made more likely by the new road layout.

• Two people cycling hit by a vehicle when turning into or out of a side street. Turning across two lanes of traffic is more dangerous than turning across one lane.
• Two bus passengers injured due to vehicles changing lanes at West Avenue.
• The other two bus passengers injured falling while on a bus, most likely due to rapid acceleration or deceleration.  
• A person hit by a car driver when crossing by North Cross Street – possibly due to traffic lights being obscured by a bus in the left hand lane as we highlighted in our safety briefing. 

If any of the Council’s other recent traffic trials had led to nine people being injured they would have been removed immediately. Why is Gosforth High Street being treated differently?

The Heaton LTN was recently removed in part because Newcastle City Council considered that road safety risks there were a “major concern”, even without any actual injuries being recorded.

Councillors need to show some leadership, not shift the blame for poor decisions to Council Officers. Over ten people were injured every week on Newcastle’s roads in 2023, two of them seriously. Road danger isn’t a problem that will just go away with more “monitoring”.

Gosforth High Street needs a new design that meets the “highest possible safety standards for both pedestrians and all road users” that Councillors voted for, and residents supported in consultation feedback. 

He said that complaints of a 'dramatic' jump in accidents included a person getting their fingers caught in a taxi doorhttps://t.co/2Znpg5HoiE

— The Chronicle (@ChronicleLive) June 14, 2024

The post Gosforth High Street discussed at City Council appeared first on SPACE for Gosforth.

The Council haven’t published a report on the Gosforth High Street ETRO consultation that finished in September 2023, so we thought we would have a look at what people said.

• Overwhelmingly (66%) responses were negative or mostly negative and wanted the trial to be removed. This increased to 74% if ‘likes’ were also taken into account (similar to Jesmond).
• The biggest reasons people gave for not wanting to make the trial permanent were the need for better cycling facilities, traffic congestion and the design prioritising through traffic over the High Street’s role as a destination.
• The one main positive reason given was that it was good for buses.

We shouldn’t read too much into any percentages however, as the purpose of consultation is to identify rather than quantify issues. Residents already have a say over policy via local elections. If Councils want a view on what proportion of residents support or oppose a trial then they would have to poll residents, and they haven’t done that.

Unlike Jesmond however, which was shared across national media, we believe the vast majority of comments on the Gosforth High Street trial were from residents or other users of Gosforth High Street.

Overall sentiment

Overall 66% of 452 responses on the CommonPlace survey website were negative or mostly negative about the trial layout, while fewer than a quarter thought the trial layout should be made permanent.

This is based on individual responses and does not include ‘likes’ or other feedback the Council may have received e.g. via email. Including ‘likes’ takes the negative / mostly negative figure to 74%.

Opposition to the Gosforth High Street Trial Layout

Six main reasons were given for disliking the trial layout. These included a mix of concerns including the poor environment for pedestrians, lack of safe cycling facilities and congestion for motor traffic. Other concerns shared were that the layout made the road more dangerous and polluted and that it is not appropriate for a destination like Gosforth High Street.

20% in the above graph equates to roughly 90 responses in the consultation. When counting responses we have included all mentions of the concern regardless of whether the response was negative or positive overall, though the vast majority were negative or mostly negative.

The fact that people have raised these points as concerns doesn’t mean they are actually issues, but they should be assessed objectively by Council officers. Our assessment of each of these is included below, based on information already in the public domain.

Support of the Gosforth High Street Trial

Only one reason for liking the trial layout was mentioned in over 10% of responses – that the trial layout was better for buses.

As with comments opposing the trial, we have counted all positive mentions of buses regardless of whether the response overall was positive or negative.

What better cycling facilities did people ask for?

The need for better cycling facilities were asked for in 21% of responses. Many of these comments expressed a view that Gosforth High Street was dangerous for cycling. Some included specific requests, which ranged from general support, more cycle parking, protected lanes on Gosforth High Street and improvements in the surrounding areas.

• “The measures are not safe for cyclists and there are way too many buses. Give cyclists a properly segregated cycle lane in both direction.”
• “It’s so dangerous to ride down there with buses giving no space and crowding up behind you.”
• “I don’t cycle to the high street and I wouldn’t want my kids doing so currently, sharing bus lanes with the largest vehicles on the road.”
• “I often have to cycle along and across the high street with my children, as implemented these changes have made this feel much more dangerous than the temporary bollards that were there before. The changes fall well short of the LTN 1/20 guidance.”
• “At the very least it needs to be safe for all users including families to walk or cycle to the shops…  If you want shops at either end of the High Street to be viable you need to make it possible to cycle between them.”
• “I am VI but also a cyclist. I feel this is no better to provide a safe and accessible cycle lane. It’s imperative that cycling is kept segregated from the road and pavement. I have had too many near incidents on the road.”
• “These proposals make it clear that pedestrians and cyclists are an after thought and will only help cars and buses get through gosforth as quickly as possible. It will put off the local people like me who spend money at the high street.”
• “What the High Street really needs are protected cycle lanes like Heaton Road has got (and look at what’s happened to that street – can barely move these days for tapas, sourdough and people having a nice time).”
• “Segregated cycle lanes on the High Street would encourage those who would like to cycle but are too frightened, including parents and children on the school run, and help reduce private car use.”

A much smaller number (~4%) thought the trial had improved cycling “At least, the sharing of space with buses is better than having to share a single lane with all traffic.” Some of these comments mentioned positively the cycle lane defenders north of Salters Road, though these are not in the trial area.

SPACE for Gosforth’s Assessment:  Based on the Government’s LTN1/20 Cycling Design Guidance, which Newcastle City Council has adopted, the new layout on Gosforth High Street doesn’t comply with standards and is only “suitable for few people and will exclude most potential users and/or have safety concerns“. The drawings for the plan confirm that Council leaders were aware the proposal didn’t comply with LTN1/20 when they approved it.

This is what’s missing from Gosforth High Street. https://t.co/g2NjLJQFWu

— space for gosforth (@space4gosforth) December 16, 2023

Traffic Congestion and Pollution

Increased traffic congestion was mentioned in 19% of responses, increased air pollution in 12%. 8% of responses mentioned both.

This comment sums up the sentiment “Traffic throughput has fallen significantly. There are now queues during the day, not just at rush hour, and air quality is worse. Changing from two northbound lanes to one at the Salters Road traffic lights (with the added bottleneck caused by buses merging in there)has caused congestion.”

People commenting made some suggestions for how to reduce congestion including reducing traffic levels (7% of all comments), rerouting buses (6%) and diverting people cycling along Moor Road South and Moor Road North (6%). A few people called for a toll e.g. “Introduce a toll system for non-local traffic and combine it with a park and ride system around Gosforth Park.“

Some suggested buses should stop at Regent Centre “The high Street needs to have less traffic, especially buses. Redevelop regent centre to provide the hub it was meant to be. More buses should stop there rather than going down the High Street.” This would be possible within the powers of the new NE Mayor.

A much smaller number (3%) said “traffic flow” either would or had improved.

SPACE for Gosforth’s Assessment: People often associate increased congestion with increased air pollution. Our tracking of air pollution on Gosforth High Street suggests air pollution is correlated with traffic volumes rather than traffic queues.  Congestion discourages more people from driving so while emissions per vehicle are increased, overall pollution levels are lower because there are fewer vehicles.

As traffic counts in 2023 are similar to 2022, we expect air pollution will remain within legal limits either at a similar level to 2022 or lower if the city centre Clean Air Zone has had an effect. The last time air pollution exceeded legal limits on Gosforth High Street was 2019, when it had two vehicle lanes in each direction outside Gosforth Shopping Centre. This, along with the need to improve safety and design for a destination, is why SPACE for Gosforth opposes a return to the pre-Covid layout.

In 2022, air pollution measurements taken in Gosforth were within the legal limit for the third year running.

We also know from the Council’s news article that journey times did not increase when Gosforth High Street was reduced to one general traffic lane in each direction, so we don’t expect the new layout will have negatively impacted vehicle journey times.

Design prioritising through traffic over the High Street’s role as a destination.

17% of responses said the road layout should support Gosforth High Street as a destination rather than prioritising through-traffic.

• “The scheme is focused on moving traffic especially buses through the High Street. The scheme should instead focus on improving the High Street to reinforce its primary function as a District Centre for the wider Gosforth hinterland.”
• “This scheme isn’t suited to the way Gosforth High Street is used. It is a local shopping hub, which benefits from a lot of custom from pedestrians including a lot of people and students on their way to and from school.”
• “The Council have been talking for years about how Gosforth High Street should be more of a destination but this seems solely focused on getting people through as quickly as possible.”
• “The street is so busy with motor traffic it is an open sewer of dangerous vehicles and the pollution they create. Please create a new design that puts local people who walk and cycle to the high street first and that supports local businesses by creating a pleasant place where people want to spend time.”
• “More emphasis needs to be on making GHS a destination for visitors by discouraging through traffic and improving the experience for shoppers on foot. At the moment walking along the shops is unpleasant because of motor vehicles, narrow pavements and frequent obstacles.”
• “Gosforth High Street should be a destination not a through route. You should be encouraging pedestrians (either make it mostly pedestrianised with only bus routes going through) or at a minimum give more priority to pedestrians crossing – currently you can wait ages for the lights to change.”

A few comments suggested driving to Gosforth High Street had been made harder.

• “The restructured traffic system is having a negative effect on Gosforth High Street shops as shoppers avoid the area due to the congestion on the High Street and the fact that it is now much more dangerous to drive there.”
• “Most motorists would rather visit the metro centre or cramlington to avoid going to the high street. By bringing in these measures the high street will die.”
• “You may as well block it completely to traffic. I wish all the businesses success in 2023, however NCC clearly don’t have any consideration for local businesses.”

The ‘no loading’ restrictions were also mentioned, mostly negatively. However, one business owner said the restriction was good in that it “removes unwanted delivery drivers from blocking sight of my expensive window displays”.

SPACE for Gosforth’s Assessment: In November 2022 Councillors unanimously supported a motion that the road layout should support the development of Gosforth High Street as a thriving local destination. It has not achieved that objective. SPACE for Gosforth has looked at this in its blog Gosforth High Street has been designed like a bypass rather than a shopping destination. In that blog we described how priorities for a shopping street / community hub would differ from what is currently being trialled.

Gosforth High Street has been designed like a bypass rather than a shopping destination.

If you want a better plan for Gosforth High Street, you need to respond to the Council’s consultation ASAP.https://t.co/OVODoUDBkV pic.twitter.com/vyy4oRzzYZ

— space for gosforth (@space4gosforth) September 10, 2023

More Dangerous 

16% of responses cited safety concerns with some saying they believed Gosforth High Street was more dangerous as a result of the new trial layout.

• “The road itself now feels dangerous – it’s a slalom course with lanes converging on more than one occasion which will lead to more accidents.”
• “The number of incidents and ‘near misses’ the bus lane has caused when turning left into the street are countless
• “The bus lane is not needed at all. It has already caused a collision near the old Barclays Bank.”
• “The bus lanes are a danger to cyclists and cars and I feel it just doesn’t work.”
• “Currently very scary to cycle in a shared lane with bus drivers trying to make the most of their new ‘fast lane’. Many of the drivers are deliberately intimidating.”
• “I also believe the measures are over complicated and make the high street more dangerous for vulnerable users of the space cyclist and pedestrians.”
• “I rode my motorbike along the High Street yesterday, heading North, and it was the scariest section of rode that I’ve ridden in 45 years of motorcycling.”
• “You have made a perfectly good road into a dangerous, overly complex traffic flow. The road is stop, start with a ridiculous new chicane and intermittent bus lanes.”
• “This has made the high street more dangerous, particular for children crossing.”

SPACE for Gosforth’s Assessment:  Between April 2023, when the trial layout was installed, and the end of February 2024 there were nine traffic collisions on Gosforth High Street between Elmfield Road and Salters Road. The equivalent for the previous ten years was 3.4.

SPACE for Gosforth recently wrote to Council leadership about this Gosforth High Street rethink needed after dramatic jump in injuries. We also sent the Council a list of safety concerns prior to the trial being implemented, which we documented in our blog Gosforth High Street – Safety Concerns.

These concerns were also covered by Chronicle Live.

Campaigners want to see the route redesigned again after a spike in traffic collisionshttps://t.co/WFzQ7Htmpe

— The Chronicle (@ChronicleLive) April 26, 2024

Improvements for Pedestrians

11% of responses complained that the new layout either made Gosforth High Street worse for pedestrians, or at least did nothing to improve it.

• “The current carriageway crossings are too wide to enable adequate crossing time for disabled people.”
• “At the moment walking along the shops is unpleasant because of motor vehicles, narrow pavements and frequent obstacles. I would like to see wider pavements, pedestrian areas and fewer private cars.”
• “You should be encouraging pedestrians (either make it mostly pedestrianised with only bus routes going through) or at a minimum give more priority to pedestrians crossing – currently you can wait ages for the lights to change.”
• “Declutter the pavement and trial removing the black bollards which take up over half a metre of pavement space on each side. 5) Reduce pedestrian crossing wait times, and ensure that there is time for people to cross.”
• “Pedestrianise side street-ends so people walking along the High Street have priority over turning vehicles in line with the new Highway Code.”
• “It should be semi-pedestrianised, in the same way the bus lane next to monument used to be. This would provide a quiet, clean high street, more space for businesses to expand seating areas onto the footpaths, an opportunity for weekend markets, food markets, etc”
• “The high street would be far more enjoyable if there was greater space for pedestrians. Gosforth has lots of great businesses, cafes, schools, yet pedestrian access is hindered in favour of using the route as a thoroughfare”

SPACE for Gosforth’s Assessment: On 20 March 2023, Newcastle City Council said they “will be developing ideas to share in the coming months to make it safer, easier, and better for people to get around on foot and on bike”. Over a year has passed and we still haven’t seen any proposals.

SPACE for Gosforth has shared a number of suggestions with the Council that could have been introduced as part of the trial, but none have been acted on. These suggestions are set out in our blog Gosforth High Street – Small Changes.

In August we had a team walk along Gosforth High Street to see if we could come up with some ideas for what could be tried out fairly cheaply as part of the current trial arrangements. This is what we came up with. Let us know if you have any other ideas!https://t.co/e4MMvbve8W

— space for gosforth (@space4gosforth) October 4, 2023

Other Comments

Other concerns that fewer than 10% of responses mentioned were

• Concerns about high levels of traffic using side streets (6%).
• The removal of residents’ parking at the south end of Gosforth High Street (3%).
• The layout being confusing, especially the stop-start nature of the bus lanes (3%).

SPACE for Gosforth’s Assessment: We have been concerned with high levels of traffic in side streets for a very long time. Whether this trial has increased volumes or not, and regardless of the changes on Gosforth High Street, this is an issue that needs dealing with. See for example this blog from 2016 1000 Speeding Drivers – A typical day on Gosforth’s back streets.

Residents parking was removed when the bus lane was installed. If parking is ever to be re-installed at the south end of Gosforth High Street then it should be done in a way that keeps the pavement clear and enables people to cycle safely.

Previous consultations

Residents have been consulted multiple times on the future of Gosforth High Street.

When residents were consulted in 2013, over 70% said it was important to make cycling improvements in and around Gosforth High Street.

Following that consultation, in April 2014, a petition signed by more than 3,000 people was handed into Newcastle City Council calling for a reduction in traffic to one lane each way, protected 24 hour cycle lanes, as well as opposing the reduction in spaces at Salters Road car park.

In 2018, SPACE for Gosforth sent its Your Streets – Your Views survey to residents of East and West Gosforth and Parklands wards, including a question on Gosforth High Street. The greatest concerns then were too much traffic and poor air quality.

While air quality has improved compared to 2019 due to a reduction in traffic levels, much more could be done to make Gosforth High Street a safer, more welcoming environment.

Conclusion

The Council has a clear mandate from the unanimously supported November 2022 City Council motion on the future of Gosforth High Street. It is clear the current plan does not achieve the objectives set out in that motion.

Looking at the responses, we also see significant opposition from residents to the trial layout on Gosforth High Street.  These objections include well-founded concerns about the danger the new layout poses to those who use the High Street, and its failure to support the High Street as an important local destination.  Newcastle City Council must act now and remove the bus lane, reverting to the previous layout of one traffic lane in each direction while consulting on a future permanent layout that achieves the objectives Councillors voted for.

We are still waiting for a response from Cllr Kemp and Williams to our open letter. We hope they will act promptly rather than waiting for more people to be hurt.

The post Gosforth High Street Consultation Report appeared first on SPACE for Gosforth.

In March 2023, Newcastle City Council announced that it would trial a new layout on Gosforth High Street using an Experimental Traffic Regulation Order (ETRO), with a consultation to last the first six months of the eighteen month order. This blog is to share SPACE for Gosforth’s response to that consultation.

While the Council made a number of changes, not all of these required a traffic order. The changes included in the ETRO were:

• A new 7am to 7pm bus lane running north-bound from Moor Crescent to Graham Park Road.
• A continuation of the bus lane running north-bound from Elmfield Road to Woodbine Road.
• Double yellow lines on the east (south-bound) side from The Grove to Moorfield.
• Double yellow lines on the west (north-bound) side from Moorfield to The Poplars.
• No loading and unloading between 7am and 7pm on the west (north-bound) side the full length of Gosforth High Street from Moorfield to Salters Road.

The ETRO specified that the bus lanes can be used by Buses, Taxis, Motor Cycles, Pedal Cycles and other (undefined) Authorised Vehicles. The only exemptions given for the no loading / unloading restriction were universal service provider vehicles, Council bin lorries and emergency services.

The main purpose of the measures being consulted on is to increase the speed of vehicles passing through Gosforth High Street by:

• enabling buses, taxis and motorcycles to undertake queuing traffic,
• enabling traffic to overtake stopped buses,
• prevent parked vehicles from blocking one or more traffic lanes.

The decision to prioritise speed over safety means that Gosforth High Street is not a safe pedestrian and cycling environment, despite the Council’s commitment in November 2022 that any new design would be to the “highest possible safety standards for all road users”.

Our suggestion to the Council is that it uses the remaining 12 months of the ETRO to consult on an alternative design that is safe, inclusive and supports Council policy, prioritising safe walking and cycling to get to and move around Gosforth High Street for all ages and abilities. This, rather than prioritising vehicle speeds, would better support Gosforth High Street as a shopping street and a community hub.

Dear sir / madam,

We are writing to OBJECT to the High Street, Gosforth – Experimental Bus Lanes Order and Traffic Regulation Order 2023. GH/P44/1318

Specifically, we wish to object to:

• The Bus Lane northbound (nearside lane) – from Elmfield Road to Woodbine Road. This should be removed and replaced by cycle lanes that meet the Council’s LTN1/20 adopted standard for all ages and abilities to ensure they meet the requirements set out in The Equality Act 2010 (which the current layout does not achieve).
• The Bus Lane northbound (nearside lane) – from 22 metres north of Moor Crescent to Graham Park Road. This should be either removed, or cycle lane defenders added to create a physical barrier between the bus and cycle lanes.

Our grounds for objecting to the ETRO are:

1. The reasons set out in the ETRO have not been achieved
2. The trial layout is not compliant with Newcastle City Council policy
3. The layout contradicts the LCWIP approved by Council Cabinet
4. The layout is not compliant with modern safety standards
5. It is not inclusive, excluding vulnerable and older and younger users of Gosforth High Street.
6. It doesn’t support customers to travel sustainably to Gosforth High Street.
7. It doesn’t achieve the objectives Councillors and Council leaders voted for in the November 2022 Council motion.
8. Safe walking and cycling routes would be a much better use of the space

Please note that we also have no wish to return to the pre-Covid layout either which was no better and would share many of the same issues and, we believe, lead to increased pollution levels similar to those recorded prior to Covid.

We suggest that instead of continuing with the current plan, the Council uses the remaining 12 months of the ETRO to consult on an alternative that is safe, inclusive and supports Council policy. This should prioritise safe walking and cycling to get to and move around Gosforth High Street for all ages and abilities.

Gosforth High Street is only approx 600m, so traffic using a single traffic lane in each direction for this distance will not significantly impact overall travel times. The Council’s previous monitoring has confirmed this to be the case.

“Journey time data, which has been collected over four years, show that there has been minimal impact on the travelling public with the traffic reduced to two lanes through the High Street.” https://www.newcastle.gov.uk/citylife-news/changes-gosforth-high-street-gets-underway

If north-bound journey time is an issue then extending the north-bound bus lane further towards Blue House roundabout or to Broadway roundabout could be better options.

Likewise, unless the Council intends to ban cycling on Gosforth High Street (which we don’t believe is possible) there will be a need to ensure the safety of people who do cycle to, along or across the High Street, and to achieve the LTN1/20 standard that the Council has formally adopted for all Highway Schemes.

In more detail…

1 The reasons given in the TRO have not been achieved

(a) “To avoid danger to persons or other traffic using the road and for preventing the likelihood of any such danger arising.” This is not achieved as the road layout requires people cycling to share a busy bus lane with heavy traffic. Specifically, it does not achieve the standards set out in LTN1/20. It has also led to vehicles switching between lanes to overtake slower traffic, higher vehicle speeds in the bus lane directly adjacent to the pavement, and an additional safety risk at the Trinity Church crossing due to buses blocking sight of the traffic lights for drivers in the north-bound general traffic lane.

(b) “support the Council’s commitment to improve public transport across the City” We have previously been informed by Council officers that there is little benefit to out-bound bus lanes. They will have little impact on journey-time reliability for most of the day and, even if required, similar journey-time reliability could be achieved with a north-bound bus lane that ends at Graham Park Road.There is also (our observation and reported by our members) practically no enforcement of the bus lane nor any way for the public to report violations of the bus lane.

2 The trial layout is not compliant with Newcastle City Council policy

Newcastle city Council adopted LTN1/20 for Highway Schemes (Oct 2022 cabinet). This scheme is not LTN1/20 compliant.

The reframing transport report restated the Council’s “ambition to introduce a walking, wheeling, and cycling network that connects every school, to every park, to every high street.” The trial layout instead creates community severance due to lack of safe opportunities to cycle across the High Street. This acts as a barrier e.g. for families living west of Gosforth High Street to visit Gosforth Central Park, or families living east of the High Street to get to Archibald First School or Newcastle School for Boys.

Section 11.12 of the Core Strategy states an intention to create ‘sustainable communities, centres and new developments where priority is given to sustainable modes of transport’ setting out the hierarchy of sustainable modes of transport. In the trial layout, the speed of public transport, freight and car traffic has been prioritised over the safety of people cycling, contrary to that hierarchy.

Section 5.1.2 of the Development and Allocations Plan (DAP) states that cycling ‘routes must be legible, inviting, direct, pleasant and easy to use.” This clearly isn’t currently the case on Gosforth High Street.

Section 5.1.5 of the DAP states “An important factor in encouraging people to walk and cycle is ensuring that key local facilities and services, such as shops, schools and public transport are easily accessible on foot and by cycle.” LTN1/20 confirms that bus lanes “do not provide an environment attractive to a wide range of people and should therefore not be regarded as inclusive.”

Appendix 2 of the DAP states that on Secondary Distributor Roads “Pedestrian and cycle movements should be segregated from traffic” and “pedestrian and cycle movement should be controlled by formalised crossing points.” While this is true for pedestrian movement, the same has not been achieved for cycle movement in the current design.

The Council’s commitment to Net Zero will require changes to maximise the use of walking and cycling for short journeys, and support residents to access local shops and services.

NB Moor Road, east of Gosforth High Street could, with some work, be made inviting, pleasant and easy to use, but it would still not be a direct route to the shops, nor would it (a) improve safety for anyone cycling on Gosforth High Street or (b) support movement around Gosforth High Street between shops and services.

The layout also conflicts with approved Council motions Greater Focus on Cycling (October 2019) and Use of eCargo Bikes (October 2021).

3 The layout contradicts the LCWIP approved by Council Cabinet

In the LCWIP, approved by Cabinet June 2021, Gosforth High Street is shown as part of the proposed city’s cycle network.

It also acknowledges that “High levels of vehicle traffic discourage people from using active and sustainable transport (either in terms of people fearing for their safety or because of delays caused to the public transport network).” The current layout will discourage people from cycling to Gosforth High Street, whereas to meet Council policy it should be encouraging more people to visit (to support Gosforth High Street as a District Centre), by more sustainable means (for better health, better access to employment opportunities on the High Street and to cut air pollution and carbon emissions).

4 The layout is not compliant with modern safety standards

The Council’s own plan emailed prior to installation confirms the Council’s understanding that the layout is not LTN1/20 compliant.

Between 7pm and 7am, the bus lane is not in force so offers no protection to anyone cycling.

Between 7am and 7pm, the bus lane is not enforced effectively so can be blocked by parked vehicles, forcing anyone cycling into the general traffic lane.

We are concerned that buses in the inside lane will block drivers’ visibility of the pedestrian crossing lights by Trinity Church. Residents have for years reported many near misses at this location caused by drivers driving through a red light.

5 It is not inclusive, excluding vulnerable and older and younger users of Gosforth High Street.

LTN1/20 states that “Cycling [and walking] should be accessible to people of all ages and abilities. The Equality Act 2010 places a duty on public sector authorities to comply with the Public Sector Equality Duty in carrying out their functions. This includes making reasonable adjustments to the existing built environment to ensure the design of new infrastructure is accessible to all.”

It goes on to say that bus lanes “do not provide an environment attractive to a wide range of people and should therefore not be regarded as inclusive. Some bus lanes also allow taxis and motorcycles to use them [as is the case on Gosforth High Street], which can signifcantly increase traffc flows, thereby acting as a deterrent to cycling while also increasing risk of conflict.” Conflict, in this scenario, could include collisions and / or injuries, most likely to the person or people cycling.
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/cycle-infrastructure-design-ltn-120

Also, it advises that advisory cycle lanes are “not be suitable for all people and will exclude some potential users and/or have safety concerns”.

Users likely to be excluded by the Council’s current design include younger and older users and disabled cyclists.

6 It doesn’t support customers to travel sustainably to Gosforth High Street.

The bus lane doesn’t help customers travelling from east, west or north of Gosforth, where the vast majority of customers will live. Few will arrive from the south by bus because the Town Moor creates a natural barrier, and most people living immediately north of the Town Moor but south of the shopping area are within a 15 minute walk of the High Street so are less likely to use a bus.

The layout has not enabled any additional sustainable transport options compared to previous layouts. Prior to Covid there were 48 buses per hour using the High Street in each direction. This number will not have increased due to the new trial layout. The maximum desired frequency in the Transport North East Bus Service Improvement Plan is one bus every 5-10 minutes or 6-12 per hour in each direction, substantially less than on Gosforth High Street. The plan says to make bus services “more comprehensive, with overprovision on a few corridors reduced to boost provision elsewhere”, suggesting the Council’s strategy is to reduce bus frequency on Gosforth High Street in order to increase coverage elsewhere. To ensure these current bus journeys remain sustainable, some of those journeys will have to be made by walking or cycling in future.

While we do support quicker bus journey times and increased punctuality and reliability, these should not be achieved by putting other road users in greater danger.

More people can get to Gosforth High Street in 15 minutes cycling than by any other sustainable travel mode. Our estimate is that approximately three times more people could get to Gosforth High Street in 15 minutes cycling than can do so by bus, and many of those 15 minute bus journeys could be walked in a similar time. Cycling is the only sustainable transport mode where everyone who lives closer to Gosforth High Street than another District Centre can get to the High Street in under 15 minutes.

The trial layout does not support cycling to Gosforth High Street nor movement within the High Street between shops when people get there.

Two benefits of cycling for the user are speed and ability to carry heavier loads than if walking. These benefits are both lost if people are required to park their cycles away from the shops they want to visit rather than being able to move freely (and safely) between shops.

7 It doesn’t achieve the objectives Councillors and Council leaders voted for in the November 2022 Council motion.

The new layout

• doesn’t improve options for customers to get to or move around the High Street
• doesn’t meet current (let along ‘highest’) safety standards
• hasn’t enabled any new low-carbon travel options
• has done nothing to enhance green infrastructure
• appears to ignore (rather than align with) previous engagement with residents, local Councillors and business owners.

8 Safe walking and cycling routes would be a much better use of the space

Cllr Byrne is quoted in a May 2023 Council news article as saying ‘development of a new cycle lane, new pedestrian crossings, changes to traffic access on a number of side roads and the installation of secure cycle parking facilities’ on Elswick Road is
(a) ‘fantastic news for residents in this area of the city, which is going to benefit from a significant investment to provide high quality and safer cycling and walking routes.’
(b) As well as helping people get to schools, shops and other local facilities, this will also open up opportunities to access jobs and training and will enable more people to enjoy and feel confident about active travel.
(c) “The new cycle lane will also link up with existing routes helping to further extend our cycling network across the city.
(d) ‘We want everyone in Newcastle to be able to choose and benefit from active travel. This leads to better physical and mental health; stronger, connected communities and a better, more sustainable environment for future generations’

These same benefits could be achieved on Gosforth High Street if safe walking and cycling routes are prioritised to get to and move between shops on the High Street. These benefits would be 24/7 unlike time saved on bus journeys which will mostly only occur in the evening peak and even then will make only marginal difference to overall journey times.

Safe cycling routes also support micro-mobility like the Neuron eScooters.

Additionally, the DfT report “The Value of Cycling” found (amongst many other benefits) that:

• Cyclists visit local shops more regularly, spending more than users of most other modes of transport
• Per square metre, cycle parking delivers 5 times higher retail spend than the same area of car parking
• A compact town optimised for walking and cycling can have a “retail density” (spend per square metre) 2.5 times higher than a typical urban centre.
• Public realm improvements, including those that cater for cycling, have been shown to result in increased trade at local businesses; up to 49% in New York City

Value of Cycling report: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/509587/value-of-cycling.pdf

Suggested approach

We suggest that instead of continuing with the current plan, the Council uses the remaining 12 months of the ETRO to consult on an alternative that is safe, inclusive and supports Council policy. This should prioritise safe walking and cycling to get to and move around Gosforth High Street.

Some examples of what could be considered include:

• Safe cycling facilities usable by all ages and abilities both along and to the High Street.
• Declutter the pavement and trial removing the black bollards which take up over half a metre of pavement space on each side.
• Reduce pedestrian crossing wait times, and ensure that there is sufficient time for people to cross.
• Pedestrianise side street-ends so people walking along the High Street have priority over turning vehicles in line with the new Highway Code.
• Reduce non-local traffic using streets either side of the High Street to make it safer and more pleasant for people to walk or cycle to Gosforth High Street.
• Look for opportunities to improve the pedestrian environment e.g. for street cafes, planting or benches, including at ends of side streets.
• Extend the 20mph zone north past Gosforth Academy, west past Gosforth Junior Academy and south to the Little Moor.

We included some further ideas in our email of 9 August 2023 [published in our blog Gosforth High Street – Small Changes].

Kind regards,

SPACE for Gosforth

References – SPACE for Gosforth blogs
Gosforth High Street – Safety Concerns
Gosforth High Street has been designed like a bypass rather than a shopping destination
Gosforth High Street – Good Policy, Terrible Plan
We still love Gosforth High Street
Your Streets – Your Views – Gosforth High Street
A Cycling and Walking Infrastructure Plan for Gosforth

The post Gosforth High Street – our response appeared first on SPACE for Gosforth.

In August we had a team walk along Gosforth High Street to see if we could come up with some ideas for what could be tried out fairly cheaply as part of the current trial arrangements. In particular we were looking for ideas that wouldn’t require changes to the road layout or need new traffic orders to implement.

Below are 10 ideas, which we hope Newcastle City Council will consider. Most of them, if successful, could be implemented at multiple locations on Gosforth High Street.

If you have any other ideas for small changes that could easily be trialled please let us know in the comments below.

We have commented on the scheme overall in our blogs Gosforth High Street – Good Policy, Terrible Plan, Gosforth High Street has been designed like a bypass rather than a shopping destination and Gosforth High Street – Safety Concerns.

Idea 1. Narrow the exit to Elmfield Road so it is only one vehicle lane. Extend the pavement on the left hand side where the double yellow line is now. Possibly install a Sheffield stand for cycle parking if there is space. Car parking remains unaffected.

Benefit: Shorter, safer crossing for people walking along Gosforth High Street. Additional cycle parking for customers.

Google Street View

2. Install a Sheffield Stand between two black bollards parallel to the road (like on Acorn Road). This would allow some cycle parking without obstructing the pavement.

Benefit: Additional cycle parking for customers.

Google Street View

3. Increase the pavement space outside Gosforth Central Park (picture below). This shouldn’t impact turning vehicles and doesn’t affect access to the shopping centre car park.

Benefit: Improved entrance to the park

Google Street View

4. Trial an implied Zebra crossing, or alternatively a raised crossing, over the entrance to the car park ramp.

Benefit: Safer crossing.

Google Street View

5. Properly drop the kerb at the entrance to Gosforth Central Park for wheeled users, including mobility scooters. (This may not be needed if pavement is extended).

Benefit: Improved access for wheeled users.

Google Street View

6. There is an opportunity for a bit of planting and a small tree in the Salters Road car park, rather than just grass. This should also reduce maintenance.

Benefit: More greenery

Google Street View

7. Move the bench so it is not hidden behind the bush, possibly to just right of the photo. This is also a really poor location for cycle parking as the racks are not well used (whereas the racks next to the pub are used) so the Council could consider moving these to another location, maybe outside the gym on Ivy Road to replace the poor quality cycle parking currently there?

Benefit: More usable bench and cycle parking.

Google Street View

8. Wait times for pedestrian crossings to be reduced / or to be instant outside of rush hour. The time allowed for pedestrians to cross could also be increased. This is a particular problem at the crossing next to the Little Moor.

Benefit: Better for people walking.

Google Street View

9. Installing cycle lane defenders to enable safer east-west crossings of he High Street by bike. From Ivy Road / West Avenue to St. Nicholas southbound (shown). Elmfield to The Grove north and south bound, Moorfield to Moor Crescent north bound. These are only short sections and are not used for loading or any other purpose so there should be minimal/no conflict of usage.

Benefit: Safer cycling facilities.

Google Street View

10. Tightening the corners at The Grove. Alternatively, or as well as, at the entrance to the car park immediately north of The County. This would make the junction safer by reducing the speed of turning traffic. Newcastle Council proposed similar measures in 2016 (see https://www.spaceforgosforth.com/pedestrian-priority/).

Benefit: Safer crossing.

Google Street View

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Gosforth High Street is our most important local destination in Gosforth. We want the shops to be successful and, as we set out in our previous blog, an important part of that is enabling people to get to and move around Gosforth High Street safely. 

The trial design implemented by Newcastle City Council doesn’t even adhere to the most basic safety principle, namely to separate people walking and cycling from heavy, fast moving vehicles. Instead they expect people cycling along or across the High Street to share a lane with buses, or separated only by paint from heavy traffic.

If you want a better, safer, more ambitious, plan for Gosforth High Street, you need to respond to the Council’s consultation ASAP. Please also be clear you don’t want a return to the pre-Covid layout as that was no better!

In this blog we look at safety concerns with the current layout and reveal the alternative safer option rejected by the Council, which we have obtained via a Freedom of Information request.

Issue 1. Forcing people and heavy vehicles to share road-space is not designing to the “highest safety standard for all road users”

In November 2022, Newcastle City Councillors voted for a new design for Gosforth High Street that met the “highest safety standard for all road users”.

If people were happy to cycle in heavy traffic we might see more people cycling on Gosforth High Street. Department for Transport surveys have consistently shown a majority of people (>60%) think it is too dangerous to cycle on the roads due to motor traffic.

In the central section of the High Street there is now a north-bound bus lane and a south-bound advisory lane for cycling.

People cycling are able to use bus lanes but they aren’t designed for that purpose. Department for Transport guidance states that bus lanes “do not provide an environment attractive to a wide range of people and should therefore not be regarded as inclusive. Some bus lanes also allow taxis and motorcycles to use them [as is the case on Gosforth High Street], which can signifcantly increase traffc fows, thereby acting as a deterrent to cycling while also increasing risk of confict.” Conflict, in this scenario, could include collisions and / or injuries, most likely to the person or people cycling.

The same guidance advises that advisory lanes are “not be suitable for all people and will excluded some potential users and/or have safety concerns” given the volume of traffic, and that “Advisory lanes are not recommended where they are likely to be blocked by parked vehicles.“

Van illegally parked blocking the Gosforth High Street bus lane

The presence of parked vehicles almost doubles the risk to people cycling. 

Designing only for confident and experienced cyclists, as the Council have done on Gosforth High Street, excludes most people who could cycle, especially older and younger people who would be most at risk in a collision. 

Photoshopped picture from the Department for Alternative Transport Blog.

The Council’s proposal implies that people including children, families and older people who wish to cycle to or between shops on the main section of Gosforth High Street should either:

1. cycle in a bus lane or painted cycle lane, without any physical separation or protection from heavy motor traffic; or
2. be prevented from travelling in the way that they wish, counter to the Council’s commitment to inclusive design to be safe for all users as well as its policy of encouraging sustainable travel.

Providing an alternative route on Moor Road is useful for people travelling from north of Gosforth to the city centre. However, this is a diversion away from the High Street, which for many people will be their destination, and neither resolves safety issues on the High Street nor helps travel within or across the High Street.

Issue 2. Close Passes – by design

South of The County, existing painted cycle lanes have been retained. DfT guidelines stated that painted lanes on busy roads “exclude some potential users and/or have safety concerns.” Adding an extra traffic lane makes these even less usable.

Drivers should leave at least 1.5m when overtaking cyclists

Specifically, the new Highway Code requires drivers to leave at least 1.5 metres when overtaking cyclists. This was just about possible with previous lane widths south of Elmfield Road, but is now much harder with an extra vehicle lane squeezed in – as the diagram below shows.

Streetmix.net mock up of High Street lane widths before and after,. Cycle lanes have been reduced to 1.5m

Drivers, including bus and taxi drivers, can be prosecuted for close passes within 1.5m. Northumbria Police operate a ‘dash cam submission’ website where people can submit video evidence. Even so, close passes are deeply uncomfortable and potentially dangerous for the person who has been ‘close passed’, and will most likely put off even some experienced cyclists from cycling along Gosforth High Street.

This safety risk could be partially mitigated by having cycle lane ‘defenders’ to physically separate people and vehicle traffic, but the current trial doesn’t include this and lanes would still be non-compliant with standards due to being too narrow.

Issue 3. High Street Crossings

Prior to the wands being installed residents complained regularly that vehicles either ignored or did not see the pedestrian traffic lights by the shopping centre. The picture below from Google StreetView (pre-Covid) shows why this happens.

This can be partially mitigated by moving the stop line back and away from the crossing, though won’t be fully resolved while there are multiple north-bound vehicle lanes.

To make it easier for people to move around Gosforth High Street, pedestrian crossings also need to be set to change quickly once the button has been pressed and allow plenty of time for people to cross.

Issue 4. Severance

The November 2022 Council motion stated the new design should “enable low-carbon options to enable people to travel to, along and across the High Street”. This is to prevent ‘community severance‘, the widely-studied effect where a busy road or other transport infrastructure splits adjacent built-up areas making it harder to travel between the two.

In the trial layout, anyone cycling from east to west or vice versa across Gosforth High Street has to share a lane with heavy traffic as most crossings are offset, and most people are not willing to cycle using offset crossings that require mixing with heavy traffic. Without safe cycle-crossings on Gosforth High Street east-west cycling journeys become much harder as there are only a few places where people can safely cross The Great North Road. If cycling is made harder then people are less likely to travel and/or may drive instead.

Failure to Design to UK Standards

The November 2022 Council motion called for Gosforth High Street to be designed to be safe for all users and in accordance with LTN1/20 standards. LTN1/20 is the safety standard for cycling. 

A design in accordance with LTN1/20 would allow people to cycle to, through and across the High Street, stop outside shops and ride safely between shops e.g. if picking up a bottle of wine at Carruthers and Kent, then getting a takeaway from Gosforth Chippy or the New New Bengal. 

This would enable more people to travel to shop on Gosforth High Street without adding to existing high levels of pollution and congestion, and would make Gosforth High Street itself a more attractive destination by creating a gap between the pavement and heavy traffic. This would also allow some of the black bollards to be removed enabling the full width of the pavements to be used. 

We sent a briefing containing all these points to the Newcastle City Council Cabinet (who in November 2022 all voted for the highest possible safety standards!) on 19 February 2023, a month or so prior to the new layout being implemented..

The Alternative Plan

Newcastle City Council did produce an alternative plan that they didn’t use. This included the extended bus lane up to Hawthorn Road, but with protected cycle lanes through the main section of the High Street.

This wouldn’t have resolved all the issues listed above but would be a substantial improvement on what is there now, allowing both for reliable bus times and greater safety for all road users.

The consultation for the trial bus-priority measures runs until 21 September and you can share your thoughts on the Council’s CommonPlace website. 

Commenting on a new funding for a cycle route on Elswick Road in May, the Council said “We want everyone in Newcastle to be able to choose and benefit from active travel. This leads to better physical and mental health; stronger, connected communities and a better, more sustainable environment for future generations.” We just want the same for Gosforth High Street.

Extract from “Gosforth High Street’s future” – motion approved unanimously by City Council November 2022

Council welcomes proposals to replace the bollards on Gosforth High Street with a permanent scheme developed collaboratively with people in the local area to make Gosforth High Street more people-friendly and improve facilities for active travel and public transport.

…

Council resolves to ask Cabinet to ensure proposals for Gosforth High Street:

• Support the development of Gosforth High Street as a thriving local destination with a diverse range of shops and services.
• Are designed to the highest possible safety standards for both pedestrians and all road users, including LTN1/20* which was recently adopted as the standard by Cabinet.
• Enable low-carbon transport options to enable people travel to, along and across the High Street, cut pollution and support the city’s ambition to achieve net zero by 2030.
• Enhance the green infrastructure on Gosforth High Street, in line with the Council’s commitments on biodiversity and maximising nature-based ways to reduce air pollution.
• Are delivered urgently to achieve these benefits as soon as possible, but not without meaningful engagement with local residents about the options and impacts of various schemes.
  
  

The post Gosforth High Street – Safety Concerns appeared first on SPACE for Gosforth.

The main pollutant of concern in Newcastle is Nitrogen Dioxide (NO₂). The legal maximum for NO₂ is 40μg/m³ averaged over a calendar year. In 2021, the highest reading was 98μg/m³, over double the limit. The World Health Organisation (WHO) recommend NO₂ should be no more than 10μg/m³ averaged over a year.

2021 Highlights:

• Overall, pollution was less than 2016-2019, but still didn’t meet UK legal limits.
• St James’ Park, home of Newcastle United Football Club, was the most polluted location in the city centre.
• The worst pollution recorded across Newcastle was 98μg/m³ on The Coast Road by the junction with Jesmond Park West.
• Measurements from Gosforth and The West End were all within UK legal limits for the second year running, though still substantially over the WHO’s recommendation.
• The Clean Air Zone, originally planned for January 2020, has still not been implemented.
• Traffic levels remain lower than pre-Covid in many areas though back to pre-Covid levels on some of the main commuter routes.

Newcastle City Centre

In the city centre, Strawberry Place next to St James’ Park was the most polluted with a Nitrogen Dioxide (NO₂) reading of 54.1μg/m³, substantially above both the 40μg/m³ legal maximum for the UK and the WHO recommendation.

City Centre Air Quality Management Area (AQMA)

These are the city centre locations where air pollution exceeded the legal limit in 2021

• 54.1μg/m³, DT25 (Strawberry Place between St James Park and Nine Bar)
• 50.8μg/m³, DT29/DT30/DT31 (triplicate co-location site, Percy Street)
• 48.7μg/m³, DT12 (8 Mosley Street)
• 45.4μg/m³, DT20 (Newgate Street/Grainger Street)
• 45.4μg/m³, DT65 (Blackett Street, Old Eldon Square)
• 44.2μg/m³, DT5 (St. Mary’s Place/John Dobson Street)
• 42.1μg/m³, DT13 (Neville Street/Westgate Road)
• 41.2μg/m³, DT7 (Blackett Street/Northumberland Street)

In 2019 (pre-Covid), Blackett Street was the most polluted location in the city centre with a measurement of 71μg/m³. Also higher in 2019 were Central Station (69μg/m³), Haymarket (66μg/m³) and Grainger Street (65μg/m³).

Air pollution on Blackett Street in 2021, including from buses, was measured at 45μg/m3.

Reduced levels of pollution in the city centre could be due less traffic, possibly also due to bus companies investing in cleaner vehicles ahead of the Clean Air Zone. For examples, Go North East launched two all-electric bus routes in November 2020, with support from the Government’s Ultra-Low Emission Bus Fund.

Crowds and cars on Strawberry Place on the day of the NUFC takeover announcement.

One big question is why through-traffic is still allowed through the city centre adding to the pollution, when the Council’s Urban Core Plan (adopted in 2015) said “Policies will direct traffic which does not need to travel into the Urban Core onto major routes around the edge of the Urban Core.” Google Maps, for example, still shows the quickest driving routes from Redheugh Bridge to Blue House roundabout are directly through the city centre via Percy Street or via Newcastle Central Station.

Google Maps showing driving routes from Redheugh Bridge to Blue House roundabout.

PM2.5, very small particulate matter pollution, is also measured in the city centre at the Civic Centre. In 2021 the reading was 7.1μg/m³, which is less than the UK Legal limit 20μg/m³, but higher than WHO guidance that the annual average should be no more than 5μg/m³.

Plans for a cycle lane on Percy Street, long one of the most polluted streets in the city, were shelved in 2019 because the space would be needed by buses re-routed from Blackett Street. Now the Blackett Street plans have been put off is it time to look again at Percy Street?

Plans for a cycle lane on Percy street were shelved in 2019.

Central Motorway and Coast Road

The Council’s pollution plan analysis from 2019 was that air quality on The Coast Road would be compliant in 2021 and that no additional measures would be required. Clearly that hasn’t worked out as two locations were still above legal limits, one substantially so (almost 2.5 times the limits).

These are the central motorway and coast road locations where air pollution exceeded the legal limit in 2021

• 97.7μg/m³, DT81 (Stephenson Road, entrance to Jesmond Park West)
• 43.4μg/m³, DT80 (A167 AQ Mesh)
• 42.9μg/m³, DT79 (Tyne Bridge)
• 42.4μg/m³, DT84 (A1058 Coast Road, Wills Building)

Drivers and car passengers who use this route every day will be exposing themselves to significant levels of pollution, especially as pollution levels within vehicles are typically much higher than the air outside.

The Coast Road (46,000 vehicles a day in 2021) and Tyne Bridge (53,000 vehicles) are two of the busiest vehicle routes in the city. Achieving pollution limits without cutting vehicle volumes is going to prove very hard at these locations. For comparison, Gosforth High Street had 15,200 vehicles a day on average in 2021.

A1058 Corner House/ Stephenson Road, westbound, the earlier broken down white Audi A3 that was obstructing the exit for Heaton Road has now moved on.#Newcastle pic.twitter.com/2M1s0pwxj1

— North East Live Traffic (@NELiveTraffic) November 3, 2022

We often hear people saying we should add extra lanes or remove traffic lights to “let the traffic flow” but all that ever means is bigger queues and more pollution at the next junction, as it is not possible to completely eliminate junctions in a city.

Many cities across the world are now considering removing urban motorways including Glasgow where there is a campaign to replace the M8.

A167(M) Central Motorway, southbound delays and traffic building up under the Swan House roundabout with tail backs forming.#Newcastle pic.twitter.com/DsSOtXGZCl

— North East Live Traffic (@NELiveTraffic) November 2, 2022

Gosforth

In 2021, all Gosforth High Street monitors recorded pollution levels within legal limits, thoroughly debunking irresponsible scaremongering claims of “significantly more toxic fumes” due to the High Street Covid scheme. These were the second lowest readings since the Salters Road junction was remodelled in 2016.

Gosforth Air Quality Management Area (AQMA)

The four pollution measurements shown in Gosforth (all within UK legal limits) are:

• 37.4μg/m³, DT50 (84 Station Road)
• 34.6μg/m³, DT43 (53 High Street, Gosforth)
• 28.7μg/m³, DT44 (102 – 104 High Street, Gosforth)
• 32.9μg/m³, DT45 (201 Gosforth High St)

We noted in our We still love Gosforth High Street blog that if air pollution measurements in 2021 were less than the legal limit, the Council would be bound by the Air Quality Standards Regulations 2010 to “ensure that [pollution] levels are maintained below those limit values” in future.

The main reason for the lower pollution levels is likely to be because there was less traffic on Gosforth High Street in 2021. The new layout may have contributed to this.

The graph below shows that air pollution at the three High Street monitoring sites and average daily traffic measured just north of The Grove are clearly linked. Because of this, doing anything that increases vehicle capacity on Gosforth High Street would potentially be in violation of the Air Quality Regulations.

Air pollution and average daily traffic on Gosforth High Street

Average daily traffic in 2022, up to the end of September, is still less than 16,000 vehicles a day so pollution in 2022 is likely to be slightly higher but still be under the limit.

Whatever the actual cause of the reduction in air pollution, it is clear that less traffic means less pollution.

The Council have also confirmed the Covid road layout hasn’t had any significant impact on journey times for people driving.

An electric bus and cycle lane on Gosforth High Street. Picture taken September 2022.

Air pollution at Haddricks Mill, 37.4μg/m³ in 2021, is broadly unchanged from previous years. This isn’t a bad result given traffic levels were suppressed during the Killingworth Road closure, but it should be much lower.

In the Chronicle article below, the Council said they aimed to cut pollution by “reducing congestion [and] by better managing the flow of vehicles at junctions” like Haddricks Mill. There isn’t good evidence that this approach will work.  The Government’s own Air Quality Plan said about measures to optimise traffic flow that “there is considerable uncertainty on the real world impacts of such actions.“

Fears pollution levels will be dangerously high again at controversial Killingworth Roadhttps://t.co/eAJBUIAUOb

— The Chronicle (@ChronicleLive) June 4, 2019

Denton Burn

Like Gosforth, all the readings west of the city were also within legal limits, although Cowgate roundabout was very close to the limit.

Now the A1 Scotswood to North Brunton road widening has been completed (10 October 20222) roads leading to and from the A1 are likely to get busier as traffic increases due to induced demand from the additional capacity on the A1.

Denton Burn air pollution readings

The Clean Air Zone

The Clean Air Zone (CAZ) is now due to come into force from January 2023, so it is possible that two years from now we might finally have some good news – eighteen years after UK Air Quality Limits should have been met in Newcastle!

This Government’s Air Quality Technical Guidance states that charging the most polluting vehicles is one of the most effective ways to reduce pollution, so the CAZ is likely to be effective to cut pollution in the city centre.

Cleaner buses, taxis, vans and HGVs will also benefit roads outside the city centre, but we don’t know whether that will be sufficient for air quality, for example on Central Motorway or The Coast Road.

The table below shows the split of traffic on The Coast Road, St James’ Boulevard, Tyne Bridge and Gosforth High Street. As it shows, Gosforth High Street has the highest proportion of buses, HGVs and heavy vans so is likely to gain the most. Coast Road traffic is only 3-4% buses, HGVs or heavy vans so may not benefit as much.

* “cars” includes taxis and light vans. 

We hope the Council will be able to release air pollution monitoring data sooner in future, so that we can find out quickly what impact the CAZ has had.

SPACE for Gosforth has previously summarised official air pollution measurements for 2020, 2019, 2018, 2017 and 2016.

The post Air Quality Update 2021 appeared first on SPACE for Gosforth.

It is now over eighteen months since wands were installed on Gosforth High Street as part of the Council’s response to Covid. This blog looks beyond the look and feel of the wands, focusing instead on their impact on traffic volumes, air pollution and road safety, and suggests specific actions that could be taken to help the High Street thrive in future.

Key Points

• Traffic volumes in 2021 were 15% lower than in 2018 and 2019.
• Less traffic means reduced noise and lower carbon emissions.
• Air quality measurements (where we have them) show a slight improvement.
• Road safety is improved.
• There are opportunities for future improvements if the single-lane layout is retained. This should include replacing the temporary wands with high quality permanent materials.

A Bit of History

Pollution, safety, noise and congestion have long been concerns on Gosforth High Street.

At SPACE for Gosforth’s launch event in September 2015, we asked local residents what they thought about Gosforth High Street. The answer was that “We love Gosforth High Street, but …”

On the plus side, people listed the High Street’s role as a community hub, with good quality independent shops, pubs and restaurants. The list of “buts” was longer: noise, pollution, too much traffic, not feeling safe, parking, “Too much concrete, not enough green’’.

In 2019, we ran a Gosforth-wide survey and the answers were much the same, which we wrote up in our blog Your Streets – Your Views – Gosforth High Street. Too much traffic, poor air quality and noise were the top three concerns.

DEFRA have estimated that pollution, congestion, carbon emissions, traffic collisions, lack of physical activity (because high levels of traffic stop people walking and cycling) and noise, cost the UK billions of pounds each year. We wrote about this in our blog Billion Pound Issues on Gosforth High Street.

Traffic Volumes

At the end of 2021 traffic volumes were 15% lower than in 2018 and 2019. This is despite the ongoing roadworks on the A1 and warnings in late 2020 that across the city traffic levels were back to pre-pandemic levels and could get worse.

Less traffic is generally a good thing. It means safer streets, less pollution, less carbon emissions and less noise, making it more pleasant (or at least less unpleasant) for people to stop and shop on the High Street. Moving vehicles away from the pavement to a single lane in towards the middle of the road further reduces noise levels for people shopping on the High Street.

Average Daily Traffic by Month and Year 2018-2021, on Gosforth High Street

Air Pollution

Air pollution levels improved dramatically in 2020, mirroring the reduction in vehicle traffic. The graph below shows pollution levels at the north end of Gosforth High Street by Woodbine Road, usually the most polluted part of the High Street. In 2020, all measurements on Gosforth High Street were within legal limits. Air pollution measurements for 2021 haven’t yet been published.

Traffic volumes in 2021 were similar to late 2020 so it is possible air pollution levels will have remained just under the legal limit. This would be substantially better than previous years, including 2017 when Gosforth High Street was the most polluted street in Newcastle.

Air pollution levels measured at the north end of Gosforth High Street

If air pollution measurements in 2021 are less than the legal limit, the Council would be bound by the Air Quality Standards Regulations 2010 to “ensure that [pollution] levels are maintained below those limit values” in future.

Road Safety

There have been substantially fewer road traffic collisions on Gosforth High Street since the wands were introduced. The bar chart below shows recorded collisions between Elmfield Road and Regent Centre before and after the wands were installed.

Road Traffic Collisions on Gosforth High Street before and after the wands were installed.

The one serious injury in 2021 was by Regent Centre where a ten year old boy was struck by a driver in a Land Rover. This was in the section with two lanes heading north and a 30mph speed limit. SPACE for Gosforth has previously proposed the 20mph speed limit is extended north to past Gosforth Academy to be safer for school children crossing the road.

Opportunities

Returning to the pre-pandemic layout would be a significant backwards step, making Gosforth High Street more dangerous, more polluted and increasing carbon emissions.

Safety could be further improved by extending the single-lane 20mph layout to north of Gosforth Academy, and by setting vehicle lanes to be no wider than 3m.

The look and feel could be improved by replacing the temporary wands with high quality materials similar to the Grey Street proposals, including planters where there is space.

Continuous all age & ability protected cycle lanes & cycle parking would increase the people-moving capacity of the High Street and make it safer and easier for people to cycle to the shops. Most of Gosforth, Kenton, Jesmond and High Heaton are within a 15 minutes cycle ride of Gosforth High Street.

Decluttering the pavements, adding more planting and benches, and creating a continuous pavements over side roads would make the High Street more accessible and more pleasant to use on foot. With cycle lanes added, the existing bollards on the pavement could be removed adding 60cm to the width of the pavements.

Crossings by Regent Centre could be improved by removing the central ‘sheep pen’ so people walking can cross in one go. We have also previously proposed moving the crossing by Elmfield Road 70m south to be between Elmfield Road & The Grove.

Street ends could be pedestrianised like by Woodbine Road to create additional space for events or for more seats or planting. For example, Trinity Square could be extended across West Avenue and/or Ivy Road.

Even with these changes, there would still be a vast amount of space allocated to vehicles on and around Gosforth High Street. Some consideration could be given to whether this could be put to better use, either temporarily, for example for a street market, or more permanently.

Google Earth picture showing the huge area taken up by vehicles on or near Gosforth High Street

The post We still love Gosforth High Street appeared first on SPACE for Gosforth.

With Covid-19 cases rising again, and Government lock-down regulations further restricting how businesses operate, it is more important than ever that local streets support social distancing so that people feel safe and can confidently go out and use local shops and services. Updated government guidance (at 23/9/2020) also reconfirms the recommendation that for local journeys you should “walk or cycle if you can” to “reduce pressure on public transport and the road network.”

The Council has confirmed that its initial trial “social distancing layout” for Gosforth High Street is complete and is seeking feedback on the changes that have been made. As at the end of September, the majority of people who have provided feedback feel that the new layout is not effective in meeting the objectives to support social distancing and support walking and cycling.

Does this layout support social distancing? Or walking and cycling?

Why have the changes been made?

The changes made to Gosforth High Street are part of the UK Government’s response to Covid-19, which has included a wide range of new regulations and recommendations about how, when and where we can travel, and who we can meet. Covid-19, as we now know, is approximately 10 times more deadly than flu, can lead to “significant ongoing health problems” and it has recently been reported that only 18% of people with COVID systems adhere to self-isolation.

The Government’s statutory guidance, issued in May 2020, stated that “Local authorities in areas with high levels of public transport use should take measures to reallocate road space to people walking and cycling, both to encourage active travel and to enable social distancing” and that those changes be implemented “as swiftly as possible.”

The government’s rationale for encouraging people to walk or cycle are:

1. Because public transport capacity is reduced and if people stop cycling and drive instead then roads will be even busier than they are now.
2. Because walking and cycling help improve fitness, and there is “a significant link between COVID-19 recovery and fitness”.
3. Because walking and cycling are “affordable, deliver significant health benefits, have been shown to improve wellbeing, mitigate congestion [and] improve air quality.”

Gosforth has always had a high level of public transport use, both because of the Metro and the many buses that use the Great North Road, so is exactly the sort of location the Government intended to target with its guidance.

The Council say they will consider feedback after a three week review period that started on 11 September. If you have any thoughts on the scheme, including suggestions for how to make it better support physical distancing and walking and cycling, you can provide feedback at https://safegosforthhighstreet.commonplace.is

In this blog we look at aspects of the trial scheme that we think have worked, and where improvements could be made to better support the objectives set by central government.

Regent Centre

What has changed?

• One of the south-bound traffic lanes has been reallocated to enable the pavement on the east side next to Gosforth Central Middle School to be made wider.
• The existing cycle lanes north and south-bound have both been protected by a row of wands.

As we said above, one of the government’s objectives is to encourage active travel to reduce pressure on the road network. This photo from November 2019 shows how danger for people walking and cycling was designed-in to the existing road layout.

Regent Centre traffic camera – November 2019

This section of the Great North Road has always been the weakest link in the cycle route linking Brunton Lane to Little Moor via Moor Road North and Moor Road South. Adding protection to the cycle lane here addresses many of the issues in the picture above and makes this section far safer for people to cycle.

The pavement along this stretch is also narrow, and on the east side the width is further reduced by guardrail. Adding to the width of the pavement here helps social distancing, especially when the pavement is busy around school drop off and pick up times. Removing the railings would add further to the space available for people to walk.

Extra space for walking and a protected cycle lane next to Regent Centre

This more recent traffic camera picture below shows how the cycle lane is now protected in both directions, and how cars heading southbound are now directed towards the middle of the road. Prior to this change it was common for cars to cut into the cycle lane where it passes next to the pedestrian crossing, creating a risk for people cycling.

Traffic Camera view of the Metro bridge at Regent Centre

Changing this has made little difference to vehicle traffic as very few buses use this section of road and other vehicles heading south have to filter into the right hand lane after Christon Road  anyway.

There are still issues though. The north-bound lane cycling lane is only partially protected and its still not unusual to find yourself in a situation like in the photo below where the cycle lane directs you into a dangerous position on the inside of an HGV.

Protecting the cycle at this point would help substantially. It would also help to remove a section of railings just north of Asda to allow access to and from Asda without having to use Hollywood Avenue.

Unprotected cycle lane in the HGVs blind spot next to Regent Centre

We have also highlighted previously that the crossing by Christon Road is not large enough. If this were a single stage crossing, there would be plenty of space for both walking and cycling, and the crossing itself could be adapted by simply removing the railings giving more space for everyone to cross. This would also reduce the danger to children stuck at the edge of the crossing.

Children crossing the Great North Road by Christon Road – picture taken July 2019

Christon Road to Salters Road

What has changed?

• One of the north-bound traffic lanes has been reallocated to create a protected cycle lane.
• There is now only one traffic lane entering the Salters Road junction heading south-bound.

This is another section of road that previously most people would not have been willing to cycle but now can, at least if heading north. The lane is interrupted by the bus stop, and some people might find the speed humps uncomfortable, but both could be easily resolved if further funding is released by government. Initial government funding only covered low-cost temporary materials.

North-bound cycle lane just south of Henry Street.

South-bound, there are no additional facilities for walking or cycling, though the pavement is wide enough already. Rather than hashing out the central section of the road (as shown in the picture below), it would have been possible to create a protected cycle lane heading southbound from the end of the bus lane to connect to the advanced stop line at the traffic lights.

Traffic Camera looking north from Salters Road

Salters Road to St Nicholas Avenue

What has changed?

• One of the north-bound traffic lanes has been reallocated to enable the pavement on the west side of the road to be widened.
• The north-bound road layout at Salters Road junction is substantially unchanged and there is still one north-bound / left-turn lane and one right-turn lane.
• Railings have been removed by the Queen Victoria pub and replaced with a row of wands to widen the pavement.

Outside Barluga and Trinity Church wands have been used to widen the pavement. These are the same type of wands as have been used north of Salters Road for the cycle lane, but we  know this is intended for walking because the give way markings at West Avenue have been moved in line with the wands. If it was for cycling, the give way lines should have remained where they were to give priority to people travelling along the main road.

An even better arrangement would be to move the give way lines to before the pavement so people walking along the main road also have priority as we proposed in 2016, or make the current road exit into permanent pavement like at Woodbine Road, effectively expanding Trinity Square across the ends of West Avenue and Ivy Road.

Junction of West Avenue and Gosforth High Street

There are still narrow sections of pavement on the west side, especially at the north end of the High Street. In the picture below, there’s little extra space to queue for the bus, and cafe seating (which normally would be a good thing) further reduces the pavement width to less than 2m.

Cafe Corsaro

Next to Salters Road by the junction, the extra pavement space is not well used. If this is to be retained as pavement then the railings would need to be removed and a more substantial barrier inserted where the wands are to protect people from moving traffic. Alternatively it could be repurposed as a cycle lane to enable people cycling to access the advance stop line and the cycle lane heading north at the far side of the junction.

Junction of Gosforth High Street and Salters Road / Church Road

While the west side of the High Street has space for social distancing along most of its length, the east side still does not. The pavement outside Gosforth Shopping Centre is not much wider than 2m, far short of the 4m advertised in the proposal. The south-bound traffic lane next to the pavement is only lightly used, so it could easily be converted to extra pavement space.

Rook Matthews Sayer, Outside Gosforth Shopping Centre

Adding to the pavement here would also create space for people to wait for the pedestrian crossing, and reduce the width of the crossing.

The one section of the pavement on the east side that has been widened is by the Queen Victoria pub, previously one of the narrowest pavements on the High Street. Here the Council have removed railings that used to cramp the pavement so now the full width of the pavement is available for use. Not being able to use the full pavement width is an issue for much of the High Street because of bollards and other street furniture.

New wider pavement on the east of the High Street next to the Queen Victoria pub

St Nicholas Avenue to Hawthorn Road

What has changed?

• Part of the north-bound traffic lane has been reallocated to enable the pavement on the west side of the road to be widened.

For most of the road between St Nicholas Avenue and The County very few measures have been taken to support social distancing or enable walking or cycling. This is one of the widest sections of the High Street being over 12m for most of its length. That’s space for two 3m road lanes, two 1.5m cycle lanes with plenty of space left for a bus lay by or loading. For comparison, the road lanes outside Gosforth Shopping Centre prior to these changes were each approximately 2.5m wide.

This section of the High Street would also be the perfect place should local businesses want to try something like a car-free Saturday, as has proved a success at Park View in Whitley Bay.

Looking north from The County pub. No measures implemented here.

By St Nicholas Avenue extra space has been marked out and, while people mostly stay on the existing pavement, people are using the extra space to overtake or enable others to pass if walking in the opposite direction. In these locations, at least, the one-way walking arrows could be removed.

Traffic camera view showing busy pavements and a queue outside Flowercraft

South of Hawthorn Road

What has changed?

• The existing south-bound cycle lane has been protected by wands.
• A new protected cycle lane has been created north-bound, also using wands.

The south-bound lane still suffers in part from being blocked by parking, but the wands do make it safer for people cycling on this section of road.

South-bound cycle lane opposite Elmfield Road

The extra north bound lane means people cycling north can continue to Hawthorn Road before turning left rather than having to turn into Elmfield Road, which is narrow and frequently uncomfortable because of high levels of traffic.

It also means people who want to social distance can step into the cycle lane briefly if they need to pass someone, without risking being hit by a car or a bus.

North bound cycle lane between Elmfield Road and Hawthorn Avenue.

Emergency Services

Despite the High Street still being very wide (approximately 9m in the picture below), we know some people have shared concerns about traffic holding up emergency services. We don’t have access to specific figures but it is a reasonable assumption that heavy traffic could have an impact. This would be the case whether this scheme had been implemented or not.

The Blue Light Aware website contains instructional videos for how to drive if an emergency vehicle needs to get past and is well worth a look. Even better – leave your car at home when you can, to avoid adding to the traffic.

Ambulance with blue lights next to Trinity Square.

There are a number of potential options that could be considered to improve the design for emergency services, while also helping to meet the objectives of the scheme:

1. Replacing wands with bolt-down kerbs that cars can drive over if needed to get out of the way.
2. Better enforcement and / or updating road markings to prevent parked cars obstructing emergency vehicles.
3. Creating a 2-way cycle lane that emergency services can use to bypass traffic if needed, but which can be used at other times by people cycling, scooting or mobility scooters.
4. Remove the kerb separating north and south-bound traffic lanes by Regent Centre.

We do know that data from Waltham Forest where low-traffic neighbourhoods have been implemented showed no adverse impact on emergency response times.

Air Pollution

While it’s too early to draw any lasting conclusions, air pollution measurements from the Urban Observatory suggest that air quality on Gosforth High Street in September 2020 has generally been better than in previous Septembers. The map below shows the location of monitors and nitrogen dioxide (NO₂) concentrations in September 2018, 2019 and 2020. Figures highlighted in red are above the annual average legal limit of 40μg/m³.

Urban Observatory Air Pollution averages for September 2018, 2019 and 2020. Higher values = more pollution.

Main Road Traffic Re-Routing via Minor Roads

A concern we highlighted in our blog Enabling Businesses to Open Safely on Gosforth High Street from July was the potential for traffic to re-route via minor roads rather than staying on the main road network. Since then UK-wide data has been released showing that in the last ten years across the UK traffic levels on minor roads has increased dramatically, believed to be largely due to the use of sat navs in cars. Google itself has published an article on this Google Maps 101: How AI helps predict traffic and determine routes.

Our experience locally is that current traffic levels are no worse than in 2019, but 2019 levels of traffic on minor roads, including on Moor Road north and south, are still unacceptable. Hollywood Avenue and the area around Stoneyhurst Road have been much improved by the installation of “point closures” to stop main road traffic using these routes as an alternative. The same approach needs to be used on minor roads either side of Gosforth High Street to make them safe as well.

Cycling Routes

For cycling more generally, we have seen suggestions that everyone should use the Moor Road North / Moor Road South route. This is a bit like suggesting cars are banned from Gosforth High Street and should use the A1 western bypass instead.

All types of transport rely on having a network or grid of routes, the only difference being the density of the grid. Walking should be possible via all streets, cycling via a grid of about 400m (the distance between parallel routes) or less near major destinations, and driving with a grid > 1km other than for access. Within those grids, some routes might be defined as being for longer journeys, like the A1, and others like Gosforth High Street for accessing local destinations.

The map below shows a possible grid of cycling routes, that also shows how Gosforth High Street currently acts as a barrier for east / west journeys. One main reason more people don’t cycle is danger from vehicle traffic. In Newcastle’s twin city of Groningen where safe routes have been provided, 61% of all trips are made by bicycle, including more than 70% for trips made to educational institutions.

A possible grid of cycle routes to access shops and services on Gosforth High Street.

Next Steps

One option would be just to remove the scheme and revert back to how it was. While that might have an advantage of familiarity, it would do nothing to help achieve the government’s objectives to enable physical distancing and help people to walk or cycle. Many of the responses to the Council’s survey mention pollution and congestion, but Gosforth High Street has long been one of the most polluted, congested streets in Newcastle, and also has a poor safety record. Returning it to its original layout would not solve any of these concerns.

A High Street that is polluted, noisy and dangerous, and where social distancing is difficult, will not help local businesses. if we want a street that is less polluted, less noisy and less dangerous, that can only happen if space is made available, as the government has instructed, to allow people to walk and cycle safely. If that does impact journey times for vehicles, and we can’t be certain for a few months until changes have bedded in whether it will or not, then the Council will have to decide if it values a cleaner, safer High Street or if priority will be given to passing traffic.

If you haven’t already, please do take a few minutes to provide feedback to the Council via https://safegosforthhighstreet.commonplace.is

Update 11/12/2020

Newcastle City Council have released their report on the High Street measures, stating that “the social distancing measures on Gosforth High Street between Regents Centre and Elmfield Road should remain in place” and that “the review panel has decided that the benefits to people’s health and the local economy far outweigh the criticisms.” There is a link to the detail report at the end of the Council news story.

Some key findings from the report:

• The initial high congestion levels have settled into a pattern now that schools have returned.
• Air quality has not been degraded and as mode use continues to alter, this is likely to settle further.
• Bus operators are now finding little delay southbound.
• No issues reported by the fire and ambulance services.

Recommendations in the report:

• The northbound section from Hawthorn Terrace to Salters Road should be reserved for those on foot and marked appropriately. The use will be clarified with pedestrian symbols on the carriageway and the ends of the widened sections are to be closed.
• Communications around the purpose and operation of the scheme should be improved. The directional arrows upon pavements should be removed.

The Council feedback website is still open if you wish to provide any further feedback or suggestions for how to improve the scheme: https://safegosforthhighstreet.commonplace.is

The SPACE for Gosforth response

The following is the SPACE for Gosforth response to the Council regarding the initial temporary measures. This was sent on 4 October 2020.

I am writing on behalf of SPACE for Gosforth to respond to the Council’s Safe Gosforth High Street consultation.

I have attached a pdf copy of our detail review, which is also published here: https://www.spaceforgosforth.com/safe-gosforth-high-street/

While the scheme isn’t quite what was advertised, there are some good parts, which we have tried to highlight in the article, especially the Regent Centre changes and protecting the cycle lanes south of The County. Where the pavement has been widened, the High Street does feel more comfortable to use on foot, even if it is not as clear as it could be which parts are widened pavement and which are cycle lane.

Having reviewed the Commonplace feedback though, it looks like many of those that have fed back do not think the initial layout is effective (or sufficient?) to support social distancing or to enable more walking and cycling, while others appear to be trying to second-guess or challenge the government guidance on social distancing.

Much of the negative feedback appears to be related to the inevitable short-term disruption, which wasn’t helped by A1 works or the gas works on Jesmond Dene Road. These talk about congestion and pollution, but we have looked at pollution figures, published in the blog, which show September this year had cleaner air on average than either September 2019 or September 2018. Arguably also, a few minutes extra on a short journey is also a small inconvenience compared say to not being able to see friends or family, mandatory self-isolation for vulnerable groups or the closures of schools over the summer term.

To some extent, this is just the nature of the trial process, which we support, that you have to try something and then adapt from there. Hopefully the large amount of feedback provided will enable you to do that and the next iteration of the scheme will better enable social distancing and further improve facilities for walking and cycling.

Some additional points from us:

1. Government guidance for travel (at 30/9/2020) still says walking and cycling should be the preferred modes of travel, and that we should all maintain 2 metre distance where possible to minimise risk of transmission. https://www.gov.uk/guidance/coronavirus-covid-19-safer-travel-guidance-for-passengers
2. There needs to be some explainable logic linked to that guidance as to where on the High Street wider pavement is needed (or not needed) for social distancing, where a cycle lane that allows people on foot to pass is sufficient, and where the pavement can be left as is. Currently the scheme contains a mix of approaches, including some pavements that are not much wider than 2m, which we think will be adding to people’s unease.
3. In some places the road width is still up to 9m wide, which encourages vehicle speeding and overtaking outside peak hours, and on multiple occasions I have seen cars racing off the line heading south from St Nicholas Av. While acknowledging the need for deliveries and emergency services to pass we think this needs to be addressed, not least so the extra space can be used in support of the scheme objectives to enable social distancing and active travel. We have included some ideas to support emergency services in our review.
4. Both the Grey Street and bridges schemes have benefited from inclusion of change to improve the look and feel such as planters. It would be useful to consider this for Gosforth High Street as well. Extra cycle parking, like the rack designed to look like a parked car on Collingwood Street, could also be installed at the end of Hawthorn Road or St Nicholas Avenue.
5. It would also show some joined-up thinking if the next iteration considered streets either side of the High Street and what needs to be done to allow social distancing there e.g. Regent Centre, Christon Road, and prevent main road traffic from re-routing e.g. Linden Road, Elmfield Road, Moor Road North, Moor Road South.
6. It’s good to see the walk to school week comms but prior to this Council comms have been fairly infrequent whereas most guidance on situations where people are being asked to change what they do recommend frequent reinforcement of the objectives and benefits of the change. Transport for Greater Manchester have done a lot on this and I expect they may be willing for other authorities to re-use their materials? e.g. https://twitter.com/OfficialTfGM/status/1312393231456501762

The post Safe Gosforth High Street appeared first on SPACE for Gosforth.

Newcastle City Council has published its plans to give more space to customers visiting  Gosforth High Street, to allow remaining shops to open safely and comply with the Government’s physical distancing rules.

This follows a direction from the UK Department of Transport to all UK Local Authorities saying that work should “begin at pace on closing roads to through traffic, installing segregated cycle lanes and widening pavements.”

This is both to enable physical distancing on busy streets such as Gosforth High Street, and to enable walking and cycling as an alternative to driving shorter journeys now that public transport can no longer operate at normal capacity. A video report by the Guardian newspaper estimates that “if 90% of people [in Newcastle] who usually use public transport drive instead that would be an increase of 48% more cars on the road.”  If that isn’t gridlock it would be very close.

The High Street plans are set out in diagrammatic form below and on the Council’s website. The photo at the top of the article is our SPACE for Gosforth mock up of how it might look once initial temporary measures are replaced with something a little bit more permanent.

Key changes are:

1. Wider pavements from Regent Centre to Elmfield Road. As more shops open and more people visit the High Street, this will provide space for queuing, enable people to pass each other, and create more space for families and household groups to walk together.
2. Waiting areas for shoppers queuing to get a bus home or into Newcastle.
3. Protecting the existing cycle lane between Regent Centre and Christon Road, enabling people to cycle all the way from Brunton Lane into Newcastle on protected lanes or (mostly) quiet roads. The Council say there isn’t space for wider pavements and a cycle lane on Gosforth High Street.
4. A new pedestrian crossing between Henry Street and Spital Terrace.
5. Disallowing the left turn from Salters Road towards Regent Centre, in order to create more space on the pavement. We hope this is something the Gosforth Hotel can take advantage of, although we are also concerned this may lead to increased traffic on neighbouring residential streets.
6. Pavements will be designated one-way, according to the Overview page for all five shopping streets although this isn’t mentioned in the page specifically about Gosforth High Street.

You can provide feedback on the proposal now, or wait until it has been implemented. According to the Council’s news article, schemes will be reviewed “three weeks after they are installed, giving local businesses and people time to get used to changes, and to consider whether further changes are needed.”

The Council says that “initially temporary materials such as cones and barriers will be used, with the view to more permanent materials potentially being installed following input from local councillors, residents, businesses and community groups.”

There are substantial advantages to trialling measures before making them permanent, as it allows residents and businesses to see how changes work in practice and quickly resolve any issues that do arise. Feedback from residents and businesses can be provided based on actual experience so the Council can focus on substantive issues, should any arise, rather than having to deal with misunderstandings of what is proposed or what might happen as a result. This also prevents long delays in the consultation process where discussions can end up being skewed towards (not always realistic) worst case scenarios rather than what is actually likely.

What are the Benefits? 

1. Changes are being made quickly to enable remaining businesses to open safely and minimise the risk of transmitting Covid-19. The approach taken using temporary measures enables this, ensuring flexibility to change if issues are found.
2. Creating more space for customers who will spend money in shops, rather than vehicles just passing through. This reallocation of space should help local businesses offset some of the negative consequences of physical distancing rules.
3. Crossing Gosforth High Street will be easier and safer for people on foot because the distance to cross will be much less. This is especially true for those who might take longer to cross due to mobility issues. Currently some drivers go through the pedestrian crossings on red when the lights are obscured by large vehicles in the inside lane.
4. People’s exposure to air pollution will be reduced as wider pavements means people can stand further away from vehicle exhausts. If traffic is restricted then that might also reduce traffic and pollution levels.
5. It should be safer for everyone on the High Street by reducing dangerous over and under-taking manoeuvres, and the narrower carriageway should encourage drivers to stick to the 20mph speed limit.
6. A safer protected cycle lane between Regent Centre and Christon Road will enable more people to cycle safely between the north of the city and the city centre, bypassing Gosforth High Street using the alternative route via Christon Road, Alwinton Terrace and Moor Road.

Points to consider

1. The plans do nothing yet to enable safe cycling to or across Gosforth High Street. Families, anyone who is less confident (i.e. most people), older or younger people will still have difficulty accessing local shops and services by bike. We hope this might be possible in a future iteration once physical distancing rules can be safely relaxed to give a further boost for local businesses.
2. We expect the plans will discourage speeding if the lane widths are not too wide (narrower lanes are safer because traffic drives slower). Extra signing might also be useful e.g. a 20mph sign painted on the road at the entry to the 20mph section.
3. We aren’t convinced a pedestrian one-way system is necessary as in most locations pavements can be made substantially wider than the minimum 4m width that is proposed, and could make visiting the shops harder for people with mobility issues. We would favour trialling this scheme without the one-way system to see first if that works and only introducing it if necessary.
4. Banning the left turn from Salters Road towards Regent Centre creates a risk of more traffic on Henry Street and Regent Road North, which are often busy with children travelling to or from school. This will need to be monitored along with other local roads and further action taken if necessary.
5. Ensuring businesses can continue to receive deliveries. This might require more use of back lanes and changes on side streets to turn short-stay parking into loading bays, and possibly to create additional disabled parking bays. SPACE for Gosforth produced a map of disable parking in 2016 which you can see here.
6. We think these plans will be beneficial for pollution levels as one lane of queuing traffic in the centre of the street is better than two pushed right up against current narrow pavements. Further measures do need to be taken though, in line with Newcastle’s air pollution plan to ensure legal limits are adhered to, in particular to ensure buses are retro-fitted with cleaner engines. You can follow air pollution levels on Gosforth High Street via SPACE for Gosforth’s @AirGosforthHiSt Twitter feed.

Other Plans for Gosforth and Newcastle

On the Safe Gosforth High Street website, the Council mentions further iterations of the scheme could involve additional cycling parking and preventing vehicle movements between the High Street and some side roads. This could create more space for street cafes or other space for businesses to operate outside.

A separate announcement has been made about proposals, which we support, for safer local streets that can more easily be used for walking and cycling, keeping through traffic on the main road network to create low traffic neighbourhoods for the benefit of residents. This includes changes at Salters Bridge, Stoneyhurst Road and Castle Farm Road to restrict vehicle traffic so they can be used safely for walking and cycling.

Changes are also being proposed for West Road in Elswick; Shields Road in Byker; Adelaide Terrace in Elswick; and Chillingham Road in Heaton. You can find out more about these schemes on the Council’s website newcastledistrictshoppingcentres.commonplace.is/.

Gosforth High Street plans should be implemented within the next few weeks.

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Sunday 10 November 2019 was Remembrance Sunday. As is traditional, local cadets and scouts paraded down Gosforth High Street and into Gosforth Central Park for a short service and to observe a two-minute silence in memory of members of the armed forces that lost their lives in the two world wars and later conflicts.

The Remembrance Day Service in Gosforth Central Park offers an opportunity to reflect and mourn for the past, and it is also an opportunity to pause and to examine the present.  On this occasion it also allowed us briefly the chance to see Gosforth High Street – the centre of our community – in a different way.

Usually the parade is marshalled by the Police who stop the traffic temporarily when the parade makes its way to the war memorial in Gosforth Central Park and again on the way back.  This year however Northumbria Police advised that they no longer had sufficient officers to support traffic management for Remembrance Day parades in addition to their normal duties.

A Lib Dem councillor said he found it 'very distasteful'https://t.co/hyS647Rbkc

— The Chronicle (@ChronicleLive) November 7, 2019

To ensure the parade could still happen, local Councillors stepped in to pay for a private firm to do the traffic management using funds from the ward budgets. This meant that, instead of the usual temporary closures, the High Street was fully closed to through traffic from 10am until the end of the parade at around 11.40am.

In previous years, despite the road closures, traffic has still been a presence on Gosforth High Street during Remembrance Parades often with engines still running, waiting on Gosforth High Street for the temporary road closures to be lifted, as well as on Saint Nicholas Avenue next to the park entrance.  This year the air was clearer and the noise of traffic was almost completely absent, creating an atmosphere more reminiscent of the first two-minute silence a century ago on 11 November 1919, as reported by the Manchester Guardian.

“The first stroke of eleven produced a magical effect. The tram cars glided into stillness, motors ceased to cough and fume, and stopped dead, and the mighty-limbed dray horses hunched back upon their loads and stopped also, seeming to do it of their own volition.“

In 2019 at 11am on Sunday 10 November there were also no motors on Gosforth High Street to ‘cough and fume’.

This picture above, taken before the start of the parade, gives an unusual view of Gosforth High Street without any vehicles. The atmosphere on the street was noticeably different from the normal noise and fumes from traffic, and the picture makes clear just how much of the space on Gosforth High Street is used for through traffic compared to the amount available for people to walk and visit the shops.

For an hour or so it was also possible to walk along Gosforth High Street without having to worry about traffic turning in or out of the many junctions, including here at the junction with Ivy Road.

The parade started about 10.30am from Woodbine Road. Even with crowds lining the pavements, there is still lots of space on the High Street.

This is even more clear on the march back down the High Street after the service.

Thanks to Newcastle University’s Urban Observatory we can also see the impact of the temporary road closure on environmental factors such as air pollution and noise.

For air pollution the monitor opposite Trinity Church showed that at 10am, before the closure, the NO2 pollution level was about 54μg/m³, which by midday had declined to almost zero. Even in the middle of the night it is rare for the air on Gosforth High Street to be this clean.

This also supports the Department for Transport’s analysis that the vast majority of road-side air pollution is generated by vehicle traffic.

While air pollution took several hours to disperse, the impact on noise was almost immediate. Noise levels dropped from over 70 to just over 55 decibels, a level rarely achieved under normal circumstances even in the middle of the night.

Conversational speech is about 60 decibels so, for a brief period, it was possible to have a normal conversation without having to shout or being drowned out by the traffic. For the remainder of the day noise levels were between 70 and 75 decibels, about the same level as if you were stood next to a dishwasher or vacuum cleaner.

While not everyone will want to observe the two minute silence, it felt appropriate on this occasion that, for just a short period, the traffic fell silent to allow the parade to pass in safety without danger from traffic or air pollution.

For now, for the other three hundred and sixty four days and twenty two hours of the year, we will have to live with the noise and the air pollution. But now we also know that an alternative is possible, certainly for a few hours for specific events and maybe even for more permanent measures that better reflect Gosforth High Street’s role at the centre of our community.

With thanks to Friends of Gosforth Central Park, All Saints and St Nicholas churches and their combined choirs, local Scout groups, Cadets and everyone else who took part in or contributed to the parade and service.

They shall grow not old, as we that are left grow old:
Age shall not weary them, nor the years condemn.
At the going down of the sun and in the morning
We will remember them.

from “For the Fallen” by Robert Laurence Binyon (1869-1943)

There is also a World Day of Remembrance for Road Traffic Victims commemorated on the third Sunday of November each year, in 2019 on Sunday 17 November, to remember those killed and injured on the world’s roads, together with their families, friends and many others who are also affected.

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