Future is red as battle lines drawn

Around 260 miles of red routes could soon appear on the region's most congested roads by 2015, according to transport leaders.

In fact, 80 separate schemes are on the way – all designed to prevent drivers from stopping and holding up traffic – on main commuter routes. To those in favour of the red lines, they put an end to big jams, reduce accidents and make journeys more reliable.

But the proposals have divided opinion in communities all over the West Midlands. Some shopkeepers along roads planned for red routes say they fear trade will be devastated, while residents complain they will eradicate much-needed parking space.

Even councils cannot agree on their effectiveness. Birmingham City Council has three in place, while Walsall and Sandwell have two – and several more in the pipeline.

But Wolverhampton's first and only red route was ripped out after just 18 months, with the man who commissioned it admitting it had been a waste of money.

Labour councillor Milkinder Jaspal, former cabinet member for transport at Wolverhampton City Council, said he had doubts over the scheme before it was even implemented along a three-mile stretch of the A449 Stafford Road in March 2007.

When Labour lost control of the council in the 2008 election, the new Tory and Lib Dem alliance made getting rid of the £2.4m scheme a top priority.

In its short life the route had been somewhat beleagured: 63 out of 250 signs were removed when it was complained they were causing confusion. A two-hour time limit for parking in designated bays was also relaxed. And a progress report found 15 minutes had been cut by just two minutes.

In September last year the red lines were scorched off and replaced with yellow ones.

"I had my doubts from day one, to be honest, but I went ahead with it as an experiment for 12 months," said Councillor Jaspal. "I always thought it would not solve the problem of bottlenecks because you can't get rid of the islands or the traffic lights where congestion builds up. I believed double yellow lines would do the same job, and I suppose that's been proved."

But despite Wolverhampton's expensive lesson, transport chiefs at other Black Country councils believe red routes are the way forward. In Sandwell, £8.6m has been handed over by the Government for seven red routes. Two are in place. They are on the A41 Black Country New Road from the junction at Leabrook Road in Wednesbury along the A41 Expressway through West Bromwich to Junction one of the M5.

Another runs along the A34 Walsall Road and Birmingham Road from the Walsall border at Merion's Close in Great Barr to Scott Arms. Consultation is now under way into other schemes, including the A461 from Great Bridge in Tipton to the Dudley border, and along Newton Road and All Saints Way in West Bromwich and Great Barr.

But already the battle lines are drawn, with 500 names listed on a petition.

Retired road construction worker John Shapcott, aged 69, formed action group Anti-Red Route Residents with neighbours in All Saints Way. He said many houses didn't have drives or enough room to accomodate visitors or deliveries.

Traders have also objected to the schemes, including at Scott Arms along the A34 and along the A457 in Smethwick and Oldbury. But council officers said 71 per cent of the 500 survey responses collected in November were in favour of the scheme. Consultation is now under way on the A461 stretch of the red route between Great Bridge and Burnt Tree, but some traders say it could hit their business by stopping customers from being able to park.

Sandwell Council transport chief Councillor Bob Badham said the authority was committed to installing red routes, which were a major part of their future transport policy. "People are worried about new proposals but the whole idea is to try and keep the traffic moving on our main arterial routes, which are the life blood of Sandwell and the Black Country," he said.

"We are obviously committed to red routes for the obvious benefits that they can bring. These sort of routes have been operating in London for years and have eased traffic congestion. We have the benefit of hindsight and we can see the impact these schemes elsewhere in the country."

But traders aren't convinved. Steve Chambers, 53, manager of locksmiths and shoe repair store Timpson, in Walsall Road, said he has seen little effect from the red route since it was brought in along the A34. "People don't take much notice of it really," he said. "The wardens are up here a lot more than they used to be and they are ticketing people but people still ignore the lines. Right outside the shop here they have put in parking bays and a bike lane but people are just double parking across both the parking bays and the bike lane." Walsall is another town that sees red routes as its future, spending a government grant of £7.29m on creating another four along with two in place. Red lines were first painted along the A34 South from Walsall town centre to Junction 7 of the M6 at a cost of £1.3m which including improvements and safety measures. The second is in place along the Black Country Route, from Junction 10 of the M6 towards Wolverhampton, which cost £100,000 but does not include red lines.

Four more are on the way. The A34 North, from the town centre to Bloxwich, will become subject to the no-stopping rules at a cost of £4million, while the A4148 from Rolling Mill Street will get the same treatment for £190,000. The A4148 Broadway scheme is at a detailed design stage and is due to start in spring 2010, costing £800,000. The next to come into force in the town is the A454 Wolverhampton Road scheme in summer, which has cost £900,000.

Councillor Anthony Harris, Walsall Council cabinet member for transport, said the first red route had been a success, hence the commitment to providing more. "It's also good news for motorists and the proof of the pudding is in the eating," he said. "Early indications are travel times have been reduced on the A34 Birmingham Road."

But not everyone is happy. Jenny Mann, managing director of Manns Carpets, which has been based on the A454 Wolverhampton Road for more than 30 years, said it could spell the end of her business.

"This could devastate us," she said. "We pay rates, we employ people and bring revenue into the town. I put in objections at the time along with other businesses on the road but it was still passed. Things are tough enough as it is, and this could even force me out of business, meaning redundancies."

In Dudley, highways bosses today ruled out any schemes in the immediate future – but one particularly congested road could be the first. Traffic manager Peter Vangeersdale said: "The A458 Halesowen Road in Stourbridge could be considered in the future but no proposals have been drafted."

In Staffordshire, there are no plans for red routes – yet. But Staffordshire County Council cabinet member for highways Councillor John Wakefield said he would not rule them out in the future.

In Wolverhampton transport chiefs say there are "no plans whatsoever" to introduce another one after the beleagured Stafford Road experiment. Last year there was talk of a red route down the entire A4123 Birmingham New Road, but the idea hit the buffers after the first one flopped.

Now Stafford Road is like any other and shopkeepers say they never understood why it was ever created.