“Older NIMBYs prioritised over young people again”: Council scraps bike lane scheme that would allow kids to cycle to school, after meeting “hijacked by Tories” preventing safety improvements

A council has drawn the ire of local cyclists and campaigners after it decided to scrap the plans to install bike lanes that would have served as popular routes for children to cycle to and from schools, after a meeting to collect feedback over the scheme was “hijacked” by “Tories” and “NIMBYs” who apparently wanted to prevent any sort of safety improvements.

North Tyneside Council had announced that it would be installing a cycle lane on Preston North Road to offer a sustainable transport medium between the A1058 Coast and Beach Road and the town centre in North Shields.

However, the plans were scrapped last week after the residents’ meeting, where locals provided negative feedback about the bike lane, particularly citing issues like access to parking spaces and reduced traffic flow, as well as making the scheme fit national design safety standards.

Instead, the authority said it would now work on safety improvement for Preston Road including upgrades to an existing crossing point and recruiting a school crossing patrol to serve the pupils of John Spence High School.

Street Life North Tyneside group, a campaign organisation advocating for safer roads by asking for infrastructure such as cycle paths and traffic-free school streets, has slammed the council for succumbing to the “vocal minority”.

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Alison Stenning, a committee member of the group and also a Professor of Social & Economic Geography at Newcastle University and formerly lecturer in the Centre for Urban and Regional Development Studies, said: “It seems like there is an awful lot of questions to be asked about what has gone on here and how it relates to the ongoing commitments to a variety of policies and practices.

“We don't understand why, it's not really clear, they say they've listened to residents it's not clear which residents they've listened to and whether it was a small group of vocal objecting or more widely.

“One of the primary motivations for building this scheme is it would enable children to get to John Spence and then on to Marden and Thomas More safely from North Shields town centre. There are over 140 kids a day who cycle to John Spence, they don't all cycle up Preston Road, but a significant proportion do, and I know other kids cycle up the road too, and they cycle on the pavements because that's the only option they have at the moment.

“Clearly they are put in conflict with pedestrians and residents getting to their cars, and it's not an ideal situation for anyone.”

“This was never about the safety of the road for those at the meeting.”

Professor Stenning also raised questions about what will happen with the funding for the scheme, which originally came from the Department for Transport’s ‘Transforming Cities Fund.’

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A North Shields mum, Brooke West went on to say her son, Felix, who cycles to Marden High School, was left frustrated at the news that the scheme would no longer be going ahead.

West told Chronicle Live: “I think for us, there is not a really a clear safe route for cyclists to get to any of the main high schools nearby, Marden, John Spence etc. I think Felix is fine cycling but it's the pedestrian side of it, when he is on the path people are a bit disgruntled when he is behind them, but I don't expect them to be on the road either, it's a combined issue.”

“He is frustrated and was looking forward to a safe route. It has been a bit frustrating that's the main thing for us, it’s a busy walkway and it makes it quite difficult in both respects.”

A person who allegedly visited the council’s feedback meeting, wrote on a comments forum: “The residents of the town in favour of the bike lane had the good sense to keep away from this meeting. Those who did attend were treated with hostility. This was never about the safety of the road for those at the meeting. It was a handful of people from the dozen houses on the route upset at having to cross the bike lane to their cars. It was claimed that there would be hundreds of speeding bikes, but it was also claimed that it was a waste of money as it wouldn’t be used… Councillors were very clear they were against it.”

They added: “The logic doesn’t add up at all. Council say the road is dangerous and so they have changed their minds and are not going to improve safety. How can they keep their jobs if they are incapable of making a major road into the town safe for all users? The meeting at the Three Sails [sports bar] was supposed to be about making the road safer. It was actually about preventing safety improvements.

“Successful political opportunism by the local Tories who won half of all their council seats in this single ward. Older NIMBYs prioritised over young people yet again. No wonder schools and youth groups are having to close as families choose to live elsewhere. Who can blame them when there is nothing for them in the area. Plenty of bars and nightlife, but nothing for the next generation.”

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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.”