‘Bonkers’ plan to flatten flyover sparks campaign
HUNDREDS of local residents living in the north of the city have signed a petition to stop the council from demolishing a busy flyover.
City transport bosses are looking to pull down the busy A34 flyover in Perry Barr as Birmingham prepares for the Commonwealth Games in 2022.
But some locals have condemned the plans to wipe out the carriageway as “bonkers” and a “waste of time”.
Councillor for Perry Barr, Jon Hunt, has now launched an online petition to keep the flyover because “it is essential for traffic flow up and down the A34”.
Cllr Hunt said: “With the proposals to flatten the Perry Barr flyover moving forward, I am increasingly concerned that the opportunity of the 2022 Games is being used as a cover for ill-thought-out, costly and hastily-implemented schemes.”
The petition has been signed by more than 450 people in just three days since it went live. As well as easing traffic flow, Cllr Hunt has cited the following reasons why the council would be foolish to flatten the flyover:
It will lead to big queues of traffic in the area, damaging air quality for the Commonwealth village;
There is a risk that queues will develop up and down the A34, damaging air quality and increasing carbon emissions over a significant area;
It is a prime example of modernist concrete architecture. Its curved archway is a key feature of Perry Barr and stands in contrast to the square designs of the 21st century and it is not the eyesore that planners are trying to say it is;
By elevating pedestrians to ground level;
The process of demolition at the same time as the construction of the 2022 Games village will cause unmanageable disruption to traffic over an extended period.
Cllr Hunt is also calling on transport chiefs to improve traffic flow at the congested Scott Arms junction in Great Barr – adding that the Games would be an ideal time to do so.
He said: “What is most concerning is that very little has been done to improve traffic flow at the notorious Scott Arms.
“This could be done by putting in extra lanes and other measures at a fraction of what is being spent in the Birchfield area.
“Failure to do this is utterly shortsighted when so much is being spent on the project and will mean the Sprint buses continue to be delayed at the Scott Arms along with everyone else.” traffic safely it enables navigate at