List of plans for key Birmingham roads including new bus gate

The proposals for Broad Street and Sheepcote Street are part of a major strategy Birmingham City Council wants to carry out to transform travel in the heart of the city.

It has plans to introduce a series of changes across the city centre over the next couple of years.

These will be ‘infrastructure and traffic management measures’, such as bus gates, bollards, and turning restrictions that will be supported by signs on the approach to and within the A4540 ring road.

The city council said the interventions would lead to greater use of the ring road for private vehicle trips and a reduction of trips on local roads within the city centre – a move it said would improve air quality.

It added they would also complete the strategy’s ‘movement and access arrangement’, which splits the city centre into six traffic management areas: Jewellery Quarter, Knowledge Quarter, Eastside, Southside, Westside South and Westside North.

A public consultation has been launched on a number of possible changes, including having no right turn from Broad Street onto Sheepcote Street.

Under the proposals, there would also be a south-eastbound bus gate on Sheepcote Street, between Brunswick Square and Broad Street, while the existing bus gate at the northern end of Sheepcote Street would be removed.

“This will complete the boundary between the Westside North and Westside South traffic management areas,” the consultation page said.

“Broad Street is a key public transport corridor and simplifying the access arrangements in this location will help with more efficient movement of vehicles of all types.”

The strategy would mean private vehicles would be able to enter each traffic area from the ring road only.

“Private vehicles will not be able to travel directly between the different areas,” it added. “But public transport and active travel modes will be able to.

“This means the route to a particular destination might change slightly but all locations will remain accessible.”

With the city rapidly transforming, the council said it was “essential” it freed up space previously allocated to private vehicles.

“Reducing miles travelled by car will improve air quality and encourage greater use of active travel,” it said. “We understand that the city needs to keep moving and efficient access is essential to all.”

Major changes to where Birmingham motorists can exit or join the A38 have also been proposed alongside the Broad Street measures.

A previous consultation was launched over the summer on other proposed measures in the city centre, including a bus gate in both Great Charles Street Queensway and Colmore Row.

Residents have until November 18 to respond to the new consultation, which can be found on the Birmingham Be Heard website.

Report by Local Democracy Reporter Alexander Brock.