As part of the Strategic Land Release (SLR), Newcastle City Council and Highways England commissioned independent consultants JMP to undertake a study into the impact of new developments on the existing highway network. The Kingston Park Road / Fawdon Lane junction was identified for improvements in the short term given the existing levels of congestion and forthcoming developments. The principle of improvements to this junction were endorsed by Cabinet on 25 November 2015, see item 10 here: Item 10.
Current Issues
At present, traffic turning right from Kingston Park Road into Fawdon Lane can queue all the way back across the Kingston Park Road / A1 roundabout, leading to queues west of the A1 and on the A1 itself. This leads to some traffic movements being blocked, making congestion in the area worse.
Proposal
It is proposed to widen Kingston Park Road on the northern side between the A1 and Fawdon Lane by up to 2m to create two eastbound lanes. This will ensure that traffic wishing to turn right has a dedicated lane, allowing other traffic to travel through the junction and relieving pressure on the A1 roundabout and the roads to the west of the A1.
As part of the improvements, new traffic signals will be installed to ensure signal timings can be made more efficient and react to the traffic demands. A sensor is proposed to ensure that should traffic be queued back close to the exit from the A1 roundabout, the signals will change to ensure that the network can operate effectively.
We’re also proposing to create a shared pedestrian / cycle way to the south of Kingston Park between the A1 and Fawdon Lane and improvements to crossing points at this junction. We will seek to relocate or replace any trees required for these improvement works.
The improvements will be funded from money collected through Section 106 agreements and Highways England. Subject to the necessary approvals being received, it is expected that work could begin at this junction in early 2017.
We will follow this with proposals for Kingston Park Road to the west of the A1 to further address issues in this area of the city.
An image of the proposed widening of Fawdon Lane is available here: Proposed widening of Fawdon Lane (pdf).
Please give us your views on these proposals on the topic wall here. If you have any questions about this, please email us at: letstalk@newcastle.gov.uk. We will let people know what we have found out from this consultation via this website, and on the Council's website: Newcastle City Council.
