Locals in the outer west of Newcastle have been “cut off” from vital services and the city centre, councillors have complained.
Major roadworks shutting off access to a key route in West Denton have sparked anger and resulted in bus services being diverted away from the area. Work started last week to install new pedestrian crossings and a bus lane on West Denton Way, on the approach to the Westerhope wheel roundabout in Stamfordham Road.
But, after Newcastle City Council initially announced that the eastbound section of the route would have to be completely closed for four weeks, furious local councillors complained that the disruption will stop people getting to and from shops and medical appointments. During the works, bus operator Stagecoach is sending its 6, 7, 11, 62 and 63 services away from West Denton Way, rerouting them via Hillhead Road instead.
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Denton and Westerhope ward councillor Tracey Mitchell, from the Newcastle Independents party, said: "That road leads to Morrisons and to the doctors' and a lot of people in West Denton don't have a car. The council says it wants us to be using public transport, especially for short journeys, but then something like this happens.
"The bus users are the one who are going to be hardest hit, elderly people especially will find it a struggle. It is easy to say in a place like Gosforth that people can just walk or cycle, but it is much harder to do that in the outer west.”
The council has also come in for criticism for having only informed Stagecoach of the weeks of disruption six days before the road closure came into force, with the bus operator saying the short notice meant it “has not been possible to ameliorate the highways issues on our preferred (and overall, least impactful) diversion". Following the swathe of complaints since the road closed on January 11, the council now says that it hopes to open one lane of eastbound traffic on West Denton Way from next Monday, January 23.
Independent councillor Marc Donnelly, who represents the neighbouring Chapel ward, said: "It is unacceptable to cut off vital shops, banks, the library, medical centre, etc. At a time when we have a cost-of-living crisis residents can not and should not be faced with additional expense of taxis to gain access to the above facilities."
To make up for the disruption, Stagecoach has offered passengers free travel westbound to a stop where they can switch onto their usual bus service on its rerouted journey. A council spokesperson apologised for the late notice about the road closure and confirmed that the works had been rescheduled to allow for one lane to reopen next week.
They added: “With more housing planned for this part of the city, we need to have the right infrastructure in place to not only cope with the additional traffic generated, but also to improve road safety and provide greener and more sustainable travel choices for people living in the area. We fully understand the importance of bus connectivity and helping people get around the area safely, which is why we are making improvements to the bus infrastructure and the pedestrian crossing on a key route into the city.
“The most disruptive element of the works was expected to require a four-week closure of the eastbound carriageway, to allow for a safe space for our teams working on the central reservation. This includes work on cross road ducts, installation of pedestrian crossing points and realignment of kerbs to the central reservation.
“However, we recognise the disruption this would have to the travelling public, particularly bus passengers, and have re-programmed this element of work to complete it quicker.”
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