The Bournville Village Trust (BVT) has launched a consultation on making better use of parts of the village, including improving cycling connectivity. They want to form a stakeholder group, so that interested parties can contribute ideas. Push Bikes has indicated its desire to join that group, something that the BVT say they would welcome. In the meantime there is a survey available for anyone to complete (please do so).

The schemes under consideration are the Clay Pits Pool, the village green, the men's recreation ground, Bournville Pavillion, the girl's recreation ground (sic) and walled garden, and the former Cadbury Club site. The first two are particularly relevant to cycling, and below are our comments.

The Village Green

A building known as The Rest House is in the centre of the triangular green, and it's currently used as the Bournville Carillon information centre and gift house. The carillon itself (a musical instrument consisting of 48 bells at the top of the Bournville Junior School tower) is on the opposite side of Linden Road, a very busy road that forms part of the A4040. Adjacent to the Rest House on one side of the green is the Quaker meeting house and a building that has had various educational uses since its construction. Sycamore Road runs along the third side of the green, with a row of shops on the opposite side and St Francis' Church at the Linden Road end. There are flats above the shops. Since Sycamore Road connects with Raddlebarn Road, it is overly-trafficked and has had various speed mitigation measures applied over the years. There is no need for this connectivity for motor vehicles, as Raddlebarn Road connects directly with Linden Road. So the BVT is proposing that Sycamore Road be pedestrianised outside the shops. This is in keeping with plans for Bournville proposed by the city council, and Push Bikes supports the concept. However, we also feel that there needs to be more than just pedestrianisation. Firstly, cycling connectivity should be retained, as Sycamore Road connects with Bournville Park, creating a natural cycling corridor through to Raddlebarn Road. Secondly, it's important that motor traffic does not simply divert on to Acacia Road. So, we would suggest:

1. Given that the area is quite narrow, it would be better in our opinion to retain a standard road layout, even if the opportunity is taken to narrow the carriageway and repave it to make it more attractive (see below). That way residents driving to the back of the shops and cyclists passing through know where they should be, and pedestrians (particularly those with visual impairments) know which areas should be completely traffic free. None of this prevents the entire area being taken over for special events, so long as  people using a cycle as a mobility aid (who often cannot just get off and push) can continue to cycle through the area.
2. Sycamore Road connects with Bournville Park via a controlled crossing. It would be good to take this opportunity to make it a toucan crossing, and to widen the busy pavement between the crossing and the park. This crossing needs safety enhancement work anyway, as it is not unusual for drivers to jump the red light. I have even seen one impatient driver start blowing their horn at someone helping people across the road, only to stop when that person turned around so the driver could see they were blasting their horn at a uniformed police officer!
3. Acacia Road would also need to have a modal filter, or it will become the rat-run. The plans presented by the city council take this potential problem into consideration.

The Clay Pits Pool

This is an area between Elm Road and the railway, consisting of a pool and an area of grass. It connects with Raddlebarn Farm Drive via a footbridge. It is currently inaccessible by the general public. From Google Maps it looks like it would be a lovely area to open up to public access. Additionally, there is potential for active travel connectivity between Raddlebarn Farm Drive and Laburnum Road. That potential for connectivity has attracted the attention of Push Bikes for many years, to the extent that the bridge has been casually inspected for us by a civil engineer. He thinks the bridge is probably structurally sound, which is backed up by the fact that it has not been demolished to keep the railway safe. We would like to see this connectivity opened up if reasonably possible.