ONE WAY TO CAUSE A FUSS IN STIRCHLEY

29-09-2007

Proposals for a controversial one-way system highlighted in The Stirrer's Birmingham Mail column and featured on this website have been quietly withdrawn after local residents warned it would cause gridlock in surrounding roads.

Councillors in Stirchley were promoting a scheme to restrict a "rat run" through Bond Street, but were criticised by Steve Beckett, who lives in the area, for pandering to NIMBYS.

He warned that although the plan would please residents, it would create far worse congestion in neighbouring roads (see link here)

Local Conservative councillor Tim Huxtable defended the plan while his colleague Nigel Dawkins accused Steve of "over-egging the pudding" (see link here).

Yet now we learn - albeit by second hand means - that idea has been scrapped.

In response to a question by Liberal Democrat councillor Martin Mullaney,

Birmingham's Traffic Manager Alan Lloyd says, "results from the consultation revealed that the proposals were not supported, and in consultation with local councillors, the scheme and NRF funding was withdrawn."

Interesting to note that funding had already been allocated to a project that was supposedly only a "consultation".

It becomes even more curious when you discover that Bond Street is a designated "blue route" which gives emergency vehicles priority.

Surely councillors can't have been wasting taxpayers cash on a scheme that the "blue light" services would have scotched anyway?