Open Up Tynemouth Front Street

29th May 2024

Every weekend we see the familiar and miserable sight of the village being clogged up with cars. They have become a real blight on the place.

You want people to come to Tynemouth and you want people to enjoy it, but the village would be so much better if Front Street was freed from the choke of traffic.

Look at what happens every year for the Mouth Of The Tyne Festival, when Front Street becomes pleasant again.

Pedestrainisation would be better for the businesses there. It would allow for outside dining, and if the car park was made into a garden, it would see people relaxing, interacting and enjoying the space.

There’s no need for cars to come into Front Street. It’s not the route to the beach. A tram line from the Victoria monument would work both along Front Street and down Percy Park. Can you imagine how nice it could be?

There are countless examples of where this has worked: Broad Street in Oxford, as well as Brighton and York. Grey Street—the finest street in the UK—is about to be completely paved over so it can be fully appreciated. In the same way, the Central Station area has become far more amenable. Remember when that atrium was filled with diesel fumes and pigeons? And who remembers how dreadful Northumberland Street was when it was part of the A1? I’m too young to have seen it, but the photographs say it all.

In every instance people said pedestrianastion would kill the place, when it has done the opposite.

Front Street doesn’t have to be crammed with cars. Try opening it up on the weekends and see the massive benefits it creates for everyone.