‘Children’s lives at risk’ amid traffic scheme setback, West Midlands mum argues
Children’s lives are ‘being put at risk’ amid the divisive Kings Heath Low Traffic Neighbourhood (LTN) scheme being hit by a setback, a Birmingham mum has argued.
Katie Day, from a parents group at a school in the area, has called for the resignation of the city council’s transport boss after it was revealed the scheme’s second phase needed to be “revised”.
She says the area is currently plagued with congestion, dangerous driving and even “road rage fist-fights” and went on to slam the “catastrophic failure of leadership”.
The Low Traffic Neighbourhood (LTN) scheme in the Kings Heath suburb has previously split opinion, with the use of modal filters, which keep through-traffic from certain streets, proving controversial.
Those in favour of the plans however want to see traffic in residential neighbourhoods reduced in a bid to make it safer for people to walk and cycle in the area.
So far, modal filters have been introduced to the west of Kings Heath High Street and a section of York Road has been pedestrianised.
But the council said recently that proposals for the second phase needed to be “revised” and “further work” was needed.
Reacting to this setback, Katie Day said the “collapse of the original scheme is deeply frustrating”.
“Every morning on our streets we are witnessing road rage fist-fights, gridlock, and frustrated drivers routinely mounting the pavements right outside the three schools within this small residential area,” she told the Local Democracy Reporting Service.
“This is no longer just a debate about traffic; it is a live child safeguarding emergency.
“Our residential roads were just not built to carry 8,000 vehicles a day.”
She continued: “The fact that we are back to square one after years of work is a catastrophic failure of leadership.
“Because of this botched legal process, children’s lives are being put at risk by further bureaucratic delays.
“I am calling for the immediate resignation of the cabinet member for environment and transport, Councillor Majid Mahmood, for his gross mishandling of this vital public safety project.”
She also argued that many residents living to the east of Kings Heath High Street remain in favour of the interventions.
On the LTN scheme setback, Coun Mahmood’s statement read: “In determining a way forward, the council must take a balanced view weighing up policy considerations, statutory duties, regulatory frameworks and equity.
“As such, further work is needed before we can progress a scheme solution for this area.
“We will provide further updates on this project when a revised proposal is ready to be taken to the council’s cabinet committee.”
Asked about Ms Day’s comments, Coun Mahmood later said: “Safety is an absolute priority which is why we are introducing measures across the city to make roads and communities safer.
“We need to change attitudes and also provide the infrastructure some people can be less reliant on private vehicles.
“We have also invested £15.5 million in the safer and active streets programme which members can use to tackle road safety in their wards as well as £10m into the road harm reduction strategy.”
‘We continue to be disappointed’
Martin Price, chair of Better Streets for Birmingham, last week urged the council to proceed with the scheme as quickly as possible amid concerns over road safety.
“The Kings Heath and Moseley scheme has always been ambitious and we continue to be disappointed that it has taken six years to get to this point,” he said.
“We await the publishing of cabinet papers to understand the detail of the changes, noting that there appears to be the intention to progress with a scheme.
“This is positive news following the cabinet member’s decision after last year’s traffic regulation order consultation.”
He added: “It is important that we all remember the crux of a low-traffic scheme is to make residential streets safer for everyone by re-routing shortcutting through traffic to main roads designed for it.
“The sooner these street redesigns are achieved, the better.”
Coun Mahmood previously acknowledged the project had “sparked strong opinions” last year, saying: “That’s why we’ve held seven rounds of consultation, listened to feedback and crucially made changes to the design.
“The most common comment from members of the public not in support of the scheme was the longer journey times and expected displacement of traffic onto fewer roads.
“However, we want to reduce traffic on parts of the network that are not suitable for carrying large numbers of vehicles, like residential streets.
“We’ve worked hard to balance concerns with the long-term benefits for all.”
