Big changes to a divisive road closure scheme in Newcastle have been revealed – with even more streets now set to be closed off.
A redesign of the contentious Low Traffic Neighbourhood (LTN) installed in Jesmond earlier this month has been confirmed, after complaints that it had created a congestion nightmare in the surrounding area. Efforts to stop rat running down residential streets have meant through traffic has been stopped from using a number of roads since early March, but there has been an outcry about drivers now diverting to the few remaining open routes that cut between Osborne Road and the Cradlewell.
In response, Newcastle City Council has now announced that it is putting even more restrictions in place – with blockages to be installed on Friday on Jesmond Dene Road close to its junction with Grosvenor Road and on Akenside Terrace at the junction with Jesmond Road. While being welcomed by campaigners who had called for all residential streets to be brought into the LTN, the latest closures have quickly sparked allegations that Jesmond is being “carved in two”.
As locals were being informed about the plans via letters hastily delivered on Thursday, the council said that traffic counts had proven that the LTN had caused an increase in traffic on Jesmond Dene Road, Grosvenor Road, Grosvenor Avenue and Akenside Terrace. But Phil Green, who lives in Jesmond Vale, told the Local Democracy Reporting Service that closing off those streets too would “completely cut a community in half”.
He added: “There is huge concern about this. The original reason they left some streets open was for emergency services access, so I don’t see how they can now say it is suitable to close them when it wasn’t before.”
Burdon Terrace resident Tony Waterston, a campaigner with the SPACE for Jesmond group, has praised the impact of the LTN for pedestrians and cyclists. Welcoming the added closures, he said: “We support a full low traffic neighbourhood in Jesmond. Including Grosvenor Road and Grosvenor Avenue is the right thing to do for the long term benefit of the community.”
However, traders in the Cradlewell have feared that the restrictions will hurt trade by making it harder for customers to get to their shops. One business owner, who asked not to be named, said on Thursday that the city council should be offering extra support to help local stores survive – and suggested an alternative to putting up bollards.
They said: “It is pretty much just carving Jesmond in two. If the council invested in number plate recognition cameras and let all the residents in the LTN register for access then that would be doing the job and thinking about the community by allowing people to access both sides of Jesmond. Putting concrete blocks on the only remaining roads is not going to do that.”
The LTN has been installed on an 18-month trial basis, with a public consultation running until September to help decide whether it becomes a permanent fixture.
A council spokesperson said: “When we develop neighbourhood low traffic zone trials, we also monitor its impact on surrounding streets. Trials mean we can make changes if required, and we have seen a displacement of traffic on surrounding streets as part of the Jesmond East neighbourhood low traffic zone trial.
“The mitigation measures that we are putting in place are designed to restrict through traffic as some drivers may seek to avoid the closures and cut through local streets, rather than stick to more appropriate routes which are designed to carry higher volumes of traffic. These mitigation measures have been developed in consultation with the emergency services.”
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