A LEADING Birmingham councillor is encouraging Broad Street businesses to help prevent traffic chaos on the streets by speaking out about how proposed changes will impact them.
Cllr Waseem Zaffar, cabinet member for transport and environment on the city council, is keen to speak to Broad Street business leaders about how the ongoing redevelopment is affecting them in the short term.
He’s already changed one traffic regulation order in a bid to help the smooth running of businesses hit by both the pandemic and the upheaval caused by major roadworks.
Now he’s urging business managers to get in touch with any further concerns.
“It’s been a hugely challenging time for our business community, particularly because of the pandemic and the work that’s taking place on Broad Street,” said Cllr Zaffar.
“We’ve got some really exciting plans, but I think it’s really important that we co-design and co-produce these plans with our communities, particularly the business community here in our city.
“I want to reassure people that we’re absolutely listening to them, and we’ve already made some important changes that mitigate the impact on the business community.
“Moving forward we’ll be having a series of engagement sessions where we’ll be sitting down with our businesses and working in partnership.”
Mike Olley, general manager of Westside BID, said: “We’re really grateful to Cllr Zaffar for taking the time to listen to the concerns of businesses in the district, who have been hugely impacted by the disruption and chaos of the redevelopment works.
“We can’t wait to see a safer, more welcoming area with wider pavements, clean air and a vibrant café culture. But how we get there is just as important as the vision, so we’re really pleased to see our businesses are being listened to.
“Business leaders’ whose venues and trading are set to be impacted by the Metro’s operations need to speak to us as soon as possible to make sure their concerns are listened to.”
To find out more about how to get involved, email: mike.olley@westsidebid.co.uk.
