New cycle lanes four years after doctor killed
SEGREGATED cycle lanes will be used in a £1.5 million junction safety upgrade after a doctor was killed there four years ago.
Birmingham Children’s Hospital doctor Suzanna Bull, 32, died after being hit by a lorry at the Pershore Road and Edgbaston Road junction, in Edgbaston, on October 9, 2017.
HGV driver Robert Bradbury, 50, was convicted of causing Dr Bull’s death by careless driving after a trial. He was jailed for 21 months and banned from the roads for two-years-and-ten months.
It was the ninth incident in five years at the junction between 2013 and 2018 – with six other cyclists and one pedestrian sustaining slight injuries, while another pedestrian suffered serious injuries.
Now Birmingham City Council is finally acting, with cyclists protected by a physical barrier separating them from general traffic.
Two new dedicated signalcontrolled cycle crossings will be installed on Pershore Road and Edgbaston Road.
The council said road space will be reallocated from general traffic to bicycles on the Edgbaston
Road in accordance with the Birmingham Transport Plan.
Birmingham City Council Cabinet Member for Transport, Councillor Waseem Zaffar, said: “Through our Walking and Cycling Strategy, Birmingham
City Council is committed to developing a city that is great for walking and cycling by providing safe cycle lanes and crossings.
“At the junction between the Pershore Road and Priory Road, we are creating a cycle link between Cannon Hill Park and the city centre which will connect to the popular Bristol Road and Rea Valley cycle routes, on the National Cycle Network.
“Encouraging people to cycle and walk is a good way to cut down on short car journeys which is really important for our journey to net-zero carbon, so I am especially pleased to be announcing the commencement of these works during the week the UK hosts the UN Climate Conference, Cop26.”