In January 2018, Newcastle City Council agreed to allow North Gosforth Parish Council the option to adopt the two stone/concrete bus shelters on the east side of the Great North Road. In the same meeting, the City Council outlined the concerns that residents had shared with them about these existing shelters and their plans to install new shelters to resolve these concerns and meet accessibility standards.

Following this meeting, the North Gosforth Parish Council confirmed it wished to pursue the option so the City Council issued statutory notices to effect this transfer, which were displayed on the two bus shelters. This is the SPACE for Gosforth response to that consultation. Pictures have been added for this blog but were not part of the response sent to the Council.

A copy of the full presentation from the January meeting is available as part of our Broadway to Brunton Cycle Lane – Consultation Review.

Re: NOTICE UNDER SECTION 115G OF THE HIGHWAYS ACT 1980

We are writing to you regarding the proposal to grant permission to North Gosforth Parish Council to maintain the Great North Road Bus Shelter(s).

We emailed the North Gosforth Parish Council on 16 April 2018 to seek further information as to their plans for the bus shelter so we had the most up to date information. While we have now received a reply it does not provide any further information on this matter. Although the Parish Council have not confirmed to us directly, we infer from the on-line Parish Council minutes that the Parish Council have not (yet) considered the concerns we raised with them. As there appears to be no plan to address those concerns we find we have no real choice but to object to the Section 115G notice(s).

We do wish to be clear that in principle we support the retention of “heritage assets” and the work of community groups to look after their local environment; so if such a plan does exist, or can be created as part of the proposed licence agreement, then we will be happy to withdraw these objections.

It is also worth noting that none of these objections should come as a surprise for anyone involved, not least that many were discussed explicitly at the January Golf Club meeting with Councillors, Council Offices, Parish Councillors and petitioners, and that there has been plenty of time and opportunity to produce a plan to resolve these concerns.

For convenience we have grouped our objections into five broad areas of concern.

1. New risks to bus passengers as a result of this proposal, especially to older or visually-impaired people.
2. Unintended negative consequences.
3. Unaddressed community concerns that informed the previous decision to replace the bus shelters.
4. The need to provide fit for purpose facilities for bus passengers.
5. Conditions for an effective consultation.

1) New risks to bus passengers as a result of this proposal.

As the cycle lane can no longer go behind the bus shelter in line with current best practice guidance, Newcastle City Council have proposed that instead the area in front of the existing shelters will become shared space. We presume this will require additional bollards / signage either side to advise of the change to and from separate lanes.

a) We would like to draw the Council’s attention to the RNIB’s campaign against shared space and the similar campaign from Guide Dogs for the Blind. While these mostly relate to people sharing with motor traffic, and while the risks of shared walking/cycling paths are much less, we feel the same broad principles should apply here. Our measurements suggest it should be possible to maintain clearly identified separate space at this location with or without the retention of the current bus shelters and that the proposal should not proceed until this is confirmed.

Stone / Concrete shelter with measurements

b) The location of the shelter on the far side of the pavement means that people wishing to use the shelter will have to cross the cycle lane when the bus is arriving in order to attract the bus driver’s attention. This means their attention will be focused on the bus rather than on approaching cyclists, which could put them and the person/people approaching at risk as a result.

c) Further, as the sides of the stone shelter are not transparent, and with no plans to improve visibility, anyone approaching on a cycle may not see or be aware that someone is waiting for a bus and might step out unannounced.

In contrast, the original proposal for the cycle lane to go behind the bus shelter would have allowed bus passengers to cross the cycle lane on arrival and then not have to worry about people cycling when boarding a bus. Likewise, the design of the replacement bus shelters would have ensured maximum visibility between people cycling and those getting on or off a bus.

2) Unintended negative consequences.

We have identified a number of likely unintended consequences that we also feel need addressing as part of this proposal. Items (a) to (c) arise as a result of the issues stated above.

a) If the proposed shared space makes people feel less safe then it is likely to discourage people from using local public transport, making it more likely they will drive instead, adding to congestion and reducing air quality for all road users.

b) It would also reduce the usability of the cycle lane for people doing longer journeys who wish to cycle more quickly. This would encourage people to continue to cycle in the bus lane, potentially delaying buses and reducing the safety benefits that should be achieved through implementation of this scheme.

c) Designed-in conflicts such as those highlighted above will, in the long term, risk eroding community support for similar schemes in future, which are critical to achieve widely-supported policy objectives relating to air quality, public health and children’s wellbeing. We understand that funding is not always available for the highest quality designs, however in this case the Council has already outlined an approach that is within budget and avoids these issues.

d) We understand that the Council had intended to make revenue from advertising on these bus shelters and we presume this future revenue stream, though perhaps not of great consequence, will now be lost. We do feel, however, that the Council should be clear in the licensing terms as to what advertising is allowed to avoid the possibility of large and unsightly advertising, to set out how any advertising revenue is to be split and/or how (or if) the Council is to be compensated for forgoing this revenue.

Existing bus stop by Melton Park

3) Unaddressed community concerns that informed the previous decision to replace the bus shelters.

In December 2015, the City Council published a consultation to provide for safe cycling and improved crossing facilities on the Great North Road. That consultation, which was widely publicised, included the proposal to remove the stone/concrete bus shelters and no comments were received at that time regarding the shelters.

At the January 2018 Golf Club meeting with petitioners and Parish Councillors seeking to overturn the results of the previous consultation, the Council highlighted a number of concerns that residents had raised with them and with Nexus. If the stone shelters are to be retained these concerns need to be addressed and a funded mitigation plan put in place. The concerns listed by the Council were:

a) Issues of personal security where passengers could not be seen inside, or be seen by bus drivers.

b) That people do not feel the stone shelters give a good image of modern public transport – e.g. challenges with installing seating and real-time information.

c) Specific requests to replace the shelters, particularly amongst women (reasons not given).

d) Difficult to clean if subject to graffiti.

e) Discussions in local on-line forums have also highlighted that people feel the existing shelters are dark, have no seat and are a bit smelly.

Slide on Bus Shelters presented by the City Council in January

4) The need to provide fit for purpose facilities for bus passengers.

At the same meeting the Council outlined its intention to improve bus shelters across the city. Any plan to transfer maintenance of bus shelters should ensure all of the following Council-proposed objectives will be fully met at these locations for the benefit of current and future bus passengers.

a) Visibility (between people waiting and approaching buses/cycles)

b) Security (stated to be a particular issue for women)

c) Seating – ‘perch’ (benefiting older passengers and those with mobility difficulties)

d) Real time / data ready.

e) In addition, we have identified that roof and window heights are not suitable for taller people, and that people using a wheelchair are unlikely to be able to see out of the window to see approaching buses.

What you would see if sat on a seat at the back of the shelter

5) Conditions for an effective consultation.

Whilst the original Broadway to Brunton lane consultations were widely publicised to local residents and contained detailed information about the proposals, as well as opportunities to speak directly to Council staff about those proposals, the consultation for this transfer gives practically no information and only minimal opportunity for the community to express an opinion.

Given a main subject of the petition that lead to this proposal was the need for effective consultation, we are surprised that the petitioners themselves have not called for a wider consultation, have not sought to publicise the opportunity to comment and have not provided available information to residents about the pros and cons of this proposal to allow residents to come to an informed decision.

We do understand that it will never be possible to have a perfect consultation, but as a minimum this consultation should set out the main consequences of retaining the bus shelters and state how the issues identified will be addressed to ensure a good quality outcome for residents and bus passengers.

Given the retention of the current bus shelters would result in a change to the street design from that previously advertised, we feel the consultation should also be treated in a similar manner to a traffic consultation and include engagement with all affected user groups including those representing the visually impaired or people with disabilities more generally. In this regard, the Council has made a commitment via its Street Charter to “take additional steps to make sure blind and partially sighted people are fully consulted on all shared space proposals”.

Extract from the Newcastle City Council Street Charter

The consultation is also lacking detail on what is intended by granting permission to maintain the shelter, for example:

• Is any particular level of maintenance committed to?
• Will there be a facility for reporting urgent issues and how will the Parish Council ensure a quick response?
• Is the Parish Council committing to ensure compliance with relevant legislation e.g. if the shelter is found not to be compliant with the Equalities act because it is not easily usable by people with wheelchairs and/or people with mobility issues that mean they cannot stand for long periods, is it the Council or the Parish Council that will undertake and fund changes to put this right?
• In the unlikely event of a major structural failure (which could be due to a failure in the maintenance regime) would the City Council or the Parish Council be liable for the cost of rebuilding the shelter and/or for injury or death caused by the collapse of the shelter? We note the Council briefed petitioners (including Parish Councillors) at the January meeting that similar structures in the UK had collapsed following collisions, leading to the death of people waiting inside.
• If the Parish Council is liable but does not have assets to cover these liabilities, how would the Council recover the uncovered costs?

Notice displayed in the Great North Road bus shelters

Next Steps

Our objective in sending these comments is to help improve the scheme to ensure it is the best quality possible for residents and bus users, which I am sure is an objective shared by both the City and Parish Councils; and to ensure effective community engagement in the process.

We understand that as the formal deadline for comments has passed the Council and/or the Parish Council could ask that these concerns are disregarded, however we do not see why it would be in anyone’s interest to do so. As stated above, pretty much all of these concerns have been raised previously so there should be no excuse for not already having plans to address these.

For reference, SPACE for Gosforth’s previous blogs on the Broadway to Brunton scheme can be found at this link https://www.spaceforgosforth.com/tag/broadway/ We will publish this letter as a further blog in the near future.

Yours faithfully,

On behalf of SPACE for Gosforth
www.spaceforgosforth.com

The post GNR Bus Shelters appeared first on SPACE for Gosforth.

Zoe, the Guide Dog and real star of our review

In October 2016 SPACE for Gosforth arranged a review of recent changes to the Salters Road / Gosforth High Street junction with the Royal National Institute of Blind People (RNIB), the Guide Dogs for the Blind Association , engineers from Newcastle City Council and Zoe the Guide Dog.

As SPACE has previously noted, making roads and crossings accessible for people with disabilities is a matter of law and it is unlawful for a disabled person to be put at a substantial disadvantage in comparison to a person who is not disabled.

The needs of those with a visual impairment should be at the forefront of debate about traffic in Gosforth,  not least because three of Gosforth’s schools house Newcastle upon Tyne’s Visual Impairment Additionally Resourced Centres (VI ARCs).  As one of our members has previously noted:

“If we can design our streets to meet the needs of the visually impaired it’ll be a much safer and more pleasant place for everyone. This should be the absolute baseline for any changes undertaken.”

We found that the junction has some standard features that assist access for those with visual impairments and other disabilities:

• Both the main crossing itself and the crossing on the access road to the new car park has tactile pavement (paving slabs with raised bumps that alert those with visual impairments to the crossing)

• The control box on the crossings have tactile control cones under the push button box which rotate to alert people with a visual impairment that the road is safe to cross. There is no audible signal on the crossing as the crossings are too close together and this would risk someone crossing the road by mistake when hearing the wrong “beep”

• The pedestrian entrance to the car park has a ramp to make it easier to navigate for those using wheelchairs or pushchairs.

Designing fully accessible streets, however, goes beyond simply adding in these physical features.  It involves planners and engineers putting themselves in the position of others with a wide range of physical and additional needs and trying to anticipate what will enable them to cross a busy junction safely – and then reviewing how those features work once they have been put in place.  It should be seen as an ongoing progress as city streets change over time, rather than a process with a fixed end solution.  

The group found that despite the changes, the junction still presents a challenge for visually impaired people to navigate, for several reasons including:

1. The volume and speed of vehicles passing through the junction, particularly at rush hour, continues to be very intimidating and frightening.
2. The noise of the traffic is also very loud at times.  This is a problem for people with visual impairments for several reasons. The noise can affect a Guide Dog’s ability to hear commands, and it can also affect a person’s ability to hear any assistant or passer-by.  Additionally people with visual impairments rely on their hearing more than those who can see. Sight loss may mean they need to use audible clues to gain a sense of what is happening around them. Loud noises may affect their ability to filter out the sounds which are important to them.
3. Contrasting colours can also help partially-sighted people navigate the area, but the finished work does not always provide this – for example, the cycle racks out side The Gosforth Hotel do not have a clear contrast with the pavement.

Our member reported:

“The junction has been designed to the latest set of design standards, but some of the issues have arisen because the design standards do not fully address the needs of those with visual impairments.  The group spent some time trying to come up with ideas to improve the situation, and thinking about other areas in the UK that might have had a similar situation, and where Gosforth could learn from their experience.”

This engagement is very welcome, as this junction lies on a walking route between Gosforth High Street and two of the VI ARC schools (Gosforth Academy on the Great North Road, and Gosforth Junior Academy on Jubilee Road), and our streets need to be designed to enable pupils attending the VI ARCs to be able to walk around the community with their families and friends.

Our member reported that following the review meeting Newcastle City Council has implemented the following changes:

• Tactile paving has been added to the back lane crossing (Lansdowne Court) beside The Gosforth Hotel which follows the “inner line” for a person with visual impairments
  

• Black tape has been added to the cycle racks outside of The Gosforth Hotel to help create a contrast between the rack and the pavement.

To meet best practice it would be better to surround the racks with tactile paving, such as cobble stones, so that there is a clear definition that there is an obstruction on the footway.

However, the racks are situated away from the wall of Gosforth Hotel so they do not impede on the “inner line” that people with visual impairments follow when walking along a street.

One key issue still remains.  When crossing at the top of Church Road towards the The Queen Victoria the position of the control box is set back from the junction, which means that it is not in the natural position for a visually impaired person to find (especially if walking on the left of the tactile paving).  In addition, the curve of the pavement gives the impression underfoot that the pedestrian will walk in that direction, effectively into the middle of the junction.  This was not a problem for Zoe, as she knew where to lead her owner to cross safely, but for those people without a Guide Dog it is dangerous.

The sweep of the junction also means that drivers increase their speed and come very close to the pavement.  For people with sight, we would very likely step back but for someone with a visual impairment a vehicle crossing your path at speed is a terrifying experience.  This crossing point would be much safer if the turn was much tighter to slow down drivers turning left.

Our member commented:

Zoe, the Guide Dog and real star of our review

“Having Zoe the Guide Dog as part of the group for the review meeting was important. I own a dog, and well, he’s just a bit thick in comparison to Zoe’s expertise at navigating herself and her owner safely across busy roads and through crowds of people. It was an education studying her behaviour.

For the first time I realised that we’re not just fixing the street for the owners, we need to fix it so it works for the dog as well. The very worst situation is to have a confused Guide Dog! They are truly remarkable animals and a lifeline to independence.”

Linda Oliver, Engagement Officer for Guide Dogs added: “Guide Dogs were very pleased to be involved in this important piece of work. Some street designs can cause potentially dangerous problems for many people who are blind or partially sighted. It was a great opportunity to speak to Council engineers and explain some of these issues and to be supported by SPACE for Gosforth.”

Please do support the fantastic work that Guide Dogs do and we would urge all readers to take action and support the Guide Dogs campaign to introduce legislation across England and Wales to make it illegal for people to park on pavements.

The post Zoe the Guide Dog reviews Salters Road Junction appeared first on SPACE for Gosforth.

I didn’t stop at the shops or get a coffee.  No, I was blindfolded by a nice gentleman called David, accompanied by my new pal Hazel.  They weren’t leading me to an execution or a surprise although both transpired in a sense later on.  David is a volunteer Guide for the Guide Dogs charity and Hazel volunteers for RNIB, Guide Dogs and a several other enterprises supporting the visually impaired and blind.

Hazel has lived near the High Street most of her life and knows every inch of it, literally, for she  has been blind from birth and knows every lump, bump, gaps between buildings, every door way and every shop. Hazel is often on the High Street.

I met Hazel a few months ago, we got chatting about getting around, walking, cycling and buses.  It was pretty clear that we had exactly the demands for our streets and pavements, they just run in parallel.  Hazel’s from a blind pedestrian’s perspective and mine from a bloke who sometimes gets about on a bike.  We both want safe separated infrastructure.  Not just for us, but for everyone from 8 to 80, of all abilities.  Don’t worry if you’re 7 or 79 it’s just two ages that are pretty wide ranging and sound good together!  Hazel thought it would be good for me to experience the challenges that visually impaired people experience every day, and recommended I undertook a blindfold walk along our High Street with her and David to keep me safe.

So, on that sunny Wednesday a few weeks ago here I am with the challenge of getting up to The County, cross over, down to the Salters car park, cross over and back to Costa, blindfolded. Well actually at the beginning David put some glasses on me which he could adjust to allow me to experience both tunnel vision and complete loss of sight. I’ve got a video camera stuck on my forehead too to record what I won’t be able to see.

My new view of the world!

David explains the importance of finding my ‘inner line’ – that’s what feels like a safe place away from the road, close to the buildings and the position I need to always find and follow.  Some quick instructions on sweeping the long cane in front of me and we are off.  Well actually ‘off’ probably gives the wrong impression.  What  happens is  a 55 year old guy edges tentatively forward like a 10 month old baby learning to walk.  Hazel and David are off!   I can vaguely see them through the pin holes, but I have no peripheral vision so I can barely work out whether I am moving in a straight line. It’s completely disorientating and really frightening. You have a tiny amount of vision in front of you but see nothing around you, people pass by and just appear in front of you.

David and Hazel are waiting, so I try my best at shuffling forward, concentrating on sweeping my cane.

The very first thing you realise is how bumpy our pavements are.  An inch of raised slab is enough to jar the cane which is really annoying when you’re concentrating on not walking into the road or a bollard at the side of the pavement.  A bollard designed to perfectly bang your shin and topple you over in front of the oncoming X11.

Edging along I eventually get to the crossing at Lloyds and David explains the use of the tactile paving at the crossing. If you’ve ever wondered how tactile paving works, it’s pretty simple. At a crossing you’ll often see a patchwork of ‘blisters’ running from the back wall (where possible) to the crossing point.  You’ll feel the blisters underfoot and they guide you to the crossing point.  The use of tactile paving is currently being reviewed nationally by the government to create a new set of standards.  You might have seen vertical lines at various places around Newcastle, these are used to warn the visually impaired that they are about to walk into a different area, perhaps a cycle lane or the end of a pedestrian only area.

Anyway, it’s a relief to know I’m standing somewhere that feels safe.  Then comes my first crossing at Lloyds Bank. David grabs my elbow and we wait for the signal to cross.  Pedestrian crossings are confusing, some make bleeping noises some don’t.  There’s a twiddly thing under the crossing button box that rotates when the green man comes on, but I am fumbling around trying to find it as there’s no bleeping sound at this crossing.  Waiting just at the crossing is scary, a white van suddenly appears in front of me really close, not the driver’s fault just the little amount of space there is.

The lights change and David grabs my arm and marches  me across to sanctuary.  Without David and Hazel I would have been marooned, this was a situation I found myself in repeatedly on my journey.

Edging along I bang my shoulder on my first lamppost.  It’s perfectly placed on my ‘inner line’.

Just before Thorpe’s David changes the setting on the glasses to lose all vision.

I am now blind.

The tunnel vision was scary, now it’s absolutely terrifying.  I thought I was moving slowly before, but now a snail could overtake me.  I edge along past the shops, my cane hitting the shop display and it gets stuck under something.  After a bit of concerted waggling it’s free and I’m on the move.

Near the bus stop everything narrows, my cane hits objects both on the left and right. Hazel explains to me it’s ‘A boards’ and that over the years the number of A boards has increased dramatically.  I take the A boards for granted and have never really considered the impact.  Hazel explains that she understands the need for shops to advertise themselves but wished that they took a little time to consider the impact they can have on the visually impaired.  A boards are frustrating since they immediately slow you down, but they also are generally pretty heavy and hurt when you walk into one.

David guides me around the obstacles, I’m already feeling exhausted and I haven’t got to the half-way point yet.

Then I walk into some shubbery that’s overhanging onto the footpath. It’s not a major problem as I’m moving so slowly, but for Hazel who confidently moves a lot quicker it can really hurt, a faceful of sticks when you least expect it.

I’m about to cross over to the County but… there’s no tactile paving and it’s a dropped kerb.  Without David I would have just walked out into the road.  David takes my elbow and we cross over to the County round the corner to the Pelican, relief, tactile paving and the Pelican makes a bleeping noise. Over the road and edging along and everything narrows again, another lamppost.

I guess you can just about squeeze a double buggy through the gap.  Onwards to Hawthorn Road and another dropped kerb with with no tactile paving. Hazel of course knows the area well and can feel the change in the pavement with her cane.

Over the road and I walk into one of those bollards! 

Negotiating the car on the pavement and various bits of street furniture slows me down even more.

The journey down the High Street is going slowly, keeping to my ‘inner line’ and then I walk into a carefully positioned bin on a lamppost.  It’s another lamppost on my inner line, with the added obstacle of a bin.

What a great idea!

David displays the greatest patience with me as I head towards West Avenue and Trinity Church.  West Avenue – dropped kerb, no tactile paving.

I now have the greatest of respect for everyone with visual impairments. Walking along the High Street is a nightmare and it’s supposed to be a pleasant place to be.   My concentration is focused on touch and sound.  The noise of the traffic is often deafening and feels really, really close.  We’re walking at lunchtime so traffic is relatively quiet, the noise must be unbearable at rush hour.

We pass Trinity Square and then David points out that I’m currently standing in the middle of the Ivy Road junction. It’s a raised pavement which is great, except there’s no tactile paving before the junction to warn me.  My elbow is grabbed and I’m safely across Ivy Road.

By now I’m beginning to get a headache just from the intense concentration on the simplest of tasks, walking along a shopping street.  Everywhere I go is a challenge and really feels dangerous, it is little wonder that lots of people with visual impairments end up house bound. Hazel explains that she does a considerable amount of voluntary work helping people who are losing their sight to gain in confidence to leave their homes and try and maintain an independent life.

I can’t see people waiting at the bus stop in front of me and how narrow the pavement is again.

The video footage shows everyone kindly moving out of my way as I sweep my cane and tap their feet.

Yet more narrow gaps and a lack of space.

The constantly narrowing pavement continues.

We reach the end of Woodbine Road and David explains to me the ‘cordoned’ area denoted by cobble stones so that I can feel under my feet when I move into this area and find the phone box and bench.

We get to the crossing at the Queen Vic. I am super cautious as I’ve had near misses from a number of red light jumpers at this junction.

While we wait for the green man signal to cross David explains the difficulties that the fence along the pavements can present.

If someone with visual impairments goes ‘off line’ when crossing the road they can find themselves stuck on the road at a barrier not knowing whether to go left or right or indeed how the long the fence is.  David marches me across the road, explaining that pedestrian refuge in the middle of the four lanes is no real refuge for me since I don’t know it’s there!

Finally, I’m on the home stretch and I’ve been edging my way along our High Street for a good 45 minutes now.  Hey presto, let’s put a lamppost bang smack in the middle of the pavement.  That’s helpful!

My confidence hasn’t increased much, and I’m concerned that I’m consuming lots of David and Hazel’s time so I increase my speed from snail to sloth.

The bumpy pavement jars my cane at the Halifax again, then a face full of shubbery…

before I walk into another A board!

Finally we’re back at Costa and I can take off my blindfold.  I am drained, exhausted and shattered but pleased that I’ve undergone the experience. Hazel and David just laugh, they’re so used to all these problems.

There is so much that is wrong with our High Street.  It seems that the last people we have considered are those with visual impairments.  It’s worrying considering the number of older residents in Gosforth and the huge impact our poor pavement quality and pedestrian space will be having on their everyday lives.

Newcastle City Council is about to release plans for a series of major changes to our High Street.  I will be writing to the Officers urging them to go on  a blindfold walk.  If we can design our streets to meet the needs of the visually impaired it’ll be a much safer and more pleasant place for everyone. This should be the absolute baseline for any changes undertaken.

If you see me about feel free to stop me and ask me any questions.

Finally, a massive thank you to Hazel and David for their incredible patience, good humour and expertise at keeping me safe.

Please do show your support for these wonderful organisations:

Guide Dogs: http://www.guidedogs.org.uk/supportus/campaigns/streets-ahead
RNIB:
http://www.rnib.org.uk/campaigning/current-campaigns/my-street

Trapped at Home: https://www.supportsolutions.co.uk/blog/client_groups/disability/visually_impaired_feel_trapped_at_home.html

The post Everything wrong with our High Street starts here appeared first on SPACE for Gosforth.