Reports & Responses

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February 2003

Stratford Road Red Route: Response to the Consultation

Birmingham Friends of the Earth welcomes the opportunity to be invited to comment on the proposed Red Route Scheme for the Stratford Road, and we would like to acknowledge the help and information made available by Faber Maunsell consultants.

1. General Comments on Red Route Schemes
Although we are not opposed to the basic concept of a red route per se, we are concerned that in general, red route schemes will create some undesirable effects unless mitigating measures are implemented. We are worried that freer flowing traffic may result in the following:

1. It will be more difficult to cross the road without extra pedestrian crossings;
   
2. Potential of higher traffic speeds may make it more dangerous for pedestrians and cyclists;
   
3. Potential for speeding is increased;
   
4. Higher average speeds will make car use more attractive;
   
5. Better parking will entice more car use for shopping trips;
   
6. Higher average speeds and reduced journey times may lead to increased volumes of car traffic.

Is the scheme really benefiting the areas through which it passes or is it just benefiting car users travelling in to Birmingham from outside the area by reducing their journey times? There is a danger that the higher average speeds will benefit car users more than bus users, so that the competitiveness of public transport is undermined and ultimately people may be tempted to use their cars instead. This is why it is crucial that adequate bus priority and traffic calming along with speed cameras are an integral part of the scheme.

The question needs to be asked whether the objectives could be achieved without implementing a Red Route. Better enforcement of existing parking restrictions may be all that is needed. Many of the measures proposed such as entry treatments for side road junctions and bollards could be implemented anyway without being part of a Red Route scheme. Thus alternative strategies to red route schemes also need to be considered.

2. Proposed measures which we support
There are several elements of the scheme which we welcome:

1. Entry treatment to side road entrances. We welcome the extra safety and easier road crossing this affords pedestrians and those in wheelchairs or with buggies;
   
2. Better delineation of the highway with bollards, so that cars blocking pavements become less of a problem;
   
3. Better enforcement to penalise illegal parking both on roads and pavements;
   
4. Extra pedestrian crossings;
   
5. Environmental improvements and tree planting at side road entrance closures.

3. What we would like to see

General Comments

1. No overall increase in parking provision;
   
2. No loss of mature street trees and green open spaces for parking provision;
   
3. More efficient use of pre-existing parking spaces so that the creation of new spaces with subsequent loss of trees and green open space is not necessary;
   
4. Traffic calming and speed cameras to reduce the potential for speeding;
   
5. A package of measures for encouraging cycling which could include additional cycle parking, cycle lanes on roads, advance stop markings at traffic lights and contra flow cycle lanes on one way roads where possible. At the moment there is little or no provision made in the plans for cycling;
   
6. Bus priority measures for example at traffic lights.

Loss of mature trees and open space to create new car parking areas and modified road alignments
Several areas of off road parking and parking bays along the road itself have been identified, some of which may result in the loss of street trees, grass verges and green open spaces. We would urge that under no circumstances should any remaining green space and street trees be destroyed for the sake of new car parking areas. More efficient use of pre-existing car parking space and sensitive location of proposed parking bays should make this unnecessary.

Discussion with the consultants has established that not all of the areas earmarked for car parking will be needed - it is quite possible that all parking provision required could be accommodated on the Stratford Road in parking bays. The exact positions of these parking bays have not been finalised and the consultants envisage that these could easily be re-arranged at the detailed design stage to avoid the need to take out street trees.

Loss of Open Space in Sparkhill
We are opposed to the use of St John Street and Stratford Street, Sparkhill for car parking. Two areas of landscaped green open space with trees have been earmarked for car parking space. The smaller area contains one mature tree, the larger area has at least 15 semi mature trees (including birch and willow) with a small coppice area in the middle. It is possible that these two areas are too remote from Stratford road to be of any benefit to shoppers.

Sparkhill ward has been identified as being deficient in open space, so these two small areas of open space should be retained as a valuable asset for the local community. Informal poorly controlled car parking was observed adjacent to St Johns Church. This could be formalised and more efficient use made of the parking area.

Loss of street trees in Sparkhill
New parking bays have been proposed in a number of places which may lead to the loss of street trees. After undertaking a site survey we found that the following trees are at risk of being removed because they coincide with proposed parking bays:

• At the junction with Main Road. Additional parking bays and widening of same may necessitate the removal of one or two trees.
• Near the junction with St John's Road one mature tree will be lost to new parking bays.
• North of Showell Green Lane, proposed parking bays on the northbound carriageway will lead to the loss of 4 mature trees.
• At the junction with Warwick road adjacent to Mermaid 'pub'. Road realignment will lead to widening of the carriageway on the northbound side of Warwick Road with the loss of one street tree with a small amount of land taken from the forecourt of the 'Mermaid pub' building.
• Adjacent to Sparkhill Park on the northbound side of Stratford Road next to Sparkhill School. Proposed parking bays here may necessitate the removal of one or two mature trees.

We would strongly object to the removal of any of these trees in an area which has already suffered the loss of numerous mature trees in previous years.

Open space in Hall Green
We note that an area of informal grassed open space fringed with at least 8 mature trees between Stratford road and Reddings Lane has been earmarked for car parking use. We object to this being used as car parking and would urge you to consider alternatives such as roadside parking bays. If additional parking is required, then areas of disused land should be considered such as the disused garage forecourt adjacent to Cateswell Road.

Loss of street trees in Hall Green

• Between Green Bank Avenue and Cubley Road, opposite Somerfield Supermarket there are currently 12 to 13 spaces available but the Red Route plans state that there are only ten available. Re-organisation of parking spaces will mean the loss of one young tree from in between parking bays. By using space more efficiently, it would appear that more parking spaces could be created within the existing space without the need to remove a tree. The service road opposite Somerfield Supermarket is planned to be widened to accommodate en echelon parking which will mean the loss of three mature trees. To avoid the removal of these trees, the existing parking space could be used more efficiently.
• The plans refer to the 'Removal of an obstruction to enable widening of the footway'. This is on the northbound side of Stratford Road adjacent to Wickes Store, and almost opposite the approach road to Hall Green railway station. The obstruction referred to consists of three mature trees, gorse bushes and a holly bush. These are on a high earth bank which was probably an original field boundary or lane boundary. We would strongly object to removal of this valuable landscape feature and would suggest an alternative arrangement. Instead, the Stratford Road could be kinked slightly north eastwards towards the Hall Green station side of the road where it would then cut into the forecourt of a disused garage. The trees need not then be removed to allow widening of the footway which in any case is still wider than that at the railway bridge just a few yards further south. Although not marked on the plans as such, the disused garage forecourt has been identified as an additional possibility for car parking. This would be preferable to using the green space at Reddings Lane and the removal of street trees adjacent to Somerfield Supermarket.
  
• At the Colebank Road/School Road crossroads, on the northbound side of Stratford Road there is a small patch of green space with two mature trees, which is earmarked for car parking. Also the possible realignment of Colebank road to accommodate right turns entails slight widening of Colebank road which will cut into the green. We would like to see this green area with its two trees retained and suggest that the alternatives mentioned above along with the proposed expansion of Hall Green railway station car park would make its conversion into car parking unnecessary.
  
• New parking bays between Constance Close and Fox Hollies Road would result in the removal of 9 trees on the southbound side and 6 trees on the north bound side.
• South of Robin Hood Island, on the northbound carriageway, new parking bays here will remove 9 mature trees and grass verge.

In summary, we object to the large number of mature trees and areas of green open space in both Sparkhill and Hall Green which would be destroyed if some of the proposals for new car parking spaces were implemented . We think that development of green open space for car parking could be easily avoided by better use of existing parking and identifying alternative parking provision either on disused land or on roadside bays. We are sure that all the parking bays required could be accommodated without the need to remove street trees.

Bus priority measures
We would like to see build outs retained at bus stops so that buses do not have to wait to rejoin the traffic flow after stopping, as is the case when bus stops are in lay-bys.
Bus priority should be included at traffic lights where possible. Although it is stated that the Red Route measures will increase average traffic speeds and reduce journey times for all traffic, we do not think that this will be of enough benefit to bus journeys. We feel that additional measures will be needed to benefit bus users such as bus priority at traffic signals.

Pedestrian Provision
Mention is made of altering the timing of traffic lights at critical junctions which may result in the 'all red' pedestrian phases being taken out in order to minimise hold-ups to road traffic. As we understand it, the following junctions are at risk of losing their all red phases:

• Colebank Road/School Road
• Durham Road/St Johns Road
• Oakwood Road/Formans Road

We would like to see these 'all red' pedestrian phases retained wherever possible as the freer flowing traffic which would result from the red route measures will make it even more difficult to cross the road.

In shopping areas, a planned land swap will involve shop forecourts becoming part of the public high way for footpath use. The pre-existing footpath will be cut away totally or partly to accommodate parking bays. We are concerned that in some places this will create a very narrow footway especially where for example a disabled ramp has been installed on a fore court.
Obviously some traders will be reluctant to give up their forecourt even if they gain some parking bays in the process, as the forecourts are often used as overspill stock display areas. The use of the forecourt for retail display purposes adds to the character and vibrancy of the shopping areas especially in Sparkhill and Sparkbrook and it would be a pity if this character was changed.

We hope there will be no more fences for physical segregation of pedestrians from traffic. This creates a threatening and ugly environment which encourages motor traffic to drive faster and less carefully. The road then splits the community into two halves. We understand that there are no plans to introduce additional pedestrian barriers as apart of the Red Route Scheme, but we are worried that these could be introduced separately as 'safety related' highway engineering measures without any consultation.

4. Cycling provision
There is little or nothing in the plans to encourage cycling. We would like to see the following measures included:

1. The Stratford Road Parallel Route should be more prominently signposted from the Stratford Road;
   
2. Improved signage for cycle routes in general;
   
3. Additional marked cycle lanes to be established on roads;
   
4. Advance stop areas at all traffic lights;
   
5. Additional cycle parking. This is particularly deficient in the Sparkbrook and Robin Hood areas;
   
6. Many side roads are proposed to be blocked off. We would like to see openings retained for cyclists in such places;
   
7. Contra flow cycle lanes along both proposed and existing one way streets where possible.

5. Recycling facilities
The plans suggest removal of recycling facilities at Waitrose Supermarket in Hall Green and using the facilities at Robin Hood Island instead. We object to this because facilities at Robin Hood are too far from Waitrose to be an adequate alternative. Relocation of these facilities to the Waitrose car park behind the supermarket would be more acceptable.

6. The Consultation Process
Unfortunately we have several concerns about the process and were disappointed with the clarity of the plans which were not as informative as they might have been. However a meeting arranged with ourselves and Faber Maunsell to clarify any uncertainties which existed was helpful and very informative. The following summarises our concerns about the consultation process:

1. Not as many people were informed as intended and many people who would be affected by the proposals are not aware of the scheme.
   
2. Including leaflets in 'free-sheet' newspapers is a less than ideal way of making people aware.
   
3. Leafleting of addresses on or near the Stratford Road. Many leaflets did not reach their intended recipients.
   
4. We believe that the consultation period should have been over a longer period of time - perhaps an extra month was necessary.
   
5. On the plans it is not usually made clear where trees and open space would be removed to make way for proposed car parking or road realignments. For example annotation on the plans for 'removal of obstacle to facilitate widened footpath' in Hall Green does not make it clear that the obstacle is actually a clump of mature trees and gorse bushes.
   
6. Some of the plans and data with which the consultants are working are out of date or inaccurate in several respects. For example an area of proposed public car parking is shown on the forecourt of a disused cinema which in fact is very much still in use.

Martin Stride