{"id":502256,"date":"2025-10-15T19:33:23","date_gmt":"2025-10-15T19:33:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/502256\/"},"modified":"2025-10-15T19:33:23","modified_gmt":"2025-10-15T19:33:23","slug":"birmingham-council-defends-cycle-route-plan-amid-backlash","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/502256\/","title":{"rendered":"Birmingham Council defends cycle route plan amid backlash"},"content":{"rendered":"

Birmingham Council previously said transforming the city\u2019s transport is ‘fundamental to meeting future challenges’<\/p>\n

Alexander Brock<\/strong> Local Democracy Reporter<\/p>\n

16:25, 15 Oct 2025<\/p>\n

\"CllrCllr Majid Mahmood, cabinet member for transport and environment(Image: Martin O’Callaghan\/Birmingham Live)<\/p>\n

Birmingham City Council\u2019s transport boss has defended cycle route plans despite more than two-thirds saying they \u201creally disliked\u201d the proposals in a consultation.<\/p>\n

The Labour<\/a>-run authority wants to build cycle provision along a section of the A45 Coventry Road as it looks to reduce dependency on private vehicles.<\/p>\n

It would connect with an existing scheme that links the city centre with Oldknow Road \u2013 providing a continuous route out to Swan Island in Yardley<\/a>.<\/p>\n

READ MORE: <\/strong>Birmingham shopping centre set to be partially demolished as Lidl wins planning appeal<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

The council<\/a> said earlier this year that the plans would increase \u2018active travel\u2019 along the A45 corridor; help decarbonisation efforts and reduce collisions for pedestrians and cyclists.<\/p>\n

But a council report revealed recently that a majority who responded to a public consultation earlier this year were opposed to the plans.<\/p>\n

\u201cOverall, when asked to select their feelings towards the proposals, 26 per cent of respondents were positive in their response to the proposals,\u201d it said.<\/p>\n

\u201cHowever, 68 per cent of respondents state they really dislike the proposal.\u201d<\/p>\n

Concerns raised during the consultation included existing issues with parking and delays to journey times by private vehicle.<\/p>\n

\"AA visualisation of the proposed Birmingham cycle route on A45 Coventry Road. Taken from consultation page.<\/p>\n

Speaking at a meeting this week, Conservative<\/a> group leader Robert Alden said: \u201cThe fear here is that we\u2019re rushing ahead with a scheme that doesn\u2019t have public support.\u201d<\/p>\n

Coun Majid Mahmood, the Labour cabinet member for transport, acknowledged the backlash during the public consultation.<\/p>\n

\u201c172 were opposed, 50 were neutral and 66 were supportive,\u201d he said. \u201cThat\u2019s 172 out of a possible area that would cover tens of thousands of people that could have come back to us.\u201d<\/p>\n

Addressing particular concerns, he added overall capacity on the road would remain the same and said only 12 parking spaces would be lost.<\/p>\n

\u201cCouncil officers are already speaking to organisations in the area to resit the parking there,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

READ MORE: <\/strong>Birmingham’s 3,500 home regeneration scheme for ‘forgotten’ estate set for approval<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

Coun Mahmood also said the project would bring numerous benefits to the area, which could include upgraded pedestrian and cycle crossings; additional cycle parking; and more places to sit and relax.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere\u2019s going to be continued engagement with local residents through to the full business case,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cAs part of the detailed design, comments will be reviewed and where possible changes will be introduced to the proposals to address the lack of support received,\u201d the report added.<\/p>\n

\u2018Current transport does not meet citizens\u2019 needs\u2019<\/strong><\/p>\n

The city council has previously said that transforming the city\u2019s transport was \u201cfundamental to meeting the challenges of the next decade and beyond\u201d.<\/p>\n

\u201cEconomic, population and housing growth will create additional demand for travel, which cannot be accommodated via ongoing car dependence,\u201d the council said.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe current transport system does not meet the needs of citizens, with those in the greatest need unable to access jobs, education and other essential services.<\/p>\n

\u201cResponding to the climate emergency requires significant reductions in carbon emissions from transport, which cannot be achieved without a wholesale shift towards public transport and active modes.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"BirminghamBirmingham City Council House(Image: Alexander Brock)<\/p>\n

Against this backdrop, cabinet members at the council approved the outline business case for the delivery of the proposals at an estimated cost of \u00a314.3m at a meeting yesterday, October 14.<\/p>\n

External ring-fenced grant funding has been allocated for the project.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Birmingham Council previously said transforming the city\u2019s transport is ‘fundamental to meeting future challenges’ Alexander Brock Local Democracy…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":413413,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7820],"tags":[855,984,748,527,393,4884,528,285,16,15],"class_list":{"0":"post-502256","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-birmingham","8":"tag-birmingham","9":"tag-birmingham-city-council","10":"tag-britain","11":"tag-conservative-party","12":"tag-england","13":"tag-great-britain","14":"tag-labour-party","15":"tag-politics","16":"tag-uk","17":"tag-united-kingdom"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@uk\/115379857915251407","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/502256","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=502256"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/502256\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/413413"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=502256"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=502256"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=502256"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}