Plain English Version
The core of the city centre has a good network of public squares. The older squares including St. Philips and St. Pauls have been complemented by modern projects including Centenary Square, Victoria Square, Brindley Place, St. Martins Square, and Millennium Point. They link attractions such as the Ikon Gallery, Symphony Hall, the REP theatres, and the Library.
These together with the pedestrian routes down New Street to the Bull Ring create a pleasant walking environment through the centre.
There are less public spaces near New Street Station and the south side of the city centre.
Original Document
The core of the city centre has a distinctive network of public squares. The older spaces including St. Philips and St. Pauls have been complemented by successful modern public realm projects including Centenary Square, Victoria Square, Brindleyplace, St. Martins Square, and Millennium Point, linking several attractions such as the Ikon Gallery, Symphony Hall, the REP theatres, and the Library of Birmingham. These together with the pedestrian routes down New Street to the Bull Ring create a pleasant walking environment along a central spine through the centre, although the areas around New Street Station and the south side of the city centre are less well endowed with public spaces.
Plain English Version
There are the areas which were built as part of the Queensway construction and other road building in the 1960s.
Looking at “before” and “after” pictures shows how many good street connections and streets lined with fine buildings were lost. (There are some in the book “Birmingham Past and Present: In my Father’s Footsteps” by Mark Norton)
This has meant is that walking connections between the Core and the other parts of the city centre are poor – Ludgate Hill, Newhall Street, Paradise Circus and Digbeth High Street are examples.
Some of the buildings are uninteresting when seen from the ground and in some cases undeveloped sites still remain, as between Great Charles Queensway and Lionel Street.
Original Document
Firstly, there are the areas which were redeveloped as part of the Queensway construction and other highway constructions in the 1960s. Any examination of “before” and “after” pictures 1 demonstrates graphically how many good street connections and streets lined with fine buildings were lost. The concept of the walking street was replaced with the concept of the individual building accessed by car from an engineered highway. The legacy of this era is that the walking connections between the core and the other -parts of the city centre are poor – Ludgate Hill, Newhall Street, Paradise Circus and Digbeth High Street are examples – whilst the buildings themselves fail to address the streets and provide little interest at the pedestrian scale. In some cases undeveloped sites still remain, as between Great Charles Queensway and Lionel Street.
Plain English Version
A lot of Birmingham’s canals are currently hidden from view. Parts of the network have been improved over recent years, at the Mailbox, Gas Street Basin and Brindley Place, but some other parts are unattractive and do not feel secure.
The canals could attract more people and activities and act as a safe alternative way to get around the city cenre (by walking or cycling alongside).
Original Document
Birmingham’s canal network is an important part of the city’s historic legacy. But much of the canal network is currently hidden from view. Parts of the network have been substantially improved over recent years, most notably at the Mailbox, Gas Street Basin and Brindleyplace, but other parts are unattractive and do not feel secure. The canal network has the potential to attract more people and activities and act as a safe alternative movement network, whilst maintaining the industrial character.
Plain English Version
Another idea would be to create the “Birmingham Boulevard”, that is we could make the area along the A38 (Bristol Road) into a nice route, not only for vehicles, but for people to walk along, with shops and entrances to buildings, and lined with trees to make a much nicer place to be.
Original Document
Another possible approach would be to create the “Birmingham Boulevard” – the transformation of the A38 corridor into an attractive route not only for vehicles but for people to walk along, fronted by shops and building entrances and lined with trees to create a much more habitable environment.
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.
Plain English Version
We could also change the routes of buses around the city core and stop them going down Corporation Street. The aim would be to cut traffic and the effect on the environment, while making sure that people are just as likely or more likely to use them. Buses would use a circuit of streets on the edge of the city core and serve groups of bus stops at places (either on or off-street) that are close for people to walk into the city core. It will take a lot of effort to make the bus stops and waiting areas as nice as possible, while we would need better pedestrian connections and signposting/maps to make up for the buses not stopping right in the city core, which would be better for pedestrians and improve the whole outside area.
Original Document
In addition to the above improvements, it would be possible to re-route buses around the city core and exclude them from Corporation Street. The aim would be to reduce bus congestion and environmental impact whilst maintaining and improving their attractiveness. Buses would use a circuit of streets on the edge of the core and serve clusters of stops at sites – on or off-street – that are well located for walking into the core itself. Significant effort will be required to make the stop/waiting areas as attractive as possible, while improved pedestrian connections and wayfinding measures would be needed to offset the loss of direct access into the core, which would be more pedestrian friendly and have an improved public realm throughout.
Plain English Version
Birmingham could be the UK’s best city for walking. It’s often the quickest way to get around, especially when you can walk from one side of the city centre to the other in under 20 minutes. However the routes can be poorly signed and difficult or unpleasant to use, something we need to change.
Original Document
Birmingham has the potential to have the UK’s most walkable big city centre. Many cross-centre trips are achievable on foot within 15-20 minutes, making walking the quickest door-to-door option. However, the quality, directness and ease of understanding of the routes involved often leave a lot to be desired. New and improved crossings, better information, greater levels of pedestrian priority in key locations and the removal of key barriers all need to form part of the picture.
Plain English Version
As a start we could create a network of really good walking routes, starting with the the ones people will use the most. These would link Birmingham’s key activities, destinations and urban/open spaces. One thing we need to plan for is how redevelopment schemes that straddle important routes (such as Paradise Circus) accomodate the paths where people would most naturally want to walk.
Original Document
To begin addressing the problem, one approach might be to identify and roll out a network of outstanding walking routes, starting with the highest priority routes where early intervention should be targeted for maximum return. These would link Birmingham’s key activities, destinations and urban/open spaces and could incorporate a mix of street-based links, pedestrian-only routes and public spaces. They could include core pedestrian ‘spines’ which would make pedestrian journeys to, from and within the city centre more viable and attractive. One issue is the need to ensure that redevelopment schemes that straddle important routes (such as Paradise Circus) accommodate fully all pedestrian desire lines in an attractive and inclusive manner.
Plain English Version
In addition we could find the important streets and routes where pedestrians currently find it hard to walk and make sure these places are better for walking.
Original Document
In addition, streets/routes could be identified where pedestrians need to be given higher priority than at present, especially those that are deprived of the most basic facilities.
Plain English Version
All of this needs to be supporting by really good signs and a change in the way we design the city so it’s more obvious how to get to key places. This can be supported by the new digital tools described in section 4.10. Signs would also make it easier to understand how people can combine walking with cycling and public transport.
Original Document
These initiatives could be supported by a comprehensive signage and legibility strategy to support journeys to key activities, destinations and urban/open spaces through conventional signage and through public realm design, supported by virtual tools (see section 4.10 on digital connectivity) that provide more comprehensive guidance on how to experience and move around the city centre. Signage would integrate pedestrian journeys with cycling and public transport.
Plain English Version
Westside been redeveloped a number of times, with:
- the offices around Five Ways
- Baskerville House and Alpha Tower
- the cultural area including the Rep theatre, the NIA, Brindleyplace and the Mailbox
- the leisure area along Broad Street (including the Broadway Entertainment Complex and Cineworld)
all being added.
The area we’re calling Westside also includes the Attwood Green area. Attwood Green is the new name given to the Central Area Estates. It includes the areas of Lee Bank (Five Ways Estate and Cleveland and Clydesdale Towers), Benmore, and Woodview.
It also includes the development at Park Central, which the first phase of a large 10 year housing regeneration programme. It is well under way and is already occupied. Park Central has of housing sizes and tenures set around “Sunset Park”.
Near Attwood Green is the Bath Row and Holloway Head area – an area on the fringe of the ciy Core that has seen little change over the last 30 years. The area is home to a mix of light industrial / warehouse uses, some community activities and offices, some of which may have functional connections with the city centre.
Two towers block of flats mark a gateway at Holloway Head with Beetham Tower (the Radisson Hotel) beyond. At ground level it’s not easy to walk around this area.
Westside has a mixed character. The area is pulled together by Centenary Square and Broad Street and by the canal network, but it isn’t seen as a complete “area”
Centenary Square, Brindley Place and Gas Street Basin look nice, but Broad Street and Five Ways don’t look as good. The NIA is nto attractive fron outside, and has car parks spoiling the view canalside.
Some development is already planned including:
It’s hoped that these developments will bring enough people to live and work in the area to help to support niche and specialist shops.
The Bath Row / Holloway Head area is the last place avalable to redevelop and is being guided by a development brief; so far there are not many plans. There is a good chance that we could provide better pedestrian links between Park Central, Westside and Southside through Holloway Head.
As well as the existing plans, there may be other opportunities in the future. We need to think about how to make the National Indoor Arena more attractive.
We could also improve the public spaces in the area around Fiveways, along Broad Street and the NIA and along some of the canal network.
Broad Street as a brash and buzzy entertainment strip? (See image)
The Broad Street area is an important thing to think about. Although it’s now mainly for entertainment, it could turn into something like a local “high street” with shops and services for the growing number of people that would like and work around it.
Westside (See image)
Original Document
Westside has seen several waves of expanding central area uses: the offices around Five Ways, Baskerville House and Alpha Tower; the cultural area including the Rep theatre, the NIA, Brindleyplace and the Mailbox; and the leisure area along Broad Street including the Broadway Entertainment Complex and the Cineworld.
Westside also includes the Attwood Green area and the ongoing development at Park Central, the first phase of a large 10 year housing regeneration programme, which is well under way and is substantially occupied. Park Central creates a new urban neighbourhood close to the cultural, retail, and commercial heart of the city with a range of housing sizes and tenures set around Sunset Park.
Near Attwood Green is the Bath Row and Holloway Head area - an area on the fringe of the city core that has seen little change over the last 30 years. The area is still home to a mix of light industrial / warehouse uses, some community activities and office uses, some of which may have functional connections with the city centre. Two towers, ‘the sentinels’, mark a gateway at Holloway Head with Beetham Tower (the Radisson Hotel) beyond. The pedestrian-level environment here is not of high quality.
As a result Westside has a mixed character. The area is pulled together by Centenary Square and the Broad Street movement axis and by the canal network, but still tends to function as a series of disparate elements. The high quality environment in Centenary Square, Brindleyplace and Gas Street Basin does not continue into Broad Street or Five Ways, and the NIA has a poor frontage with multi storey car parks fronting the sensitive canalside.
There are still a number of landmark projects in the pipeline, including the Cube, the V building, Arena Central, Baskerville Wharf, Paradise Circus and the relocation of the Library of Birmingham. These quality developments will bring a critical mass of people into the area which could help to support niche and specialist shops.
The Bath Row / Holloway Head area represents the most significant remaining redevelopment opportunity in the area and its redevelopment is being guided by a development brief; so far, not much development has come forward. There are major opportunities to provide better pedestrian links between Park Central, Westside and Southside through Holloway Head.
In addition to these development proposals which are already in the pipeline, there may be other opportunities in the future. The National Indoor Arena occupies a valuable city centre location adjacent to areas of major change, including Arena Central and as discussed above does not have an attractive presence. We need to think about how further improvements might be made in this area. There are also significant opportunities to improve the quality of the public realm within the Westside area, particularly in the area around Fiveways, along Broad Street and the NIA and along some of the canal network.
The Broad Street area is an important focus for Westside; although it developed an entertainment function in the 1990s, its role in the future may be more akin to the local “high street” with shops and services for the growing residential and business communities around it.
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.
Plain English Version
We need to think about the choices for running the Metro, bus routes and walking routes so that the city centre is easy to get around by public transport and also that there is enough space for pedestrians.
Original Document
Options for the running of the Metro, bus routes and walking routes need to be considered, so that the city centre is both accessible by public transport and space is freed up for pedestrians.
Plain English Version
How can we make the City Centre the easiest to walk around in the UK?
What streets and spaces should be our top priority to make good walking routes?
Where do we need to do things, such as barrier removal and crossing improvement?
What other kinds of improvement might be carried out?
Original Document
How can we go about making the city centre the UK’s most walkable centre? What streets and spaces should be the top priority walking routes? Where does attention need to be targeted to improve walkability, such as barrier removal and crossing improvement? What other kinds of improvement might be carried out?