WITH a flash of a welding tool and a plume of smoke, the first on-street section of tram line was laid in The Meadows yesterday.
Eighty metres of track was put in position on Meadows Way along the route to Chilwell via QMC and Beeston.
Residents gave mixed opinions about the line, with some raising concerns about how close the tram would be to Welbeck Primary School.
Laura Chambers, 38, of The Meadows, said she was curious to see what safety measures there would be to stop children running in front of the tram.
The mum-of-two, whose children attend Welbeck, said: "I'm all for the connectivity which the tram is going to bring to the area and I'm not against it at all. But there has been very little communication with the parents about how the safety of the children will be assured."
The first tram track to be laid on-street marks a milestone in NET Phase Two, which will see the tram line from Hucknall and Phoenix Park extended to Clifton and Chilwell.
But Eisha Reid, 20, of The Meadows, said she wasn't looking forward to the tram. She said: "I'm not going to use it. We have great buses so we don't need it. It's daft how close it is going to run to the school."
Councillor Jane Urquhart, portfolio holder for planning and transport at Nottingham City Council, said the new tram line would bring great benefits to the city.
She said: "The first on-street tracks to be laid are another significant step forward in Nottingham's ambitions to extend the tram service to Clifton and Chilwell. Not only will the city benefit from one of the best integrated transport networks in the UK, but also from the economic growth with investments in jobs for local people and companies."
Michael Anderson, project director for contractor Taylor Woodrow Alstom, said: "We are very pleased to see the next sections of track installed, and residents should now see their tram system growing in the coming months."
Tram services will run along 9.5 km of on-street tracks.
The first on-street section of track follows on from 100 metres of off-street track being laid in The Greenway, near Inham Road, Chilwell.
