Good to see the investment of the businesses in the Stables being rewarded. If this regeneration continues Sunderland is going to be one fantastic city. All I would say to the people of Sunderland is please please please do not put this incredible regeneration at risk next year.
Excellent leaving the ground and heading towards the university. No bottle necks like there is in Hay Street and at the end of the Wearmouth Bridge and got back to the car quicker than I usually would do. It's a 10/10 from me.
I felt sorry for the cars waiting at the zebra crossing near the Bridges It was just a constant stream of supporters from the new route - that'll teach them
please log in to view this image See if you can spot me on there I love this picture. It just looks mint.
Aye, we were one of them As the lights turned green people still ambling across looking at the cars as if they shouldn't be there A footbridge would be better as I am sure some car drivers will not be as patient as my son
I said when this crossing was proposed they'll need to police this situation. That's a road that attracts a lot of traffic moving at some speed. Because there's a series of crossings, roundabouts and traffic lights cars try to get through before the lights change or they're blocked off. When games finish, in particular, you'll have huge numbers of pedestrians hitting that road at the same time. I can see dark and rainy night matches being a problem when people have their heads down and wanting to get out of the cold. I'd imagine a large underpass being proposed particularly if there are more concerts and if the SOL expansion is approved.
the last plans i saw that road is going to be 5mph shared space with road directed south from bridge and south from silkworth row roundabout.
Is it potentially going down to one lane each way as well? To widen the pathed area? Edit: This is where I seen it originally... Pages 54 and 55 of the Masterplan. https://riversidesunderland.com/app/uploads/pdfs/sunderland_masterplan_relaunch_RevU_spreads.pdf
I think that plan has been dropped. Early on in the year I went to an exhibition at the pavilion in Keel Square about the redevelopment of High Street. The plans are excellent and ambitious, but I asked about St Mary's Boulevard going down to one lane and the lass I was speaking to said it wasn't going to happen because there's too much traffic using it as it stands. I think that it means St Mary's Boulevard stays as it is.
Their is a lot of traffic usage tbh and I did wonder how it would effect getting from that side of the city to North of the river. We use it every weekday and it can be very busy. I certainly wouldn't have been against the one lane plans though, they looked good and just means we would have had to leave 5 mins earlier which is nothing really.
I know they were supposed to do some tests by reducing lanes to measure the impact on traffic, which I'm guessing they've done. I agree the one lane plans looked decent, and the linear park idea was interesting and it might be something that's looked at in the future, but it might also be that the plans would have been more problematic if they were introduced than it's worth.
To fully benefit as a region, we need the full length of the Leamside Line to reopen. The Metro loop is a good start, and will benefit the people of Washington, but there has to be further links to the south of the region and beyond to help fulfill the full potential of the region. I know through discussions with them that Nexus want this to happen. Kim McGuiness says that she wants this to happen, but I hope the final plan is designed to bring prosperity to the region as a whole, not just Newcastle. Only 3.6% of journeys outside the region start from Sunderland, compared to 72%from Newcastle. That's unacceptable when you look at the fact that a small town like Northallerton has better nationwide rail links on its doorstep than Sunderland does. As a City, we have to keep pressuring the powers that be, both nationally and locally to deliver a great deal for Wearside and County Durham.
I'm absolutely certain KLD will have people on this and other initiatives. Sunderland is a city and it's about time it was respected as one.
That's my hope but also my concern. Too many times over the last 50+ years things up here are only done if it benefits Newcastle, everywhere else is just an after thought. I remember reading on the Skyscraper City forum a few years back someone from Newcastle arguing that Sunderland didn't need an upgraded station and more rail services because you could just go to Newcastle instead. Sunderland needs a connection to the East Coast mainline via Durham, something that connects Washington, Houghton etc to the mainline, it's something that would help connect the outer lying parts of the city together better. We need the Durham coast line to be revamped and improved, including it's connection to the ECML. Better, more modern rail connection via the Durham coast line to Teesside benefits the whole region. More options for passengers, improved communication, better opportunities for employment. Whether it's done by new lines, reopening mothballed ones or using the remnants of the old colliery/mineral lines, it needs to be explored and worked on. Honestly, if it was for the South East, it would already be getting looked at if not implemented.
I think the issue is post Brexit there is less money to but if better connected it would help some of those former mining villages in south and east Durham have options economically. Plus be a bit more outward looking.
Money is there for investment, but in this country we have a senior CS based in London working to models designed by London for London so nigh on impossible for smaller area to get funding because they don't fit the model just a select few rich areas do
