We really need your opinions so we can represent the nearly 4,000 people who signed the Petition against building on the Town Moor and the proposed changes to the Blue House Roundabout. Monday is the first meeting- here is the email from Graham Grant, agenda and terms of reference in full. We will utilise this forum to give maximum transparency to the process and will call for the papers and minutes to be published by the Council. Please post your views below. Thank you for your help Change.org team Hello, I am writing to invite a representative from your organisation / special interest group to take part in a working group that will look at revising proposals for connecting key junctions in the north of the city. I've provided a list below this email of the groups invited. The focus will be on the Blue House roundabout and the section of Jesmond Dene Road between the roundabout and the turn onto Matthew Bank. To support you, we’ll be providing links to colleagues at Newcastle University who can help provide means to enable you to communicate with your wider representatives (should you need it). The working group will be facilitated by John Dales (we’ve linked to a profile here- http://www.urbanmovement.co.uk/john-dales.html). John is the Chair of the national Transport Planning Society https://tps.org.uk/, and a Trustee of the national charity to promote everyday walking – Living Streets https://www.livingstreets.org.uk/. John has been supporting the council in our work to consider the next phase of changes on Gosforth High Street (working with some local traders and community representatives to do so), and so carries a strong knowledge of the local area into this work. Although commissioned by Newcastle City Council, John will be working to provide you with independent advice and support in the design process. We’ll talk about the process at the first meeting with you. Ultimately, John will be asked to make a recommendation to the council. At these meetings, it’ll be likely that I’ll be there on behalf of the council, but will be in listening mode to help ensure I can support John and the group in the periods between meetings. Dates of the meetings are outlined below, all are a 17:30 for a prompt 18:00 start (20:00 finish). Obviously, work will continue between meetings. We really look forward to seeing you next Monday in the Bewick Dobson room for the first meeting. Please can you RSVP to Ali Lamb (copied) with the confirmed name of your representative. Monday 19th September; Monday 3rd October; Monday 31st October; and then Monday 28th November. Thanks, Graham G Grant Head of Transport Investment | Newcastle City Council Tel: +44 (0)191 211 6011 | graham.grant@newcastle.gov.uk | www.newcastle.gov.uk/renewcastle Representatives are being invited from: Newcastle Youth Parliament; Save Newcastle Wildlife; Gosforth Traffic (facebook group); Save Our Town Moor (facebook group); Change.org petition; High West Jesmond Residents Association; Jesmond Residents Association; 5 Admirals Residents Association; Jesmond Dene Environment Residents Association; West Gosforth Residents Association; East Gosforth Councillors; West Gosforth Councillors; North Jesmond Councillors; North Jesmond Councillors; Wingrove Councillors; New Cycling (local rep); Newcastle Cycling Stakeholder Forum; SPACE for Gosforth; Newcastle Passenger Transport User Group; Bus Operators. Blue House and Jesmond Dene Road Working Group Terms of Reference (Draft) Background Newcastle City Council has secured funding to make a series of highway improvements aimed at dealing with traffic flows across the North of Newcastle (focused on a series of junctions). Building on earlier work at Cowgate and Four Lane Ends, the package of measures now proposed covers (from west to east) Cow Hill, Kenton Road / Grandstand Road junction, the Blue House Roundabout, junctions on Jesmond Dene Road at Osborne Road and Moorfield; and the Haddricks Mill roundabouts at South Gosforth. Blue House Roundabout experiences congestion during the peak hours on all approaches, with extensive queues on the Great North Road and Jesmond Dene Road approaches. The layout of the approach roads to the junction are not aligned and the potential realignment of these is restricted by the presence of a residential property on the north-west side of the junction and the proximity of heavily protected moorland. The approaches are laid out as avenues with trees. The Blue House Roundabout and the junction of Osborne Road and Jesmond Dene Road, in particular, experience substantial numbers of collisions due to the geometry and operating conditions; and these junctions cause acute problems for public transport (delay) and for pedestrians and cyclists (accessibility, safety and security). Between the 25th July and the 21st August, the public, local businesses and local stakeholders were consulted on initial proposals for these junctions. Taking into account the scale and nature of the responses to the proposals for Blue House and the junction of Jesmond Dene Road with Osborne Road, the Council has decided to work with representatives of local residents’ groups and other stakeholders to inform and bring forward a new proposal. Key Considerations • Proposals for change must take into account existing issues associated with the junction, including safety, health considerations and congestion. • In relation to congestion and associated negative impacts, consideration must also be given to current predictions of future traffic growth affecting the study area. • Proposals must improve road safety at the junctions. • The completed scheme must be low maintenance. • Relevant design guidance, standards and regulations should be considered and followed, as appropriate. • The needs of all user groups should be considered. • The junctions and local highway network will need to operate satisfactorily during construction. • Impinging on the adjacent moorland, allotments and their access, and on private property, should be avoided if possible within the wider constraints of the requirement to make improvements. • The access requirements for events that take place on the Moor, such as the Hoppings and the Mela, should be taken into account. Remit of the Working Group The Working Group is tasked with bringing forward ideas for alternative proposals for the study area, taking into account the considerations outlined earlier. Scheme elements under consideration will be: • Design, size and position of the junction at Blue House • Design of the junctions on Jesmond Dene Road with Moorfield and Osborne Road • Position of footpaths and cycling infrastructure • Materials used for footpaths and cycling infrastructure • Signage • The need for and position of bus stops and bus lanes • Type and positioning of replanting/landscaping • Need for any street furniture Participants need to appreciate construction and maintenance budget constraints in this process. The ease of construction and the disruption the works will cause to businesses and residents in the area must be considered. The group will be facilitated by John Dales (Chair of the national Transport Planning Society, and a Trustee of the national charity to promote everyday walking, Living Streets). John has been commissioned to provide the group with independent advice and support in the design process. Ultimately, John will be asked to make a recommendation to the council, based on the work of the group. Timeline The Working Group will meet a maximum of five times for no longer than two hours each time, with sufficient time between meetings to enable the Council is able to respond to comments and requests for information. A general arrangement drawing of the recommended scheme design will be produced before the end of November. Proposed meeting dates are set out below, along with initial proposals for what each meeting will focus on. All are a 17:30 for a prompt 18:00 start (20:00 finish). The first meeting, on Monday 19th September, will be in the Bewick Dobson room at the Civic Centre. Only invited members of the group will be able to attend. Monday 19th September. Introduction from NCC (GG), including the nature of the challenge. Introduction from John Dales, on the opportunity both at Blue House and for what happens there to change Newcastle’s future transport strategy. Introductory comments from all participants. Agree/clarify the Working Group’s Terms of Reference, including the geographical scope of the study area; future programme; outputs; communications. Monday 3rd October. Review July consultation scheme option, two others that NCC officers had previously prepared, and possibly another option prepared by JD. Consider pros/cons of each to derive an agreed assessment framework with different criteria (e.g. tree loss, cycle and walking provision, land take, queue lengths, cost…) Monday 31st October Using the assessment framework previously devised, appraise 2-3 options (some previous, some new/modifications) for different traffic growth scenarios. Monday 28th November Clarify, as far as possible, a single preferred scheme for the Council to take forward to formal consultation. Also, prepare recommendations to NCC about what else it should do, covering policy, strategy and design, in order to enable more people-/city-friendly designs to come forward in other places in due course.