LTN replacement faces resident backlash

Plans to replace a ditched low traffic neighbourhood (LTN) have faced criticism from residents.

The proposals for Heaton, in Newcastle, include introducing a number of streets one way, widening pavements and rolling out residents-only parking permits.

But one local said the scheme was "bad for drivers, cyclists and pedestrians", whereas another said they feared their "quiet road would become a highway".

The local authority said it would be talking to local people and businesses to gather views.

Bollards were installed in the suburb in 2022 but were scrapped in April because too many vehicles were using the back lanes of Heaton Park, creating a "safety risk", according to Newcastle City Council.

The new plans are a combination of two options the council had presented to residents earlier this month.

Labour councillor Marion Williams said the authority had taken into account issues and suggestions raised by residents, using data collected while the LTN was in place.

But Dr Michaela Fay, another Heaton resident, called the plans a "dog's dinner".

"It's a sort of rushed mashup of option one and two," she said, adding she feared plans would end up "funnelling car traffic through the whole residential area".

Dr Fay had been canvassing local residents to support the second of the two choices the council previously presented.

Resident Ann-Kathrin Köhler said in her opinion the neighbourhood had been safer and traffic more evenly distributed following the LTN's removal.

The new traffic plans "seem totally forced upon us", she said, adding she feared the plans would lead to her street being "flooded with an overwhelming amount of cars".

She said she had spoken to many in the area who were "sick with dread" about the new proposals.

The council is running an initial consultation about the new plans until 30 August.

It will then finalise proposals ahead of a "formal public consultation later in the year".

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