£6BN wishlist
■ North East’s transport vision includes: ■ Leamside and Wearside Metro loop ■ Cycle, bus and electric vehicle lanes ■ Major upgrade planned for the A19
The vision for connecting Washington and other parts of Wearside to the Metro system is a step closer to becoming reality as North East leaders prepare to finalise a £6billion scheme aimed at reversing “shocking” underinvestment in the region’s transport infrastructure.
The North East Transport Plan, first revealed in November 2020, features almost 300 schemes that it is hoped can be delivered over the next 15 years and create or sustain 100,000 jobs – if the Government agrees to fund it.
A ‘Leamside and Wearside’ loop is part of the wishlist, which includes multiple extensions to the Tyne and Wear Metro, more electric vehicle charging points, and major upgrades to the A1 and A19.
Campaigners and local leaders have pushed for years to restore services to the mothballed Leamside rail link, which would enable Washington and other communities in outer parts of Sunderland to be hooked up to the Metro system.
Other projects on the huge list include:
:: New ‘bus, cycles and electric vehicles only’ lanes across Wearside;
:: New Metro stations in the Boldon area, and at Mill Lane in Hebburn.
About 3,400 people have now had their say on the proposal, after an eight-week consultation that ended last week, and North East politicians say it is vital to combating a “stark imbalance” with other areas – especially London.
Some have claimed that the giant plans are still not ambitious enough, with environmental activists labelling the proposals “business as usual” and calling for more radical thinking to promote walking, cycling and public transport over car use.
Alistair Ford, of the Tyne and Wear Public Transport Users Group, added: “We know that to enable people to leave the car at home those alternatives have to be made more attractive by investing in infrastructure, by providing integrated tickets between bus, Metro, and rail services, and even increasing car parking costs to help subsidise sustainable transport.
“It’s sad to see that some of these things are missing and others aren’t planned until the 2030s, which is far too late.”