Secret Birmingham (1)

OFFICERS GAGGED ON TYBURN ROAD BUS LANE

18-12-2007

The controversial suspension of Birmingham’s Tyburn Road bus lane has split the public almost 50/50 – but in another outbreak of official secrecy/control freakery taxpayers are being denied the chance to know what council officers think should happen next.

Tyburn Road in Erdington leads from the north of the city towards the A38 Expressway into the city centre and had a bus priority lane until it was ‘temporarily” re-opened to all traffic by the new Tory/Lib Dem coalition in summer 2004.

Their excuse was that roadworks on the M6 would force more cars onto ordinary roads, but even after the cones were removed on the motorway, there was no sign of the bus lane being re-introduced.

In October 2006, the Council carried out a transport consultation with 21,000 households in Castle Vale, Erdington and Sutton Coldfield but bizarrely have been sitting on the findings since then.

Now, thanks to a Freedom of Information request by the Campaign for Better Transport, Friends of the Earth, and Bus Users UK, the details have emerged.

The research shows that 49% of commuters are in favour of some kind of bus priority scheme with 51% against – though as only 1,245 people replied, it can hardly be said to be a comprehensive survey.

What really matters, though, is the next step in the saga, but curiously the Council has refused to release the advice and options and recommendations suggested by its officers, even though Cabinet Member for Transport Len Gregory is scheduled to make a decision in February – almost a year and a half after the consultation was launched.

Kevin Chapman of the Campaign for Better Transport West Midlands said, “the Council don’t seem to want to have any discussions and they don’t appear willing to make any ecision that’s likely to be unpopular.

“There’s no leadership. While councillors have to take difficult decisions this smacks of dithering.

“Given the problems we are facing with congestion and the environmental effects of transport, including climate change, we do not have the time to waste.”

Should the Tyburn Road bus lane be re-introduced?

And what do you think of ‘Secret Birmingham’.