Strawberry Lane next to St James' Park to become full pedestrian zone
Vehicles will permanently be banned from a street next to St James’ Park in an effort to make the area safer for Newcastle United fans and city centre workers.
Newcastle City Council has confirmed plans to turn Strawberry Lane into a pedestrian and cycle zone for good.
The narrow street, next to the Strawberry pub and the £30 million One Strawberry Lane office complex, has already been the subject of temporary traffic restrictions to accommodate construction work near the football stadium.
But city transport officials are now moving to permanently block cars from the street, which they complained was previously “used as a rat run by some drivers” cutting between Strawberry Place and Gallowgate.
A spokesperson for Newcastle City Council said: “There are a number of new developments in this part of the city centre and the area is particularly busy on match days with many thousands of football fans making their way to St James’ Park.
“There have been temporary traffic restrictions in place on Strawberry Lane during the recent development works and we are now making these arrangements permanent.
“This will create a safer pedestrian and cycle zone for people, including fans travelling to Newcastle United’s home games, without causing any significant impact on wider traffic. A further benefit is that the changes will also help to improve access to premises in this area for delivery and servicing vehicles.
“We know that better walking and cycling routes are a priority for our residents and that this is also key to helping people reduce their car journeys.
“This is one way that we can support people to make alternative transport choices that are better for them and better for our city’s environment and air quality.”
An order signed by the council at the end of January prohibits vehicles from accessing Strawberry Lane off Strawberry Place and also applies to the full length of Back Gallowgate.
Two public objections were made against the plan – with one resident complaining that the changes will remove the only vehicular access between Strawberry Place and Gallowgate, while another said that the council’s policies risked “dissuading drivers from venturing into the city, as parking becomes increasingly difficult”.
The council replied that it was “much more appropriate and safer” for drivers to instead turn onto Barrack Road to get between the two streets.
It added that the existing closure of Strawberry Lane “has not caused any significant issues” and that the pedestrian and cycle zone would help serve new residential developments where car ownership will be “low or non-existent”.
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