Street wardens take to bikes to help smooth pavements

The creative assistance was devised when it was realised that the new pavements sometimes created an identifiable rattle under bike wheels if they had not settled properly.

Managers from Westside Business Improvement District discussed this with tram extension workers on the ground who agreed that bike wheel rattles were often a dependable way of discovering sub-standard pavement areas.

Westside BID's street wardens are now busy finding, marking and reporting any such areas via Birmingham City Council, which is then instructing Midland Metro Alliance work teams to investigate and relay paving where needed.

Mike Olley, general manager of Westside BID, who is also checking the pavements on his bike, said: “Feeling an identifiable rattle under bike wheels often indicates that a new surface hadn’t been laid properly.

“Myself and street wardens regularly ride up and down Broad Street as part of our jobs, and whenever we find poor quality areas we report them to Metro workers – via the city council – and they fix them if needed.

“It’s a low-tech solution but it works, and is just one way the BID is helping tram extension workers to get the new route up and running as soon as possible.”

An example of problems discovered by BID wardens include loose paving outside the Moda building, adjacent to Lee Longlands, which was reported via the city council’s ‘BID Base’ system on January 24. MMA workers have now repaired this.

Two other areas are pavement drops outside the Commonwealth offices, reported on February 9, and outside O’Neill’s, reported the next day. MMA work on both areas is now understood to be in process.

The bikes used by Westside BID include e-cargo bikes that came from a £58,000 grant that Birmingham City Council received from the Department for Transport two years ago.

Mr Olley said: “The bikes are great, sturdy little machines and this is yet another way they are proving crucial to our work.”