Kings Heath LTN

Kings Heath LTN Makes Quietens a Residential Road

Kings Heath used to be my local shopping centre, but the motor traffic made the experience grim. Since it was a beautiful day I decided to take a bike ride over to Kings Heath to look at the LTN, to see what difference it made (and I was very far from the only person out on a bike).

I found the contrast between the roads with filtered permeability and those without stark. The high street is still awful for pedestrians and cyclists. Since the shops were closed, there could be no doubt that that most of the traffic is through traffic, not people bringing trade to the high street as some business owners believe. York Road LTN MeasurePart of York Road has been completely closed to motor traffic (picture left). The quiet was such that from some distance I was able to overhear a conversation between two people outside Grace and James. One of the two men said how until the road was closed to motor traffic he had been completely unaware of how much space there was outside the front of his establishment. He was saying that there was now somewhere for him to put out chairs and tables to create a pavement café. At a time of pandemic, eating outside is relatively safe, whereas eating inside could be a death sentence. For him, having no motor traffic outside his establishment is a business opportunity. Some shop owners in York Road were concerned about what would happen if pick-up or delivery required a motor vehicle, but this is still possible.

LTN measures have also been applied to residential roads, such as Hazelhurst Road and All Saints Road (pictured below). I happen to know some people who live in this part of Kings Heath. They tell me that the road on which they live used to be popular with rat runners and car cruisers, one of whom came down Hazelhurst Road and crashed into several cars on Abbots Road. When I was there looking at the LTN measures, two people came cycling up All Saints Road, and people stopped to talk to each other in the middle of the junction of Hazelhurst Road and Abbots Road (header photo). Apparently there was initially some foul-mouthed behaviour from motorists who found their way blocked, but that is now largely history. Also, people on surrounding streets have seen an increase in traffic, but experience elsewhere has shown that over time that too slowly becomes history, the rise in traffic being only very slight. This effect is known as traffic evaporation, and it occurs as people take advantage of the modal filters to walk and cycle local journeys.

Some of the motor traffic has redirected from the side streets on to the high street, and in my opinion the high street could and should be improved considerably to take away some of that traffic. That linked blog post dates back to 2015, and includes Chris Lowe's LTN suggestion for the streets either side of the high street. However, those streets should not be regarded as providing the solution to facilitating cycling between the two ends of the high street, firstly because they create a very convoluted route, and secondly because they take cyclists away from the high street where many want to and will spend their money. Cyclists stop and shop. Cars take up too much space for a significant number of drivers to do the same, and whilst they are shunting in and out of their parking place, they are holding up everyone else, including up to eighty people on each of the frequent buses.

I have shown my support for the Kings Heath LTN measures by signing the petition. There is also a consultation to which you can respond. It's important that those of us who want to end the extreme domination of Birmingham streets by motor traffic take the time to do this, and it only takes a few minutes. Let's build a better Birmingham.

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Kings Heath LTN

Kings Heath LTN
Thanks to the Kings Heath LTN scheme, this residential road once popular with car cruisers and rat runners is now quiet, making it popular instead with people on bikes.

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Kings Heath High Street on a Sunday

Kings Heath High Street on a Sunday
Despite the LTN measures, Kings Heath High Street remains a private car sewer, making for a high street with high levels of pollution that is hostile to active travel. It has been shown the world over that such conditions suppress trade in shops along the road by about 20%. These drivers are probably heading for Lidl, but thanks to a modal filter in Silver Street at least they are now not abusing the back streets of Kings Heath, as used to be the case. That makes it possible to visit Lidl on a bike without having to dodge cars on narrow streets.

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Silver Street Modal Filter

Silver Street Modal Filter
This section of road used to be full of cars whose drivers were abusing the narrow back streets of Kings Heath to get to Lidl, but thanks to a modal filter in Silver Street there is now a quiet route for cycling there.

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Useless "Heritage" Style Cycle Stand

Useless "Herritage" Style Cycle Stand
These "heritage" style cycle stands outside the church on Kings Heath High Street make it impossible to lock up a bike in the correct way. They really need to be replaced with something useful if we want to promote active travel. Fortunately there are proper cycle stands nearby and along the high street, though cycle stands on the high street have in the past been destroyed by drivers who were unable to control their motor vehicle. This spot at least should be far enough away from the road to eliminate the possibility of your bike being destroyed along with the stand.

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