Walking routes upgrade to support Commonwealth Games and city’s long-term legacy
Birmingham: A £1.6million package of improvements to key walking routes ahead of the Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games has been confirmed by the council.
In total, the scheme covers seven projects that will enable spectators and visits move around the city with greater ease and safety – and the work will in turn offer a legacy to residents and future visitors in the years after the Games.
The projects, which connect rail and bus transport hubs and event venues, are designed around three topics: illuminating routes, wider footways and safer pedestrian environments.
The schemes are:
- Enhanced lighting at the Dudley Street underpass;
- Footway build-out and resurfacing along the eastern footway on the southern end of Hurst Street;
- Removal and relocation of cycle stands on Pershore Road in front of the Bellevue Pharmacy;
- Upgrade of footway around the bus shelter on Pershore Road in front of the access to the Edgbaston Cricket Ground to increase footway width and improve pedestrian movement;
- Upgrade of Hurst Street/Bromsgrove Street junction introducing signalled controlled pedestrian phases to the four arms;
- Formalised uncontrolled crossing at the Station Link Road at the National Exhibition Centre (NEC);
- Decluttering and installation of anti-ramming bollards on Lower Temple Street.
The funding for the upgrades comes from the overall Commonwealth Games budget, of which 25 per cent (£184million) has been contributed by the council. Completion of the projects is scheduled before the end of March 2022.
Cllr Waseem Zaffar, Cabinet Member for Transport and Environment at Birmingham City Council, said: “This work will ensure are making it as easy as possible for pedestrians to get to and from some of the key locations that will be used by spectators during the Commonwealth Games.
“But, just as importantly, they are enhancing the city’s infrastructure for residents and future visitors – making it easier than ever to consider sustainable choices for relatively short journeys in and around the city centre.
“Ultimately this package of work shows just why Birmingham 2022 is more than just 11 days of world class sport. The Games are a catalyst that is bringing our city wider benefits that would not have been possible so quickly if not for us taking the bold decision to bid for the Games.”
