Sunday saw the removal of Heaton's LTN by Newcastle City Council following a street celebration organised by several residents in favour of the bollards
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This weekend, Heaton's low-traffic neighbourhood (LTN) was demolished, barely hours after a demonstration opposing its demolition took place in the street. Readers of ChronicleLive have been expressing their opinions in our comments section below.
Bollards blocking through traffic were installed in the area in October 2022 on an 18-month trial basis with the aim of making it “much more attractive and safer for the people who live there”. Workers from Newcastle City Council arrived on Sunday morning to remove those bollards that had been put in place eighteen months earlier to prevent certain streets from being used as 'rat runs'.
The demolition occurred shortly after local families, who were in favour of the experiment, organised a community protest on Heaton Park View. Children carried signs urging the Council to “keep it car free” and alerting drivers to the fact that 3,000 cars per day might now re-enter the road.
Recently, the local authority declared that the bollards will be removed because too many cars were being diverted from main highways to other residential neighbourhoods or back lanes as a result of the initiative. Some people are not happy by the decision and have called it a step backward, and are worried that it will take years to find a resolution to this issue.
A council report has claimed that local opinion on the Heaton LTN was split almost evenly and “strongly polarised”, with critics of the project calling it a “muddled” idea that had “just created congestion and hassle”.
Opinion form readers is divided as to the best way forward, Humble18 says: "it’s a road designed and built for MOTOR VEHICLES not for your kids to play on…" Blackcab points out; "The road is next to a PARK." Ovlovfh4 agrees: "There is a massive park called Heaton park, one called Armstrong park and another called Jesmond dene, oh and the stadium just off Warwick street that these kids can all play in! It’s been a joke trying to get around Heaton these last 2 years!"
Heaton64 disagrees: "I live in the area - this scheme needed tinkering with but was supported and needed - there was a 'consultation' process in which getting rid of the scheme was not even mentioned!"
Nadizzy is concerned about the cost of the project: "Putting in permanent bollards and road markings, when you only have an experimental order in place, is even more of a farce, what an absolute waste of money. Should have left the concrete blocks there until they had a definitive plan of what was going on."
Do you think areas of the city should be car free? Have your say in the comments section below:
"It needed tinkering with but it was supported" - Locals speak out as Heaton bollards ripped out
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25.04.2024
Sunday saw the removal of Heaton's LTN by Newcastle City Council following a street celebration organised by several residents in favour of the bollards
Get the latest news from Newcastle straight to your inbox
We have more newsletters
Get the latest news from Newcastle straight to your inbox
We have more newsletters
This weekend, Heaton's low-traffic neighbourhood (LTN) was demolished, barely hours after a demonstration opposing its demolition took place in the street. Readers of ChronicleLive have been expressing their opinions in our comments section below.
Bollards blocking through traffic were installed in the area in October 2022 on an 18-month trial basis with the aim of making it “much more........
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