Long Delays at a Toucan Crossing near Selly Oak Triangle
A short section of good quality cycleway runs between the Selly Oak Triangle junction and a toucan crossing that leads to Langleys Road (and quiet routes to Bournville, Northfield, and beyond, courtesy of the parks and low traffic neighbourhoods of Bournville). It can just about be seen behind the four lanes of queuing cars (before the junction remodelling there used to be three lanes of queuing cars and no cycleway). The two-stage crossing is linked in with the traffic lights at the main junction, and is terribly slow, even after Cllr Liz Clements (Bournville & Cotteridge and Cabinet Member for Transport) arranged for it to be adjusted following a complaint by Push Bikes. It will stay doggedly on red for active travellers, even if the there is no motor traffic at all, and even if the traffic is stationary (either because of red lights at the main junction or because of the regular traffic jams). And of course you have to wait twice, so as to not disturb the smooth flow of traffic. Note how even a child almost completely obscures the beg button box, which is why Birmingham avoids using the combined signal and beg button box that was introduced with puffin crossings.
