Newcastle Council has released detailed technical designs for Acorn Road, following its decision to continue with an amended version of Option 1 for the road, which was subject to a public consultation last year.

The new design, which aims to benefit both cyclists and pedestrians, will now only lose one parking space instead of 10 proposed in the original design. The council decided to amend the plan due to the submission of an opposition petition, led by North Jesmond councillor Peter Breakey, who presented the views of residents concerned about the loss of parking along the stretch of road.

Councillor Ged Bell said: “As loss of parking was people’s main concern and our consultation showed that many residents and businesses were in favour of the scheme, the pragmatic decision would be to press ahead with the improvements.”

Shehla Naqvi, organiser of the pro-Option 1 petition, felt the new design was “hugely compromised” and seems “a shadow of what we wanted at the start”, although added that it is still a “positive outcome”.

Katja Leyendecker and Sally Watson of the Newcastle Cycling Campaign agreed, as they feel the new design has been “compromised” in order to try and keep parking spaces. Leyendecker said that “the space hasn’t been apportioned in an equitable way, there isn’t quite room for everything.

“Space still hasn’t been shifted away from cars […] it needs to be reapportioned to cyclists and pedestrians. [The council] have tried to make everyone happy and in that they’re not making anyone happy.”

Watson added that after seeing the plans, it is clear “there will be a significant improvement for pedestrians”. She had previously raised concerns for mothers, like herself, finding it “stressful” and “dangerous” to walk along Acorn Road with a buggy and/or small children. The raising of road surfaces to the levels of footpaths and widening of the footpaths aims to improve this.

Watson commented: “the reluctance to lose three or four parking spaces means that they have not protected the ends of all the parking bays with build-outs (planters and bollards in this case). This means that cars will continue to park where they shouldn’t […] making it difficult for people to cross the road and obscuring lines of sight for people in cars and on bikes.”

The council expect work to begin on Acorn Road no earlier than May 2015.