‘99.9% don’t want new cycle lane’
RESIDENTS CLAIM MOVE DANGEROUS
HEATON Road residents are begging city leaders to rethink “unsafe” cycle lane plans that they fear will cause major disruption.
Newcastle City Council wants to extend the cycle lane northbound on the busy route all the way up to the Coast Road from its existing endpoint near Meldon Terrace.
But many locals are complaining that the changes, which will mean that onstreet parking is banned along one side of Heaton Road, and could make life worse for drivers, cyclists and pedestrians.
A petition handed to local authority bosses last week claims that the proposals are “badly planned and certainly not communicated well, as no consideration has been given to the concerns of residents”.
Chris Briton says he had no idea of the plans until after he bought his house this summer and worries that having double yellow lines outside will devalue his property, as well as posing a safety risks to cyclists from motorists reversing on or off their drives.
The 46-year-old added: “99.9% of the people I know here are opposed to this, but the council is not prepared to listen.
“I appreciate that there is a massive push on climate change and road safety, but should that be at the detriment of people who have paid hundreds of thousands of pounds for their homes? There should be a compromise.
“This money could be better spent on improving infrastructure elsewhere.”
Fellow Heaton Road resident Kevin Stables added that the Streets for People scheme is an “accident waiting to happen”.
He said: “This is about safety for cyclists, motorists and pedestrians.
“The disruption this is going to cause is just too much for what the council will gain.
“They cannot even maintain the existing cycle lane safely, so how are they going to manage a longer one?”
Council transport chief Arlene Ainsley has told the campaigners that there would be little benefit in organising further meetings with residents “that would only serve to make some happy and alienate others”.
She added: “I must stress that every resident on Heaton Road received a leaflet advising them how they could find more information, there has also been coverage of the proposals in City Life magazine, videos across social media and reports.
“All comments made throughout this process have been listened to by officers and the most recent set of discussions was pulled together into a single document of responses that was shared with anyone who had been involved. “Despite this robust approach it is clear that not everyone will agree with the responses or the approach.
“However, in the context of a climate emergency it is important that we improve sustainable alternatives to car use, we need to make hard decisions.” Mark Nelson, of community movement SPACE for Heaton, said that a lengthened cycle lane will mean people on bikes are no longer “thrown into the road” once they pass the Heaton Road shops and would be particularly beneficial for schoolchildren.
He added: “Any sort of change is controversial. You have to ask that if it will be dangerous reversing on and off drives when there is a cycle lane, how is it not dangerous already?
“There is not a house on that road without a drive, so I would say that the argument for keeping parking there is pretty slim to say the least.”
Resident Kevin Stables
The disruption this is going to cause is just too much for what the council will gain