Red routes in pipeline
Congestion-busting red routes could be introduced on several key roads across Walsall, it was revealed today.
But the plans could fall through because the council has already taken more than two years to implement the scheme on one major road.
The controversial scheme imposes a near-total ban on parking in a bid to ease traffic chaos.
It involves painting red lines along the route to ban parking although there would be special bays for disabled drivers and dedicated stopping points for people making deliveries.
Anyone caught flouting the ban could be landed with a fixed penalty fine.
The roads being earmarked for the scheme are the A4148 Broadway; A4148 Littleton Street; Wolverhampton Road, which links the town with Junction 10 of the M6; the A41/A444 Black Country spine road, which runs through Moxley, and the A34 South, which links Walsall and Birmingham.
A bid for funding is due to be submitted to the Department for Transport in December. Council chiefs today refused to confirm how much money the authority is seeking.
The council was awarded funding to carry out the first phase of its red routes programme covering the A34 North between the town centre and Staffordshire in December 2004 but the scheme is still not up and running.
A report to last night's cabinet meeting stated: "Progress in implementing proposals in Walsall has been slow to date.
"Walsall's routes in the second funding application may be restricted if significant progress is not demonstrated between the start of the 2007/08 financial year and the submission of the new funding application in December."
Businesses and residents are currently being asked for their views on the proposals.
