'A few near-misses at crossing - change is needed'
BBCSafety concerns at a pedestrian crossing have been raised - a year since worries about near-misses at the spot were first brought to the attention of a council.
Resident Jack Johnson claims some motorists are driving through the crossing at Gateshead's High Street and Charles Street despite traffic lights telling them to stop.
The 30-year-old told the Local Democracy Reporting Service he had almost been hit "a fair few times".
Gateshead Council says it shares Mr Johnson's concerns and that it will be reviewing road layouts once demolition work is completed on the nearby A167 Gateshead Highway flyover.
That structure, which has been closed since December last year after crumbling concrete was discovered, is due to be knocked down in the coming months.
'Shouted and sworn at'
"I flagged it a year ago. That junction has got worse since the flyover [closed], so cars will queue at the cross junction and because they are queuing up there, the lights aren't really visible, so they will drive through the pedestrian crossing," Mr Johnson added.
"I've almost been hit a fair few times, [I've] been sworn at [and] shouted at because they think I'm crossing when the light is on green but it's not.
"From where they are sat on the junction, they think they can drive through," he said.
My Johnson argues the lights at the junction are not visible enough for motorists queuing up.
The web designer, who lives in Gateshead, has obtained correspondence through a Freedom of Information request which highlighted a case where another person had reported being "narrowly" missed by a car in February.
'Reviewing all proposals'
Colin Swinney, service director for highways and waste at the local authority, said: "We share Mr Johnson's concerns about this junction.
"We also have concerns about drivers' behaviour on crossings elsewhere in the town centre area.
"A box junction has previously been proposed for the junction of High Street and Charles Street, and we will be reviewing all proposals like this once the Gateshead Highway flyover is demolished and the road system locally requires some reconfiguration.
"For moving traffic offences, currently such matters can only be enforced by Northumbria Police.
"However, we are currently working on adopting new powers to allow the council to enforce offences like drivers sitting stationary in box junctions, and jumping red lights."
