September 29, 2020

After receiving a lot of feedback from Kings Heath businesses, the Kings Heath BID has arranged for an online consultation session with Birmingham City Council to discuss the Low Traffic Neighbourhood pilot project currently taking place in Kings Heath. The aim of the session will be for businesses to find out more information about the project and to provide feedback on the project so far.

Online Consultation

Thursday 1 October, 7pm-8pm – an online briefing session. A chance for people to hear more about the Kings Heath LTN pilot, the background/context to this, what is proposed and how the trial scheme will operate. Anyone can join this session, to be delivered using Microsoft Teams Live, using the link here. Please feel free to share the link with any Kings Heath business owner that might be interested in having their say.

There will also be a follow-up session a week later for business owners that would like to get more involved with the consultation process. Numbers are limited so if you would like more information about this session, please contact us here.

Low Traffic Neighbourhood Pilot

Birmingham City Council has provided us with the following information regarding the LTN:

Kings Heath was selected as one of two pilot Low Traffic Neighbourhood areas as part of BCC’s new Places for People project. The project aims to reduce traffic in residential areas so that it is safer for people to walk and cycle, and nicer to be outside for children to play and people to socialise. In many parts of Birmingham, residents find streets are busy with traffic, particularly when people are ‘rat running’ to avoid main roads. When traffic is reduced the neighbourhood becomes quieter, the air is cleaner, and streets feel safer. 

 
The first phase of the Low Traffic Neighbourhood pilot in Kings Heath will cover: 
  • the area bordered by Avenue Road, Vicarage Road, High Street and the railway line 
  • pedestrianisation of a section of York Road between Waterloo Road and High Street 
  • the area bordered by Vicarage Road, Howard Road and Alcester Road South 
In these areas, modal filters that restrict the movement of through-traffic will be installed. People will still be able to access where they need to, get deliveries, etc, but it will be made harder or impossible to drive straight through the area. You can find further details about the Kings Heath LTNs pilot at: https://covidmeasuresbirmingham.commonplace.is/schemes/proposals/kings-heath-low-traffic-neighbourhood/details.
 
This scheme will be implemented using temporary measures that can be changed, removed or made permanent at a later stage depending on its success and feedback received during the trial period. The trial will initially run for up to 6 months and is being funded from the Department for Transport’s Emergency Active Travel Fund.

A spokesperson at the Council said:

“We are having to work quickly to bring in initial measures over the coming weeks, but we do want to keep people informed about what is happening here, and why. We also want to hear from people about how these measures are working once they are in place, and whether this is something people want to see made permanent – this process should be shaped by the people who live and spend their time in the area.”
 
If you have any questions, please contact connected@birmingham.gov.uk and be sure to attend the online session on Thursday 1st October.