Acocks Green: Warwick Road: the Dual Carriageway ... speeding car

Well: we have been talking now for eighteen months or so about the  ‘Smart Route’: a combination of Red Route and enhanced bus route which has been put forward as a possibility for the Warwick Road (A41) through Acocks Green centre.  It seems  something is about to happen.  The much awaited West Midlands Local Transport Plan is out.  You can download and read the difference  sections here According to p. 105  of the ‘Draft Strategy Appendices’ in this plan:

Smart Routes require a change to the way in which network wide initatives  are developed and funded.  As a result, a pilot Smart Route has been progressed to develop a set of guidelines that can be adapted for the future development of the network

The A41 Warwick Road, between Birmingham and Solihull, was selected as the pilot route. This is being jointly developed by Birmingham and Solihull Councils, and Centro.

Meantime, the new final draft of the  Birmingham Core Strategy document, under discussion until January 2011 goes on to note (p. 185, Section 8.37, E4 Acocks Green) that key objectives for Acocks Green include:

• To encourage the evolution of the centre in accordance with local need.  This would include the consideration of opportunities for potential growth and the enhancement of gateways into the centre, particularly ‘The Green’.
• To complement the emerging proposals under the A41 ‘Smart Route’ pilot study.
• To improve accessibility and parking within the local centre and the adjacent residential areas.

(If you would like further clarification you can download the Core Strategy document, which gives the present plans for the whole of Birmingham here. We are promised that public consultation will follow from mid December for a period of 12 weeks – further details to follow when available.)

OK so what, in plain English, does all of this mean for Acocks Green?  The Smart Route is going to happen.  Could this be good for Acocks Green?  Will this help to ‘improve accessibility and parking in the local centre?’ for example?  We  have the latest plans available to download below.   Andy Chidgey, the Project leader has confirmed to us that the key finding after consultation with local people is that the number one priority  is redesigning the present the dual cariageway Warwick Road through Acocks Green.  Almost everyone seems to agree that positive effects from this would include more space for parking, more space for local people  and – we hope -   some attractive additions like trees!  At the same time we would loose  the present Brands Hatch speedway effect (see above) which has always sat oddly in the centre of a small urban village shopping centre.

What do Andy’s new (DRAFT)  plans for Acocks Green look like?  You can download and view all four of them here.   The first two are options for the dual carriageway: retaining  but modifying to traffic going one way in each direction and using the central reservation for trees, seating etc (1) or  modifying to traffic one way in either direction but also removing the central reservation to create wider footways and additional parking (2)

The second pair of pdfs  show two different new options for The Green itself.  We think these are easy to understand and there are detailed notes  on the plans showing how aspects are intended to work.  We think these plans may still need further discussion, but it seems that ‘de-dualling’ has now been set to be the first priority.

(1) Warwick Road, Acocks Green, Dual Carriageway Option

(2) Warwick Road, Acocks Green, Single Carriageway Option

(3) Warwick Road Acocks Green, \’Roundabout Option\’

(4) Warwick Road, Acocks Green, \’Roundabout with Traffic Signals\’ option

Andy is also keen to emphasise that ‘Manual for Streets 2′ may become  part of the Birmingham City Council vision for Acocks Green: ‘There are a number of things within it that we could use in Acocks Green and elsewhere.’ Manual for Streets 2, using the very latest safety research,  approaches street design in the new, ‘de-cluttered’ way that is being widely discussed at present.  More will be explained on Wednesday 8 December at Acocks Green Library.  See our previous posting below this one, or view it here

In March 09 a new series of draft plans were brought out by Birmingham Landscape Practice for Acocks Green Centre.  These are available for viewing on this site NOW.  To view these plans click here (or on the new page on the right).

This month, July 09,  Acocks Green organisations and representatives, official and voluntary have received an invitation from Atkins Global, the Building and Engineering group, to attend a meeting on 6 August, to discuss a new idea for the Warwick Road and to give their opinons on what is required for Acocks Green Centre.  The letter, headed ‘A41 Warwick Road Enhancements’ says that

‘Birmingham City Council, Solihull Metropolitan Borough Council and Centro are currently working in partnership to develop a series of transport improvements on the A41 Warwick Road corridor. [...]

This project is the first of its kind in the West Midlands, and looks at all modes of transport (e.g. buses, cyclists, pedestrians, private cars, freight and rail including Park and Ride). The aim of the project is to make the most
efficient use of the route as a key transport corridor whilst at the same time recognising that people live, work and shop along the route.

At this early stage of the project we are using local knowledge to come up with detailed lists of the problems (issues) and potential solutions (opportunities) present along the route to develop the best possible
improvements.

It now seems certain that what is actually meant by this is that it is intended that the A41 (ie the Warwick Road.)  is to be the first site for a ‘Smart Route’.  The full plans are described in a document which has been around on the internet for a while, The West Midlands Planning & Transportation Sub-Committee, 5th June 2009,  Agenda Item 14,  Smart Routes (Umbrella Initiatives).  This  can be viewed here

You will see that The Sub-Committee resolved to:

(i) Note the outcomes of the ‘Umbrella Initiatives’ workshop undertaken
with P&TSC (This means Birmingham City Council Planning and Transportation Strategy Departments) and PTA (This means the Passenger Transport Authority) members on 3rd December 2008
(ii) Endorse that further work be undertaken on the initiative under the
brand name of ‘Smart Routes’
(iii) Agree that the ‘Smart Routes’ principles should be adopted in
developing a potential network of Red Routes for inclusion in a Major
Scheme Business Case (MSBC) for submission to the Department for
Transport (DfT)
(iv) Note the selection of the A41 Warwick Road as a Pilot Route

In other words, the Sub-Committee, in conjunction with Birmingham Planning and Transportation Departments, and the Passanger Transportation Authority,  resolved that the A41 (Warwick Road) should be a Pilot Route for a species of Red Route called a ‘Smart Route’.

What is the difference between a normal Red Route and a ‘Smart Route’?

It is spelt out in the same document that work is going on:

‘[...] to coordinate the developement and implemenation of key network wide programmes, particularly Bus Showcase and Red Routes’

A ‘Smart Route’ seems, for Birmingham,  to mean a mixture of a Bus Showcase route and a Red Route.  See our new page on the Red Route in Shirley, on the link on the right, or here There is one example of a Smart Route in operation in another area here.  There is also a detailed explanation, with effective video, of how another Smart Route is envisaged in a different area here.

What sort of Smart Route would we want in Acocks Green?   How would it work with the existing Landscape Practice Draft Plans already on the table?

The ‘Smart Routes (Umberella Initiatives’ document goes on to say that it is ‘apparent that one design solution cannot be applied to solve every problem identified.’  It talks of  ‘lessons learned’ in connection with Red Routes.  and ‘[...the importance of recognising the need for local variations in design approach and this will be reflected in 'Revised Guidelines for Implementation' being prepared [...]  The document further goes on to say that [...] it is important that a flexible approach is adopted [...] to address the agreed strategy for the route/corridor.’  Schemes, in some cases,  would be treated as inidividual initiatives’.  Later the document goes on to say that:

‘This initiative stresses the need to consider each street in its wider urban context, as both a movement channel forming part of the road network (i.e. a Link) and as Place in its own right. Design solutions should be influenced by both Link and Place user needs, and solutions will vary according to the balance of significance of these two at any location.’ (Section 4.13)

In other words there does seem some indication that a ‘One Size Fits All’ approach is not to be adopted.  When The Focus Group spoke, recently, to Iain Bratigan of Atkins Global he was keen to emphasise that it may be possible to incorporate a version of The March 09 Landscape Practice Plans for Acocks Green into the new Warwick Road (A41) scheme, although, worryingly, he had not, at that point been supplied with a copy of these plans.  (He now has them.)

If you feel that your organisation should be at the event to discuss the A41 (Warwick Road) Smart Route plans on 6 August 09, but  has not had an invitation, then you should send an email, not to us, please, but to comments@warwickroad.org.uk .  More details can now be viewed on.

http://www.warwickroad.org.uk/ – there is a link here

Please note this site is being created by Atkins Global, and has no connection, whatsoever, with the Acocks Green Focus Group website, other than that a link is being provided above.  All questions about the website should be directed to comments@warwickroad.org.uk or to other suitable links on the site, when it appears.

What else can you do?

Urge your local organisation reps to attend the meeting on 6 August. Use the email contact above if your organisation needs details of that meeting.  Contact Acocks Green Focus Group in the box below if you would like details of informal local meetings to discuss the implications of the  Smart Route plans for Acocks Green (Note all postings are first previewed before being published on the site.   Simple request for information about meetings will remain private, and will not go live on the site.

You are free to share any general thoughts about the Landscape Department Plans and/or the Smart Route plans  for Acocks Green in the comments box below.

One final point.   There has been some indication that some people think the project will not go ahead because of the economic crisis.  There is indication of the possibility of very major funding for this project,  as was explained in an earlier Birmingham Post article, which we reproduce here.