The Executive Report about the scheme proposals is online here:
The Public Consultation report about the scheme proposals is available here:
Public Consultation Report (PDF 281kb)
The consultation period is now over. If you have not been able to attend an event or would like to discuss the scheme further please do not hesitate to contact us.
This funding bid is for major scheme (> £5million) Local Transport Plan money.
The bid is specifically related to “Bus Corridor improvements within Tyne and Wear” and will be submitted to DfT by Nexus on behalf of Tyne and Wear in late 2009.
The scheme also feeds into the Gosforth Study - this study has a longer time frame and includes elements of other projects and programmes that are ongoing.
These wider projects and programmes include ‘sustainable routes to school’ audits. These audits are currently taking place at schools across Gosforth and will continue into next year.
The funding bid is focused on an area of Gosforth that sees a large proportion of traffic moving through it daily.
Blue House roundabout, Haddricks Mill roundabouts and the Church Road/Salters Road junction with Gosforth High Street provide the main junctions in a triangle corridor that sees both local and wider commuter traffic moving through it every day.
The amount of private vehicles using these junctions and connecting roads continues to rise. So too do journey times and delays.
Over recent years Tyne and Wear has had, and indeed still faces the fastest predicted growth in car ownership in Great Britain. This presents capacity issues for these key junctions and the ability of all road users to access the services they need when they need them.
First and foremost the Council has to create a strong business case for making these changes.
During building work there would be a degree of impact on all road users. Every opportunity to minimise this impact will be taken but the Council need to prove that the benefits of the scheme outweigh the costs of work and of the negative impact during the building work.
This is calculated using a cost benefit ratio.
The cost benefit ratio takes into account a range of benefits such as time savings and road safety implications and compares them to dis-benefits such as any increased journey times, cost of the scheme and the time frame for building work.
If the benefits (social, financial and environmental) are considered to outweigh the costs (social, financial and environmental) then the scheme will have a positive cost benefit ratio.
The business case outlines the schemes and makes use of a micro-simulation model that is designed to illustrate the current use of road and the impacts improvements would have.
Further details about the appraisal process are available at www.webtag.org.uk
In peak hours across Gosforth there is greater demand than there is 
capacity for certain movements of traffic. This is most evident at three key junctions and the connecting roads.
The three key junctions we are looking to improve are Blue House roundabout, Haddricks Mill roundabouts and the junction of Church Road and Salters Road. This will not only improve the flow of local traffic but traffic coming from wider areas.
Different movements across the junctions are more popular at different times of the peak hours. At Haddricks Mill and Blue House in particular this creates imbalances in traffic and as such big queues ensue. At off peak hours there are major road safety concerns at these two junctions. Both Blue House and Haddricks Mill are amongst the main accident hotspots outside Newcastle City Centre. At all times neither junction is considered very safe by pedestrians or cyclists.
Gosforth High Street suffers problems in peak hours. The road is used to access housing and services along its length and also acts to move traffic from further afield. Vehicles stop on the carriageway and vans deliver goods to businesses. This means that two lanes are often cut down to one which results in problems as vehicles move in and out of lanes causing other vehicles behind them to stop and start. This stopping and starting reduces the consistency of movement and so reduces the capacity of the road.
The Church Road - Salters Road junction is a poor junction for pedestrians and does not manage the traffic flow into surrounding roads as well as it could. Whilst it is these specific junctions we seek to improve traffic flow and movement through, we are also looking at other junctions such as Regent Centre and Osborne Road - Jesmond Dene Road as part of the scheme proposals.
Blue House roundabout
We will slightly change the alignment of the road on three approaches and add traffic signals at the junction. This will allow for priorities to be shared according to demand at particular times. It will also allow better control of the traffic flow to surrounding roads and make road safety improvements for all users including drivers, pedestrians and cyclists.
Proposed Improvements (pdf 118kb)
Haddricks Mill roundabouts
There will be a change to the alignment of the road that will affect the eastern side (Benton Park Road and Killingworth Road approach) more than the western side. Given the proximity to houses and shops (Station Road and Haddricks Mill Road approach) there are limits to the changes we can make at the western end. By moving the eastern of the two roundabouts, making it bigger and adding traffic signals to the approaches it will allow more traffic to move around it at any time. By adding traffic signals to the western approach we can ensure access to the roundabout is shared according to demand, rather than as it currently acts.
Proposed Improvements (pdf105kb)
Church Road - Salters Road junction with the High Street
We could make the junction much simpler by making it a more traditional crossroads. This would allow a full set of traffic lights to be eliminated so traffic can move through this junction at a more consistent and reliable rate. Pedestrian access will also be significantly improved by this change.
Proposed Improvements (pdf 97kb)
Gosforth High Street
Along the High Street we intend to make the road much more reliable whilst accommodating into the design of the road the current problems. The road will move from being a range of one to two lanes in each direction to a consistent one lane of traffic moving in each direction.
In the central focal area of the High Street outside Trinity Church and the shopping centre the road will be narrowed to allow for easier pedestrian crossing. At both ends of this focal point, loading bays and short term parking bays will be created on street. Bus and cycle lanes with bus priority at traffic lights will be put in place in the run up to these one lane areas. This will connect the current bus lanes north of the High Street with the bus lanes to the south, further improving public transport reliability and speed.
These proposals make up a package of improvements that would create benefits to transport through Gosforth for all users. We will not only seek to add short term parking on street but also ensure we maximise all areas of parking in the vicinity of the High Street that replaces lost parking in the car park on Salters Road.
Proposed Improvements (1.60mb)
A business case is being developed in partnership with Nexus. Subject to public support, acceptance of the business case as well as funding from the Department for Transport, work would start early in 2012. Further consultation would take place concerning elements of detailed design if the case has been successful and funding secured.
Council officers will be on hand to discuss plans with residents at a number of locations throughout September. A further meeting will be arranged to discuss plans with businesses in the area. These meetings are listed below.
Monday 14 September
4pm to 7pm
St Nicholas' Church, South Gosforth
Wednesday 16 and Thursday 17th September
3pm to 7pm
Gosforth Customer Service Centre/Library
Monday 28 September
4pm to 7pm
Gosforth Customer Service Centre/Library
Plans will also be on show and officers on hand to answer questions at informal drop in sessions in advance of local ward committee meetings:
If you have any comments or feedback please fill in our contact form.
Or should you wish to write to the Council please do so at this address:
Gosforth Transport Improvements
Strategic Housing Planning and Transportation
FREEPOST
NT623
Newcastle upon Tyne
NE1 1BR
Please ensure your representations reach us within September. Should they arrive after September they will be read and noted but may not be included in the public consultation report. You can drop any comments in by hand at the Civic Centre on Barras Bridge or Gosforth Customer Service Centre and Library or hand it to a council officer at one of the events listed.
You can also contact one of our transport officers working on the scheme.
Phone us: 0191 2116012
Email us: transportdevelopments@newcastle.gov.uk
Page last updated: 16 August, 2011
