£1.6 million of cycling and walking measures to be delivered in Birmingham

Birmingham City Council has been allocated £1 million from the first tranche of the Department of Transport’s (DfT) Emergency Active Travel Fund, with match-funding bringing the total to £1.6 million.

Scheme

The schemes, which include pop-up cycle lanes, pavement widening and road closures to create low traffic neighbourhoods, are part of a package of active travel measures developed with Transport for West Midlands (TfWM) and partner councils across the West Midlands region. There are 14 schemes outlined for delivery in Birmingham over the coming weeks. The project bids were submitted to the Department of Transport on Friday 5 June. They include:

• Temporary pop-up cycle lanes on 7 priority cycle routes to connect into the city centre.
• A Park and Pedal programme to provide park and cycle options at rail station car parks and other suitable locations.
• The launch of Places for People to create low traffic neighbourhoods across Birmingham, created by using bollards or planters to close roads to through-traffic and make walking and cycling safer for local journeys.
• Reallocation of road space and pavement widening in two local centres – Stirchley and Moseley – to create space for walking and social distancing.

Reasoning

The schemes are being bought forward for delivery as part of the Emergency Transport Plan, published last month by Birmingham City Council. The plan sets out the short, medium and longer-term actions Birmingham can take to enable a low carbon, clean air recovery from COVID-19. The council are keen to deliver the schemes quickly, to enable people to start moving around the city safely as lockdown measures are eased. It is anticipated that the majority of the schemes outlined in the bid to the Department of Transport will be delivered in the next two months. To find out more, click here.