‘Frequent delays’ hamper progress on deadly streets as campaigners say ‘not an option’

Birmingham City Council has been criticized for not delivering active travel schemes quickly enough in a new report published this week. Campaigners have accused the city council of moving at a “glacial pace” in rolling out new schemes to encourage walking and cycling in the city.

The Active trip overview and control report found that the council was moving too slowly to deliver new initiatives and by doing so could miss out on potential future funding opportunities. The report also urged the council to communicate better with the public about the progress of these schemes and put forward a number of recommendations to help “speed up” the process.

Participants called for the inquiry in June 2023 after a series of protests against road violence and said the report “formalises what we have known for some time: our streets are unsafe, resources are limited, delivery is slow and communication needs to improve”. . Birmingham City Council said it welcomed the inquiry and said work was “already underway” to review the delivery process and create a “pipeline of future projects”.

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The Active Travel Overview and Scrutiny report, launched on July 8, raised concerns about the slow roll-out of active travel schemes such as new cycle routes and raised concerns that Birmingham is lagging behind other cities in infrastructure provision active travel. Push Bikes, a local cycling campaign group, accused the council of “frequent delivery delays, lack of attention to detail and some disappointing results, lack of quality control and remedial measures”.

As part of the inquiry, campaigners called for a “rolling scoreboard” to be regularly updated with progress on various active travel projects. Concerns have also been raised about the lack of active travel schemes in the most unequal areas of the city.

The report set out 12 key recommendations to the council to help improve road safety and tackle the climate emergency, including updates to the council’s internal systems, improved funding arrangements, improved governance and accountability, a review of resources, design due diligence and consultation easier for the delivery task.

Campaign group Better Streets for Birmingham said it welcomed the “broad and far-reaching recommendations” made in the report, but urged the council to act “urgently”. A spokesman for the group said: “The report formalizes what we have known for some time: our streets are unsafe, resources are limited, delivery is slow and communication needs to improve.

“During its transformation, the council must boldly address the challenges that are slowing down the delivery of these critical schemes. Since he gave evidence to the inquiry, many parts of the car have changed, which has introduced additional challenges not included in the report.

“We have a new cabinet role, cabinet member, regional mayor and national government. In the coming months we will also have a new cycling and walking commissioner. Actions must start immediately and urgently, so that the city, the region and the country go in the same direction at the same pace.

“Returning to the inquiry’s recommendations a year from now to find that little has changed is not an option.”

Addressing the report’s findings, Cllr Majid Mahmood, Cabinet Member for Environment and Transport, said: “Active travel is vitally important and is a key principle of the Birmingham Transport Plan. Walking, cycling and cycling are a sustainable, accessible and affordable way to travel in a city where a third of households do not own a car.

“We welcome the work put into this inquiry and recognize that many of the recommendations apply equally to the delivery of all transport projects. Work is already underway to review the current delivery and create a number of future projects. The delivery of the transport plan focuses on a ‘back to basics’ approach, bringing simple neighborhood improvements such as eliminating on-street parking and reducing traffic speeds to people’s doorsteps.

“Birmingham’s transport funding does not come from the council’s general fund, so we are working hard to ensure we get the best value for every penny and use this spending to support our economic recovery and deliver a high quality network quality for people to get. around town.”