One mile of one of Birmingham’s busiest roads to close for car free scheme
A stretch of one of the busiest roads in Birmingham is set to close in September and converted into a paved car park.
An initiative between Birmingham City Council, The Active Wellbeing Society and the Sport England-funded Active Communities Local Delivery Pilot Programme will offer people the opportunity to use a mile of the A38 Aston Expressway car-free for the first time ever for International Car Free Day on September 22.
Cllr Waseem Zaffar, cabinet member for transport and environment at Birmingham City Council, said: “I am really excited to announce our plans for International Car Free Day, which will see people traffic replacing vehicle traffic on this stretch of iconic Birmingham road for the day.
“This is a fantastic opportunity for people of all ages, abilities and backgrounds to come together to see their city from a new perspective and at the same time improve their health and wellbeing.
“We will, of course, be working closely with organisations, residents and other stakeholders in the area to minimise disruption and ensure that suitable alternative diversionary routes are in place and that emergency services will still have the access they need if required.”
Meanwhile it was announced that the latest segregated cycle route delivered as part of the Birmingham Cycle Revolution (BCR) programme has been completed and is now open for use.
The new A38 route from Selly Oak offers a 4km two-way segregated cycle route for people cycling into the city centre from the south west of the city. The route is highly visible with a blue aggregate surface to make it stand out to all road users.
Theroute has been funded through a combination of the Department for Transport’s Cycle City Ambition Grant and the Greater Birmingham and Solihull Local Enterprise Partnership’s Local Growth Fund.
The route is part of a bigger programme of new and upgraded cycle infrastructure delivered across the city over the last five years as part of the Birmingham Cycle Revolution (BCR) programme.
This includes over 50km of canal towpaths improved with an all-weather cycling surface, over 25km of new or upgraded green routes through parks and open spaces and another largely segregated route along the A34 into the city centre from Heathfield Road, Birchfield.
