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Traffic restrictions to be removed after end of trial period

Document Cited in Related
Vincent
Published date11 April 2024
Publication titleEvening Chronicle
Transport bosses have confirmed that they will remove bollards that have blocked drivers from using residential streets in Heaton as rat runs for the last 18 months

Newcastle City Council says the restrictions will be lifted on April 23. A civic centre spokesperson told the Local Democracy Reporting Service that local opinion on the measures had been "evenly split", but that officials concluded that the bollards had resulted in too many vehicles being rerouted to other residential areas or back lanes - rather than to main roads.

Rumours that the bollards' removal was imminent had been circulating over recent days, prompting a furious backlash from residents who had supported the scheme.

One local councillor called the prospect of reopening Heaton

Park View to through-traffic a "completely retrograde step". The move follows the axeing of the controversial Jesmond LTN earlier this year and one in Fenham last September.

Heaton had been the second area in Newcastle to have a lowtraffic zone installed, with restrictions being put in place blocking access to Cardigan Terrace, Falmouth Road, Bolingbroke Street, and Heaton Park View in October 2022 with the aim of making it "much more attractive and safer for the people who live there". But the Labour-run council announced on Tuesday that it had "concluded that it would not be appropriate to make these measures permanent".

A spokesperson said: "Traffic data collated during the trial showed that, rather than using main routes, vehicles often used alternative residential streets, with Falmouth Road and Wandsworth Road particularly affected by an increase in traffic.

"A major concern was the fact that over 700 vehicles a day were found to be using the back lanes on Heaton Park Road. This creates a number of road safety risks as these lanes are not designed for, or expected to carry, this level of through traffic. "There was also no data to suggest that there had been a significant shift to walking and cycling during the trial. Any reduction in traffic on some residential...

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