Traffic permanently banned on five Newcastle bridges in a bid to improve air quality

A cyclist on Salters Bridge. Credit: Newcastle City Council

Traffic will be permanently banned from five Newcastle bridges in a bid to stop alleged rat-running by drivers and improve air quality for locals by cutting car usage.

Council bosses announced today (1 February) a long-awaited verdict on the future of five crossings that were pedestrianised 18 months ago.

It is part of the city's first Low Traffic Neighbourhoods (LTNs).

The experimental closures that will now be made permanent:

  • Salters Bridge in Gosforth

  • Castle Farm Road Bridge next to Jesmond Dene

  • Haldane Bridge in Jesmond

  • The Argyle Street Bridge in Shieldfield

  • Stoneyhurst Bridge in South Gosforth

The measures have sparked huge debate and have been said to have "set neighbour against neighbour" in the most polarised areas, with the Stoneyhurst closure in particular provoking vocal opposition.

Supporters of the changes say they have made routes safer for cyclists and pedestrians, particularly children, and reduced pollution in residential streets.

But critics have argued that the closures have simply displaced traffic onto already congested main roads and had an especially negative impact on elderly or disabled residents who rely on car and taxi journeys.

The five bridges in Newcastle that will be permanently shut off to traffic.

Cllr Ged Bell, the Labour-run council's cabinet member for development, neighbourhoods, and transport, said: "We're committed to creating safer, cleaner and greener neighbourhoods and the closure of these bridges to traffic is a part of achieving this.

"We recognise that public opinion has been split on this, as it often is with measures that prioritise or provide more space for active travel. The closure of some bridges to traffic have been more warmly welcomed than others, but we believe it is the right thing to do to create better neighbourhoods which put people first."

Some campaigners say it is a really positive step for pedestrians and cyclists.

Garden Village resident Audrey Macnaughton said she and other campaigners were "absolutely thrilled" by the decision to keep the medieval Salters Bridge closed to traffic, after long-standing complaints about speeding and heavy traffic caused by commuters on Hollywood Avenue.

Liberal Democrat Cllr Wendy Taylor complained that locals' views had been "ignored" at Stoneyhurst, where almost 80% of responses to a council consultation were opposed to a permanent closure.

The authority said its decisions were based on the results of the six-month consultation, which generated 42,000 responses in all - and factors including traffic levels, speeds, pollution, and how well used the bridges have been by walkers and cyclists.

The Room for Us All campaign group, which has opposed the Stoneyhurst closure, claimed that noise pollution, congestion, air quality, and anti-social behaviour had all worsened as a result of the 18-month experiment.

A spokesperson for the group added: "We were promised meetings which didn't happen and access to the data before the report was published, which didn't happen. We have been asking for the reports about emergency service access for over six months, yet we have still not received them."

The council said that it would consider "minor works" around Stoneyhurst in response to the concerns of locals, including creating a possible one-way system on surrounding side streets.

The second round of LTNs were announced for Arthur's Hill, Fenham and Heaton back in November.

There are more LTNs expected to be revealed soon in Jesmond, Shieldfield, West Fenham, Kenton and the Ouseburn Valley.