Newcastle to trial to a series of LTNs

Newcastle City Council to trial a series of Low Traffic Neighbourhoods (LTN).

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

Fenham will be one of the first areas in the city to trial an LTN 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. 

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 changing 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.’

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.