Photo by Jonas Ruehaak

A plan fostered by Newcastle City Council out of an abundance of caution to make a section of Jesmond Dene Road one-way was revealed at a public meeting last week.

At the North Jesmond Ward meeting held on October 15th Sam Dyke, the manager of Newcastle City Council’s Traffic Management Centre, discussed plans to make part of Jesmond Dene Road one-way for traffic but two-way for cyclists. The idea, Dyke said, would “mitigate risk.”

Although Dyke said the proposal is “very much in its infancy” it comes at a time of tension between local residents and the Council amid the controversial Acorn Road development proposal, which also involves a one-way traffic system but two-way cycling access.

Dyke said of the proposal, which concerns the narrow stretch of road between Jesmond Dene House and Lindisfarne Road:

“We’ve had some concerns raised in the past through ward councillors and also through some residents about the proximity to the Dene, and the fact that we’ve got timber fencing that edges the road which doesn’t actually form any vehicle restraint system and really is there just to define the edge of the carriageway to drivers using the road.

“We are concerned there is a potential risk there for drivers using that road, so what we are considering at the moment to try and mitigate that risk is to make that section of Jesmond Dene Road one-way. The proposal in very much in its infancy and we are very keen to get views of residents, particularly those using that road.”

When asked by a resident whether the justification of the plan was so that the council couldn’t be sued if an accident were to happen, Dyke’s response was “yes, there is an element of wanting to ensure that we address every issue with potential liability.”

The proposal appeared to be supported by Councillor Catherine Walker and a number of other local residents, with Cllr Walker calling attention to the fact that Council money would not be used for the project. Instead a proportion of nationwide funding has already been designated to the scheme.

The funding, she said, was initially set up to ensure the safety of footbridges over railways and was continued afterwards to address any other roads where there could be an accident: “It’s a 14 to 15 metre drop in some sections and also the footpath runs very close in parts to the actual barrier so if a car went over and there was someone walking along…”

One member of the community claimed he knew of no accidents on the road in over 40 years of using it, but local Lindisfarne Rd resident Georgina commented that in fact, her husband had had to pull two cars out of the Dene last winter and that a car did go over the railing and crash into the Dene ”many years ago”.

The proposal aims to move traffic nearer to the wall side and away from the edge of the Dene, but some residents present at the meeting were concerned that a one-way system might result in drivers’ speed increasing or create a ‘rat run’ down the road, which they believed could potentially be more dangerous than the current situation.

In a subsequent statement to the Jesmond Residents’ Assocation, Newcastle City Council said that “Jesmond Dene Road is very narrow and there is very little space for two vehicles to pass one another.

“In order to reduce risk and improve safety for drivers we plan to make Jesmond Dene Road one way northwards between the junction with Lindisfarne Road and the entrance to Jesmond Dene House Hotel. This will remove the potential conflict between vehicles on this stretch.

“We plan to allow cyclists to continue to use this route in both directions and this would be clearly indicated on the road.”

A map of the area as well as comment sheets are available for the next week in Jesmond Library for residents to make their views known. The deadline for responses is October 31st