Birmingham and Wolverhampton plan walking and cycling changes

The government has called on local authorities to do more to encourage walking and cycling

Major changes are being introduced in Wolverhampton and Birmingham designed to make roads safer for pedestrians and cyclists as lockdown is eased.

The city councils have both unveiled plans in response to urgent government calls to encourage more walking and cycling.

They include pavement widening and new pop-up cycle lanes.

Temporary changes, announced on Monday, will be made across both cities in the coming weeks.

Birmingham City Council has been allocated £1m from the Department for Transport's (DfT) Emergency Active Travel Fund, towards its £1.6m project.

It will also be closing some roads and introducing a Park and Pedal programme, similar to park and ride, to encourage commuters to cycle the last leg of their journey from some car parks including those at railway stations.

Councillor Waseem Zaffar said: "Whilst Birmingham has been in lockdown, we have seen road traffic reduce by 60% over several weeks, and more people taking up walking and cycling.

"I want us to do everything we can to support this trend and ensure that walking and cycling continues to increase even after lockdown is over."

Victoria Street will be pedestrianised from its junction at Queen Square to the junction with Bell Street

In Wolverhampton, Victoria Street will be partly pedestrianised, from Queen Square to the junction with Bell Street, and paths are being temporarily widened with the use of cones to make it easier to maintain safe social distancing.

Councillor Steve Evans said the city council had been looking to introduce some of the measures regardless of lockdown, as part of a bid for a "greener, safer city centre".

"We have had to implement them sooner than planned due to the pandemic emergency, so they are a trial and we want to know what the public think about them and hear their suggestions," he said.