RED ROUTE BLOCKADE THREAT TO BRUM

28-11-2006

Angry traders are planning to bring Birmingham to a standstill on Wednesday by staging a rush hour “go slow” on the A34 Stratford Road. They're protesting against plans for a congestion-busting Red Route through Sparkbrook.

The, plan which is already months behind schedule, is now being pushed through by the city's cabinet member for transport Len Gregory. He's clearly had enough of what appear to be delaying tactics by the shopkeepers, who have pulled out of a series of meetings with him - the most recent being last week. Gregory will feel that he has done all he can to accommodate them, and that there's nothing to be gained from a further delay.

Local anger in Sparkbrook is fuelled by the belief that the Red Route, which is simply designed to stop traffic from parking and clogging up main roads, will harm local business. Abdul Vanat who runs a furniture store on Stratford Road told me: “I've been trading here since 1979 and we've built up this area without any help from Birmingham Council. We've put all our resources into it, but now it will become a ghost town.

“They're doing all this so that commuters from Solihull can travel into town three minutes faster”, he said.

Another source warned that Wednesday's blockade, the latest in a series of actions, will cause the most severe delays yet and is likely to disrupt traffic in the city centre as well as locally.

It's hard not to feel some sympathy for the traders, but the Council can hardly be accused of ignoring their concerns. They've provided 186 additional parking spaces away from the main road in response to complaints, only to face the accusation that these are in locations that are unattractive to shoppers - either because they aren't secure or because they are too far to walk.

Gregory has reached the point where he feels that he can't win whatever he does and so has nothing to lose; his gamble is thata comprehensive go slow that frustrates and angers motorists will ultimately do the traders cause more harm than good.