Major plans aimed at getting people out of their cars and onto public transport in Birmingham have been confirmed by the city council.
After first being mooted last October, Europe's largest local authority has announced it is pressing ahead with its radical 'Birmingham Transport Plan' which could drastically affect businesses, commuters and residents.
Chief among its proposals is to 'downgrade' the famous A38 tunnels which act as the main north/south arterial route for traffic travelling through the city centre, both to access local streets or move from one side of Birmingham to another.
As a consequence of this and other proposed measures, the car "will no longer be king", according to the city council's transport chief Cllr Waseem Zaffar.
Addressing councillors, he said the measures were "really, really important" and needed to tackle air pollution and a growing population.
He said: "This is my city, this is our city and Birmingham is being transformed and we need a fit-for-purpose transport system that tackles and reverses health inequalities in every single neighbourhood in our city and to do that we need a cultural change.
"We're ready to make these bold changes, some would argue they are not bold enough. They are radical, bold but also realistic.
"Cars will no longer be the king in this city, our public transport systems will become king."
Birmingham Transport Plans has a series of proposals:
- Vehicles to be stopped driving 'through' the city centre - although not prevented travelling into it - and the A38 tunnels repurposed, possibly as a public transport corridor for buses and cyclists
- A 20mph default speed limit outside of the A4540 Middleway ring road for residential roads
- A significant expansion of last year's 'car free school streets' pilot
- Reallocation of road space away from private cars such as projects already under way like the West Midland Metro extensions and the development of Sprint bus routes
- Dividing the city centre into 'cells'. Buses, cyclists and pedestrians will be able to travel from cell to cell directly but cars will have to go in and out via the ring road which itself will be upgraded
- A bid to "manage demand through parking measures" which could see many city centre car parks removed and re-developed alongside possible increased charges to deter car travel
The plan's publication, delayed due to the 2019 General Election, did not offer up any major surprises from the details which emerged in October after they were leaked by Tory opposition councillors.
No firm time frame has yet been announced by the authority but the arrival of HS2, expected to be in 2031, is being used as a benchmark to work towards.
The plan will go to the council's cabinet next week and then put out for public consultation from January 28 to March 27.
