Locals are being forced to “risk life and limb” at a notorious Newcastle junction, councillors have claimed.
Liberal Democrats have accused Newcastle City Council of making the Haddricks Mill double roundabout in South Gosforth more dangerous after a multi-million pound redesign. The city’s opposition party claimed the controversial reconfiguration has created a “nightmare” for nearby residents, but the council has vehemently denied the accusations and said its own evidence proved that Haddricks Mill is now substantially safer than it was.
The junction, near the Freeman Hospital, has long been known as one of Newcastle’s biggest bottlenecks and a collision hotspot. It recently underwent a £4m revamp that was completed in 2020, aimed at increasing its capacity and cutting congestion. But local councillor Henry Gallagher believes the area has become “much more dangerous” for the hundreds of residents who live on the Hunters Road estate, pinning the blame on the smaller of the two roundabouts being replaced by a painted circle that drivers can cut across.
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He said: “That extra couple of seconds it took vehicles to negotiate the roundabout gave Hunters Road residents the opportunity to drive onto the junction. However, now residents are having to risk life and limb and force their way into the traffic. Most other users of that junction have multiple choices they can make on their journey before they end up at Haddricks Mill.
"The Hunters Road Estate residents do not have that choice, so they are the ones that should be given extra protection to ensure they can use the junction safely. In the past I have asked for traffic lights that would only activate if a local resident’s car wanted to be out. Even putting the proper roundabout back in would help.”
Fellow Lib Dem Mike Cookson, who represents Ouseburn, claimed that Haddricks Mill is “not fit for purpose for pedestrians and cyclists” and that the £4m overhaul was a “wasted opportunity”. But the city council insists that the changes at the double roundabout have worked and that the area has dropped way down the list of Newcastle’s worst accident blackspots.
Labour councillor Jane Byrne, the council’s cabinet member for transport, said: “Prior to our works, Haddricks Mill was one of the most dangerous and notorious junctions in the city. The scheme we put in place, with improvements for all road users, has seen road traffic collisions and casualties decrease significantly.
“This is clearly demonstrated by our road safety reports which shows ahead of the scheme being implemented, in 2017 Haddricks Mill was the 9th worst junction in the city in terms of all collisions and injuries. In 2021, it was the 50th worst. It was previously the 3rd worst junction for people on bikes, it is now not even in the top 40 worst locations.
“That said, we have commissioned a detailed road safety audit, as we do for all of our major schemes after implementation, and will act on any findings. We responded to the concerns raised by residents off Hunters Road before the scheme was implemented and use the signals around the junction at peak times to create gaps in traffic for people approaching from that direction. We will look again at the timings to see whether we can provide more opportunities.”
Recent statistics presented to councillors showed that Dene and South Gosforth had the second highest proportion of serious or fatal road casualties in the city, though the overall number of incidents in the ward was one of the lowest in Newcastle.
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