public transport

Busy bus lanes for cycling on Digbeth High Street

Digbeth High Street next to the Custard Factory

For many years, Digbeth High Street has been an urban motorway, delivering cars into the very centre of Birmingham. While the area around New Street and the Bullring has become a commercial centre, with a welcoming environment, Digbeth High Street has stagnated with most people choosing to avoid the fumes. This is set to changed with the delivery of the Metro Eastside extension, which will eventually extend from the centre of Birmingham to the airport.

Moor Street Queensway Bus Gate

Google Street View image of motor traffic on Moor Street Queensway

In preparation for the construction of Curzon Street Station for HS2, Birmingham City Council is proposing to install a bus gate on Moor Street Queensway outside of the train station. When Curzon Street Station is built, Park Street, which currently carries most of the private motor traffic travelling through that area towards Digbeth, will be closed. That closure will push all that private motor traffic on to Moor Street Queensway, greatly increasing the congestion on there and slowing down all the buses unless action is taken to prevent that.

Cycling in Copenhagen

A left turn lane on a Copenhagen bike lane

Push Bikes member, Shaz, has been on a trip through Europe, and writes here for us about his experiences in Copenhagen:

In September 2015 I went on a train trip around Europe. I took the opportunity to try cycling in Amsterdam, Berlin and Copenhagen. In each of the cities cycling was far more pleasant than cycling in the UK, but I’ve decided to write about cycling in Copenhagen as it was the easiest place I found cycling in.

A Holistic Approach

Dutch train

The Dutch have taken a holistic approach to infrastructure. The obvious signs of this will be apparent to anyone arriving by plane at Schiphol. The large, modern train station is directly below the airport, and since the trains are electric, unlike Birmingham New Street the environment is quiet and free of diesel fumes. On every other door of each train there will be a bicycle symbol, because it is expected that people will arrive at stations on a bike and may want to take that bike with them for their onward journey at the train's destination.

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