North Tyneside Council scraps cycle lane plans after authority 'listens to our residents'

Plans for a cycle lane in Preston Road, North Shields, have been dropped following a council review and local feedback.

North Tyneside Council has abandoned plans for proposed cycle lanes on the A192 Preston Road. The scheme was originally intended to improve sustainable links between the A1058 and North Shields town centre.

However, following engagement with families and businesses in the area and a review of the scheme, the authority has decided not to go ahead with it. Now, the council has stated it is working on other safety improvements for Preston Road.

According to a ‘Frequently Asked Questions’ document the council produced about the scheme, the local authority had acquired funding from the Department for Transport’s ‘Transforming Cities Fund’ to support the works.

North Tyneside Council Head of Highways and Transportation Paul Watson said: “We are a council that listens to our residents and adjusts our schemes based on their feedback. We engaged with the community directly impacted by the proposed cycle scheme on Preston Road in December 2023 and January 2024.

“The feedback pointed towards issues with parking, traffic flow and making the scheme fit with national design safety standards. Following this feedback we have carried out a detailed review and looked at alternative designs with these valid concerns at the centre of anything that was put forward.

“As a result, the Council has decided it is not possible to deliver a high-quality scheme that would meet the needs of residents and road users along the proposed route. The other key thing residents raised was about safety, concerns that have been echoed by local ward councillors.

“We are now working on some safety improvements for Preston Road that will include upgrading an existing crossing point, adding a new crossing point, and recruiting a School Crossing Patrol at Preston Road to serve the pupils of John Spence High School. We would like to thank everyone who took the time to submit comments on the proposed scheme.”

Preston with Preston Grange ward councillor, and the Tory candidate for next year’s North Tyneside mayoral race, Liam Bones said: “From the outset, residents were overwhelmingly against the unworkable proposals for a cycle path on Preston Road north. We're pleased that the Labour cabinet member has finally bowed to pressure from residents and scrapped the scheme.

“There are still significant concerns about safety on this stretch which the council now needs to address, we will be working with the Preston Road North safety campaign to do just that. There are also questions to be answered on how much money has been wasted on another failed vanity project."

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