Location
The street runs from the Haymarket Interchange Metro station and The Newcastle Civic Centre in the north, towards the Monument Metro Station at the south. It encompasses the entrance to the Eldon Square Shopping Centre It also houses the entrance to the Monument Mall shopping centre.
South of Blackett Street, Northumberland Street turns into Pilgrim Street which runs to the Tyne Bridge. From the opening of the bridge in 1928 until the opening of Newcastle's Central Motorway (A167(M)) in 1975, Northumberland Street was part of the A1 between London and Edinburgh. It is now pedestrianised.
Until 1999, the most northerly section of Northumberland Street from Northumberland Road onwards was still open to traffic and a busy bus route, which led to the shops in this part of the street being much less popular than those farther south. This section is now pedestrianised in keeping with the remainder of the street. However, some electronic maps still show this part as an accessible road.
Delivery traffic is still permitted to drive up Northumberland Street in the early morning to complete deliveries, but, after that, all non-pedestrian traffic is banned, including bicycles and skateboards.
Read more about this topic: Northumberland Street