Green light given for low traffic neighbourhood trial

The council has started the process to have legal orders in place in the coming weeks to restrict traffic cutting through some streets to create safer, cleaner and greener neighbourhoods.

Fenham will be one of the first areas in the city to trial a low traffic neighbourhood with a number of streets to be closed to through traffic, following feedback from people and businesses in the area.

Changes in Fenham include closing the junction of Queensway and Kingsway to through traffic, as well as Gowland Avenue and Nuns Moor Road. Other supporting measures include changes at junctions on surrounding streets to reduce vehicle speeds and improve crossings. Some other measures are being paused, while more monitoring will be taking place on other streets to ensure more actions can be taken if necessary to ensure traffic isn’t just moved from one residential street to another.

Cllr Ged Bell, cabinet member for developments, neighbourhoods and transport said:” “We’re committed to creating safer, cleaner and greener neighbourhoods across the city, making it safer for everyone to walk and cycle on local journeys as well as reduce levels of unnecessary traffic in residential areas.

“This package of measures for Fenham will reduce traffic cutting through local streets, create more space for people to walk and cycle and crucially make it much safer for children going to school or playing in their local area.

“Many thanks to everyone who got in touch about the proposals, we have listened to your feedback, and refined the scheme accordingly, with more discussions planned to tackle school-related traffic, as we finalise the designs and firm up timescales.

“It’s changes to how we move around our local area which can have a big impact on our health and wellbeing, tackle air quality and improve the safety of people living there which is why we are developing further proposals for areas across the city.”

Using ETROs, the council will make changes to streets including using bollards or planters to restrict vehicle access. The ETROs can remain in place for up to 18 months, with a public consultation running in the first six months. Last November, all households in the area received an initial leaflet outlining proposals and an update that explains the final proposed measures and how to take part in the consultation are being prepared and will be sent to local residents, ahead of the scheme being implemented.

Most of the changes will be trialled, with temporary measures installed as this allows the council to make any changes quickly and to gather people’s views before making a long-term decision on whether the schemes should be permanent. Permanent measures, which the council do not intend to trial and will be subject to a separate consultation, include measures to reduce speeding on Wingrove Road and to close the junction to through traffic on Hadrian Road at its junction with Wingrove Garden to make it safer for children travelling to Wingrove Primary School.

The package of measures for Fenham was released in November, alongside proposals for Arthur’s Hill and Heaton. The council is reviewing the feedback for Arthur’s Hill and Heaton, with more information to follow soon.

Thousands of leaflets have also been delivered to residents in other parts of the city, including Jesmond, Shieldfield, West Fenham, Kenton and Ouseburn Valley, asking residents to raise any issues that they would like the council to include in developing low traffic neighbourhood proposals in their area.

The plans for low traffic neighbourhoods follows on from the closure of five local bridges to traffic in August 2020, which the council confirmed earlier this month will remain permanently in place.

More information is available at www.newcastle.gov.uk/neighbourhoods