Fourteen Brum streets set to be made one way

DIVISIVE KINGS HEATH SCHEME AIMS TO MAKE IT EASIER TO WALK AND CYCLE

- ALEXANDER BROCK News Reporter

The LTN scheme in York Street, Kings Heath in 2020

NEW one-way streets are set to be introduced as part of a controversial Kings Heath traffic scheme.

The Low Traffic Neighbourhood (LTN) scheme in the south Birmingham suburb has previously divided opinion, with the use of modal filters, which keep through traffic from certain streets, proving particularly controversial.

The city council has said it wants to reduce traffic in residential neighbourhoods in a bid to make it safer for people to walk and cycle in the area.

But the Labour-run authority acknowledged this year that the scheme has previously been “controversial” and accepted there were strong feelings both in favour and against.

So far, modal filters have been introduced to the west of Kings Heath High Street and a section of York Road has been pedestrianised.

But the council intends to expand to further roads in the suburb, as well as south Moseley.

As it pushes ahead with the scheme’s second phase, it now wants to ‘formalise’ a number of proposals through a consultation on the Traffic Regulation Orders (TRO) - the process required to make changes to the status of the road.

The TROs in the consultation include one-way streets; contraflow cycling routes to improve safety and permanent modal filters to prevent motor vehicles from using certain residential streets as cut-throughs.