Jury’s out on traffic ban plan proposal
PLANS to pedestrianise a major Newcastle city centre road have been met with mixed opinions.
According to a poll run by ChronicleLive, readers are split down the middle over the potential closure of Blackett Street.
Just under 500 voters responded to our poll asking if Blackett Street should be closed to traffic.
And the results were extremely close, with 52% saying it should be kept open and 48% agreeing with the closure.
On our Facebook page, some comments showed support to pedestrianise the road for safety reasons.
Stella Armstrong said: “That’s a dangerous stretch of road for pedestrians. You can’t hear the buses coming.
“I had to grab my cousin and pull her back out of the way of a bus. It should have been pedestrianised years ago.”
But others argued that the changes would lead to congestion on surrounding streets.
Steven Johnston wrote: “Blackett Street is one of the most central part of the city.
“Just think if this gets pedestrianised there’s up to 20 bus services getting diverted, so wouldn’t that just cause more congestion (with the buses already operating) on Market Street, Pilgrim Street, Grainger Street, John Dobson Street etc?
“Nothing wrong with the way it is.
“People just need to be more careful crossing the road and (some) drivers just need to slow down.”
Newcastle City Council has mooted plans to pedestrianise Blackett Street before the Great Exhibition of the North begins in the summer.
Their proposals for Blackett Street are still being finalised, but the local authority has assured bus users they won’t be inconvenienced.
However opposition Liberal Democrat councillors have raised concerns over the plans.
Opposition transport spokesperson Coun Greg Stone has asked the council to give assurances that the proposals will not lead to significant congestion in the city centre from buses using clusters of stops on the “loop”, including Market Street, Grainger Street, and Newgate Street.
A public consultation on the changes is due to launch in the next few weeks.