NEWCASTLE TO SEEK FURTHER BUS POWERS.
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The Authorities Move to Control Street Traffic and to Provide a Number of Bus Stations.
NEWCASTLE Corporation has decided to seek powers to control street traffic and to provide bus stations. The watch committee has for some time past adopted the principle of prescribing routes to be followed by omnibuses within the centre of the city, with a view to keeping them from the congested and narrow thoroughfares which exist in some parts. It has done this by the imposition of conditions and the exaction of undertakings when om nibus licenses are granted. It anticipated thet the Minister of Transport would uphold any reasonable steps taken in this direction if the corporation was understood to be contemplating, at the first opportunity, an application far the proper legal powers.
In the view of the watch committee aid on the advice of the chief constable this power to regulate traffic in the central areas of the city is a necessity. The proposed central area would comprise that portion of the city within a radius of2.4 miles from the central station, It is a standard clause which, with some
variations has been obtained by other towns, including Oxford, Rotherham, Nottingham, Barnsley, Leeds and Cambridge.
In connection with bus stations, the watch committee expects that this proposal is to provide properly appointed omnibus stations in such parts of the city as may be thought fit, and reasonable charges for their use would be made. Great difficulty has been met by the committee in dealing with the multi-. tude of applications for licences to ply for hire with omnibuses, and this has largely been caused by the fact that there are no properly appointed and spacious termini for omnibuses in mt., tam n areas.
For instance, in the west end of the city a number of proprietors is running from Branch End to the Bewick Street stand opposite the Central Railway Station, which, on amount of congestion, is said to be unsuitable and dangerous. A fleet of 25 omnibuses, which, by the direction of the committee, sons from Durham and Chester.le-Street over the Itedheugh Bridge, is stopped at Railway Street, whilst the corporation and Northern General Transport Co.'s omnibus services are operating from Bewick Street. The result is a certain amount of confusion coupled with discontent A request is now before the committee for the Chester-le-Street services to come over Westgate Road to Fenkle Street, and for the Northern General Transport Co. to run certain services to Westgate Road. In the view of the committee the situation there would be met by the provision of an omnibus stand which is not on the street, e.g., on the Marlborough Crescent site. This would accommodate all the hoses mentioned and keep the streets free from obstruction.
A similar situation will arise on the east side of the city, particularly when the new bridge is opened. On the north side of the city an endeavour has been made to meet the traffic conditions by fixing stands in the Haymarket.
The power to provide omnibus stands would prevent obstruet.ion; would give a better control of timed services ; would prevent obstruction ; would give sheltered stations from which passengers could get their desired services; and, in general, would enable the committee to regulate the position.