Report “must not gather dust on a shelf”

Birmingham Friends of the Earth campaigners have cautiously welcomed the new Birmingham Mobility Action Plan announced by Sir Albert Bore today.

However, while offering a positive holistic vision for transport in the city, the group stress that the devil will be in the detail and the plan is by no means perfect. The group also point out that it will remain to be seen whether the plans can be funded.

Julien Pritchard Campaigns Support Worker at Birmingham Friends of the Earth said “The draft Birmingham Mobility Action Plan offers an ambitious holistic and sustainable vision for our transport system. It is good to see the city have a sense of purpose in its transport policy for the next 20+ years.

“As a group that is campaigning on tackling air pollution through greater use of walking and cycling, we are also pleased to see the Action Plan acknowledging the need to tackle air quality and recognising that traffic is its major cause. The explicit desire to encourage a modal shift away from cars towards walking and cycling as well as public transport is also encouraging.

Julien continued: “However, while the document does offer some ideas on how these projects could be funded, it is by no means certain that the funding can be secured to deliver this vision. The council will need to put in place concrete steps to secure funding, and ensure that this does not simply become another aspirational document gathering dust on a shelf.

“While the Action Plan does place good emphasis on cycling, it is not ambitious enough with regards to the number of cycle journeys. Birmingham should be aiming for 10% of cycle journeys in the next ten years rather than the next twenty.”