North Tyneside seafront cycle lane plan gets funding boost

The council said the plans would make visiting the coast "safer, greener, and more accessible"

Plans for a seafront cycling and walking scheme on North Tyneside have been given a £3.5m funding boost.

A two-way segregated cycle lane will be in place between North Shields Fish Quay and St Mary's Lighthouse.

The council says the aim is to build on the success of a temporary pop-up route set up during summer 2020, while seeking to address issues identified.

The funding follows a bid to the newly-formed government agency, Active Travel England.

It is part of a wider announcement of £18m for cycling and walking across the North East, which also includes new cycle lanes in Sunderland and pedestrian crossings in Northumberland.

North Tyneside Council says its scheme will make visiting the coast "safer, greener, and more accessible".

Traffic speeds will be reduced to 20mph and there will be additional traffic calming measures, including raised crossings for easier access to the coast.

Motorists will continue to be able to travel along the seafront between Whitley Bay and Tynemouth in both directions.

Temporary traffic measures set up in summer 2020 received both praise and complaints

It follows a six-week consultation the council carried out in October 2021 which received more than 11,000 comments from 1,500 people.

Councillor Sandra Graham, cabinet member for the environment, said: "The new route will be a scheme of the highest quality.

"It will have wide-ranging benefits for North Tyneside and will support people to access cheap, healthy, zero emission travel, while providing a boost to air quality and people's physical and mental wellbeing.

"We are very excited about the way this scheme is taking shape and we will seek local people's views again when the design work is complete."