Since Black Friday, 25 November 2016, readings from the new air quality monitor at the Salters Road car park say the average level of nitrogen dioxide (NO2) has been 50.3 micrograms per cubic metre (μg/m3) or 26% above the legal limit. The legal limit is 40 μg/m3 averaged over a year. It was high levels of nitrogen dioxide that led to the creation of the South Gosforth Air Quality Management Area in 2008.
While air pollution is damaging to health, personal exposure travelling further
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At the Your-Streets Your-Views survey feedback meeting we asked residents for ideas on how to build a better Gosforth. In particular: Opportunities for more trees and greenery.
Routes to school and how to make them safer; Suggestions to reduce traffic on busy residential streets; and Locations or changes crossings on main roads. Read more [...] 
Newcastle City Council have released the Air Quality Feasibility Study that will be used for its forthcoming consultation. Whatever the final plan that is chosen, it must by law meet air quality limits within the shortest possible timescale. The question for the consultation therefore is how should that be achieved. 
Newcastle City Council are seeking your views on a proposed crossing to be sited on Salters Road. You can access the original consultation, which closed on 23 December 2018, on the Let's Talk website. The proposal is to remove the zebra crossing and replace it with a puffin crossing outside of the Spar shop.
Update 3/9/2019: The Council approved the original proposal without modification.
Update 21/1/2022: The Council have installed the crossing (see bottom of blog).
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In our last blog we shared the results of the 2017 Council air quality monitoring, showing that Gosforth High Street had the highest recorded nitrogen dioxide (NO2) air pollution in the whole of Newcastle.
In this blog, we take a look at three key questions that came up in discussion following release of the 2017 air pollution figures. 
The Council has just released its Air Quality Annual Status Report 2018 and it is not looking good for Gosforth High Street. We had expected that the 2016 reading of 51μg/m3 for Nitrogen Dioxide (NO2) was a one-off due to the roadworks at the junction with Salters Road, but in 2017 the figure had increased again to 59μg/m3.. Both are substantially higher than the legal maximum of 40μg/m3. 
Every year the Council is required to provide an annual status report covering its Air Quality Management Areas (AQMA) in the City Centre and in Gosforth. Figures have just been released for 2016 and, contrary to the longer term trend, there were significant increases in pollution across many sites in Gosforth and in the City Centre. 
Newcastle City Council has announced the start of the works to replace the Killingworth Road Metro bridge and widen Killingworth Road. From 20 July 2017 for up to nine months, Killingworth Road will be shut to all traffic including people walking and cycling. Salters Bridge and Castle Farm Road will also be shut to motor traffic. 
Blue House, Gosforth High Street, electric bikes, guest speakers and much much more - a year in the life of SPACE for Gosforth! 
In previous posts we looked at air quality data on Gosforth High Street and on Jesmond Road in the run up to Christmas last year, which showed a marked increase in pollution after Black Friday, 25 November 2016. In this post we look at what has happened to air quality at these sites since then.