annedonnelly
Girl from the North Country
- Location
- Blyth, Northumberland
I'm preparing to respond to the planning application for a station on the proposed Northumberland line. Some input would be welcome.
The station at Bebside was initially planned for the second phase of the project but has been brought forward - great news. As part of the plans there will be a new foot/cycle bridge across the nearby A189 dual-carriageway. This is a huge bonus as currently the crossing from east to west of the A189 is via the roundabout which at some times of day is a nightmare to drive never mind cross on foot!
I'm hugely in favour of the plans for the station & bridge.
The plans include provision for cycle stands on both sides of the line, which seems fair. The space is apparently for 35 bikes, which I assume is correctly calculated for the station - they mention 5% of expected passenger numbers. If anyone thinks the numbers are wrong please correct me.
I'm unlikely to use this station to board the train as there'll be one much closer to me, but the bridge is going to open up the cycle/foot paths on the west of the line to the residents of Blyth on the east which I see as a huge benefit.
My only concerns relate to taking bikes across the line in the station. Not everyone is going to arrive at the station and want to park up. Some people will want to take the bike on the train with them. At some stage that will mean taking the bike across the line. I would also love to see people using the bridge to extend their cycling routes - and not using the train at all - & they will want to cross the line.
There is, of course, a plan for a footbridge over the line. That will have staircases so cyclists will have to us the proposed lifts, unless they're able to carry the bike up & down the stairs. It looks like the space around the station is too small to allow ramps up to the footbridge.
So my real question is about the size that the lifts should be? I don't want to have to try to get my bike into a tiny space. And are there any alternative ideas? What about those metal gulley things that some staircases have that you can put the bike wheels in? I've only used them in a couple of places.
The planning documents are at this link if anyone wants to take a look.
I'd welcome any ideas before I submit my comments on the plans.
The station at Bebside was initially planned for the second phase of the project but has been brought forward - great news. As part of the plans there will be a new foot/cycle bridge across the nearby A189 dual-carriageway. This is a huge bonus as currently the crossing from east to west of the A189 is via the roundabout which at some times of day is a nightmare to drive never mind cross on foot!
I'm hugely in favour of the plans for the station & bridge.
The plans include provision for cycle stands on both sides of the line, which seems fair. The space is apparently for 35 bikes, which I assume is correctly calculated for the station - they mention 5% of expected passenger numbers. If anyone thinks the numbers are wrong please correct me.
I'm unlikely to use this station to board the train as there'll be one much closer to me, but the bridge is going to open up the cycle/foot paths on the west of the line to the residents of Blyth on the east which I see as a huge benefit.
My only concerns relate to taking bikes across the line in the station. Not everyone is going to arrive at the station and want to park up. Some people will want to take the bike on the train with them. At some stage that will mean taking the bike across the line. I would also love to see people using the bridge to extend their cycling routes - and not using the train at all - & they will want to cross the line.
There is, of course, a plan for a footbridge over the line. That will have staircases so cyclists will have to us the proposed lifts, unless they're able to carry the bike up & down the stairs. It looks like the space around the station is too small to allow ramps up to the footbridge.
So my real question is about the size that the lifts should be? I don't want to have to try to get my bike into a tiny space. And are there any alternative ideas? What about those metal gulley things that some staircases have that you can put the bike wheels in? I've only used them in a couple of places.
The planning documents are at this link if anyone wants to take a look.
I'd welcome any ideas before I submit my comments on the plans.
