Posts Tagged ‘cycling’

4.1.2

Plain English Version

Birmingham has a tradition of  making it easy for people to get around in cars and that means the city is tricky for walking and cycling.   Even though the city centre is compact it’s difficlut to walk.  Cyclists also have problems. Some of their key cycle lanes are cut off by roads or railways.  Yes we’ve improved things in recent years but still we need to work much harder to make the city good for cycling or walking.

Original Document

This historic emphasis in Birmingham on enabling and accommodating movement by private vehicles has led to an urban form that is not conducive to movement by other means. For pedestrians, this means that, although the city centre is relatively compact, conditions for walking are adversely affected by numerous physical barriers and the disconnection of different parts of the central area, and some areas have poor public realm and legibility. For cyclists, dis-incentives include poor provision of cycle lanes and facilities, the severance of cycling networks by major highway and railway corridors and road danger. So although improvements have been made over recent years for both pedestrians and cyclists, much more is needed if walking and cycling are to become genuinely attractive modes of transport in the city centre.

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4.2.2

Plain English Version

We could change the area along the A38 (Bristol Road) in the city centre quite a lot to make the city centre surroundings better and improve pedestrian and cycle crossing links between the core and the rest of the city centre. If we restructure it, the areas to the west of it could fit in better with the rest of the city centre. We could make Great Charles Street lower, take apart the Suffolk Street viaduct or change its slip road and we could fill in the Holloway Circus underpass. The road would still be important to carry traffic. However, the changes could mean that it can’t cope with as much traffic and this could mean more traffic jams, so we would need to do some testing to find out how this affects accessibility and design.

Original Document

The A38 corridor within the city centre could be radically reconfigured to greatly enhance the city centre environment and improve pedestrian/cycle crossing links between the core and the rest of the city centre. Comprehensive restructuring would enable areas to the west of the corridor to fulfil their full potential as integral parts of the city centre. Lowering Great Charles Street, dismantling the Suffolk Street viaduct or changing its slip road arrangements and filling in the Holloway Circus underpass are all major engineering projects that could be pursued. The road would still retain an important traffic carrying function. However, depending on the extent of the changes to the road infrastructure, capacity could be reduced and this could have an effect on congestion, so any proposals would require modelling to establish the impact on accessibility and design.

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4.9.1

Plain English Version

Cycling is going to become more important as there are more journeys around the city centre.  At the moment though Birmingham city centre can be hostile to cyclists. We need to put real effort into changing this.

Original Document

Cycling has an important role to play in providing for future movement demands generated by city centre growth. Yet present conditions for cycling are often hostile, due to vehicle dominated streets and a shortage of cycling facilities or direct routes to and from key destinations. A concerted effort is required to improve conditions for cyclists through changing the behaviour of vehicles, removing major physical barriers and the provision of improved ‘end to end’ cycling facilities.

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4.9.2

Plain English Version

We already have some cycle paths, but separate paths are difficult to create in a packed city centre, so we need to think of other ways of making cycling safe and easy.   One way is to link together a series of streets designed to slow down cars and vans and  be safer for people on bikes. We can also add cycle parking into more areas, with some including  shower facilities. This will need to part of the Parking Strategy.

Original Document

The city already has a set of core cycling routes, but segregated paths are difficult to create in a dense urban area so the issue is what other improvements can be made to develop a comprehensive network of continuous, safe routes. One approach is to develop a connected network of cycle-friendly streets with an emphasis on reducing traffic speeds and road danger on those streets. In addition, public realm improvements and street upgrades could give cycling a higher priority, with cycle parking as an integral feature. New development should provide safe and secure cycle parking and should include suitable shower facilities. Cycle parking requirements will be included in the Parking Strategy.

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4.9.3

Plain English Version

There are other possibilities. We should think about a city centre cycle hire scheme. The Ve-Lib and similar schemes in cities such as Paris make short trips by bike even easier, cutting pollution  in the most sensitive streets.

Original Document

Another possibility would be to establish a city centre cycle hire scheme. Initiatives similar to the Ve-Lib and Velo-City schemes in European cities (e.g. Paris) could provide opportunities to increase cycle travel for short trips within the core, replacing the use of more polluting modes in the most sensitive streets.

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4.1.1

Plain English Version

The inner and outer ring roads (the Queensway and the Middleway) made Birmingham easy to get around by car, but not so much by bus, train, walking or cycling. Some of the Queensway has been removed or changed, but to encourage walking, cycling and public transport more needs to be done. This might include better pedestrian crossings, more and better signs or removal of things that get in the way.

Original Document

Birmingham transformed itself in the 1950s and 1960s from a traditional city of streets into the “motor city”. A new inner road, later named “Queensway”, was built, forming a tight concrete collar around the city’s core. Major investment took place to create new or widened radials such as the Aston Expressway and Digbeth High Street. The ring road, “Middleway” was constructed further out as a route around the wider centre. The urban design consequences of these major transport investments have already been described. Whilst the concrete collar has partly been dismantled, enough of it remains – as part of the A38 corridor – to act as a significant barrier to movement within the city centre. At the same time the expectation of easy access into the centre by motor vehicle remains as a legacy of this era.

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Question CON12

Plain English Version

How can cycling to, from and within the city centre be encouraged?

In what ways, and in which areas should we spend money to do this?

How can we make cycling on our streets easier and less dangerous?

Original Document

How can cycling to, from and within the city centre be encouraged and where should investment be targeted? How can the hostility of the highways environment to cyclists be removed?

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