The local media has highlighted how cyclists are set to be diverted away from using parts of Westside’s £83 million Metro tram extension along Broad Street.
BirminghamLive – the online sister of the Birmingham Mail – has reported how the ongoing redevelopment from Centenary Square to Five Ways has seen pavements widened to help pedestrians move more freely between the area’s pubs, bars and restaurants.
But with the road space squeezed in favour of the West Midlands Metro tram service, cyclists will have to find an alternative route to get in and out of town.
The story by the Mail’s veteran correspondent Graham Young quoted a frustrated Mike Olley, general manager of Westside BID.
Mr Olley, who regularly cycles 20 miles a day to and from work, said: “I think the authorities are making stuff like this up as they go along.
“On the one hand they are dreaming up schemes like the Birmingham Cycle Revolution and want to encourage people like me to cycle, which I now am, but then they come up with something like this.
“Where is the planning? Who has been consulted and when, that’s what I’d like to know.”
No-one from the Midland Metro Alliance or Transport for West Midlands would comment, but a spokesperson for Birmingham City Council said: “It is impractical to fully accommodate cycling along the stretch.”
For the full story, interviews with other cyclists and a detailed response from the city council, visit: https://www.birminghammail.co.uk/whats-on/music-nightlife-news/83m-broad-street-tram-route-21328729
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