WILL THERE BE A U-TURN ON THE ONE-WAY SYSTEM?
Residents and traders baffled and annoyed over traffic changes made in coastal towns
RESIDENTS AND LOCAL TRADERS HIT OUT AT BAN ON TRAFFIC
A controversial decision to close Park View in Whitley Bay to traffic is set to be reviewed next week following criticism from local people.
It comes after a petition was launched to urge North Tyneside council to scrap temporary traffic restrictions introduced in a bid to slow the spread of coronavirus.
Now, the council say a decision to close Park View to traffic will be reviewed next week after residents raised “particular concerns”.
The southbound carriageway of the road along the coast between Whitley Bay and Tynemouth has also become a two-way cycle route to allow the promenade to be used solely by people walking. Other schemes put in place are:
■ Fish Quay pedestrian zone;
■ High Street West, Wallsend, pedestrian zone;
■ Tynemouth Front Street footpath widening.
A petition against the measures has been launched on change.org urging a council rethink.
It said: “This is going to cause a lot of traffic disruptions all around
Monkseaton and Whitley bay, with motorists having to find alternate routes to get towards Tynemouth.
“This change to the road network will cause chaos on other roads around the local area, making residential roads much more busy and present more hazards for people living on those roads. The route from Whitley Bay to Tynemouth is a major traffic artery. This change must be stopped.”
And one resident condemned the closure of Park View to motor vehicles saying that it would make the next few months a “nightmare” for traders and residents.
Jean Peacock, who lives in Roxburgh Terrace, said: “Traffic in the street will increase due to cars having to leave Park View and drive down our street to continue north.
The next few months are going to be a complete nightmare for residents, traders and visitors.
“Today has been a nightmare, unable to get out of my street due to traffic. Today has not been sunny and the whole street was gridlocked – heaven help us when the sun shines.”
Michael Reay, owner of Cottage Kitchen, just off Park View, raised fears the scheme would put residents off using local businesses.
“The majority of people come down in their cars, jump out of the car and go to the local shops to get what they need,” he said.
“Residents have gone out of their way to support local businesses, people have supported me by buying food. This has hindered that. This will damage local business.”
Mr Reay added: “It is going to send people under. This could be the final nail in my coffin.”
Megan Balloch, owner of the 129 Coffee Shop agreed, saying: “Some of my regular clientele are older and need to be able to take cars because of mobility. It will have a devastating impact on my business because they cannot park.
“Already there are fewer customers out on the street. From a business point of view there is a negative impact. The Whitley Bay Chamber of Trade was consulted on this, but they don’t just represent Park View. The council needs to rethink this.”
And Nicola Strasser of Anne Thomas Work Wear said: “It is a nightmare, I hate it. We suggested a one-way system. I have had two people in my shop and normally I would have had 20 to 30 people.”
The council insist the measures are needed to keep residents safe – and ward councillor
John O’Shea said adjusting to the changes could be challenging for some businesses, but said that they are needed for the protection of the public.
“The council consulted with the Whitley Bay Chamber of Trade, who were agreeable to the changes,” he said. “Clearly people need some time to adjust to the new arrangements and they will be under constant review. The aim of the changes was to protect social distancing. The safety of residents is foremost. Whitley Bay has to be a safe place to shop.” And Coun Carl Johnson, cabinet member for environment and transport, added: “We are listening to all feedback from residents and while much of it is positive, we know there are particular concerns regarding the Park View element. We’ve always said we ‘d monitor the impact and over the weekend we will be looking at the Park View measures in particular. “We’ve already heard from several businesses at Park View but we want to receive feedback from them all. We are writing to every business to ensure we get this.
“We will review the feedback and take a decision early next week on whether the Park View measures will stay in place.”
However, not everyone is against the changes. National charity Living Streets, which promotes walking, cycling and more liveable streets, has a group in North Tyneside, and coordinator Tom Bailey said: “We are very supportive of the measures to create new space for walking and cycling and support social distancing.
“We’re very keen to see these measures become permanent and also to see rapid progress of other interventions, including more pop up cycleways, and we hope measures to create ‘low traffic neighbourhoods’ across the borough.”
This will damage local business. It is going to send people under. This could be the final nail in my coffin