Council secures further £1.3m boost for cycle and pedestrian improvements
Plans are being drawn up for further safety measures to benefit cyclists and pedestrians at an Edgbaston junction after Birmingham City Council successfully bid for £1.3 million of Government funding.
The grant, which will be further boosted by a £200,000 contribution from the council to bring the total up to £1.5 million, will be used to implement new safety measures at the junction of Pershore Road and Priory Road.
The council has been awarded the funding from the Department for Transport’s £6.5 million Cycle Safety Fund, which was open to eight Cycle Ambition Cities – cities which are deemed to be leading the way in promoting cycling as a healthy and environmentally friendly way to travel.
Measures proposed include new pedestrian crossing phases and signals, wider cycle lanes, improved traffic lanes and bus stop markings, and the consideration of ‘early start’ signals for cyclists, as well as a new cycle track alongside Priory Road and Edgbaston Road to connect a National Cycle Network route at Cannon Hill Park to the new segregated two-way cycle superhighway currently under construction on the A38 Bristol Road.
Councillor Waseem Zaffar, Cabinet Member for Transport and Environment at Birmingham City Council, said: “I am absolutely delighted that we have been successful in our bid for this valuable funding, which will enable us to continue building on the work we are already doing to encourage more people to leave the car at home and choose other, more environmentally friendly ways to travel, whether by bike or on foot.”
Plans will now be drawn up for the scheme, ahead of a full public consultation later in the year.
The scheme will be delivered as part of Birmingham Cycle Revolution (BCR), a £57 million city-wide project focused on making cycling an everyday way to travel in Birmingham, helping the city to become healthier, greener and safer. Other BCR schemes currently under way include work to build Birmingham’s first fully segregated cycle routes on the A38 from Selly Oak to the city centre and the A34 from Perry Barr to the city centre.
