SOLIHULL Council’s leader has denied claims the authority is using the coronavirus pandemic to railroad through road changes and closures without consultation.
Councillor Ian Courts said: “I am afraid there has been a lot of controversy about a report on some emergency walking and cycling measures that went to the Environment & Highways Cabinet Member meeting, which looked at re-allocating traffic priorities and even closing one or two roads on a trial basis.
*The current volume of traffic has been very light, as we know, and the council decided to use this window to trial some new road layouts to create safe pedestrian flows – bearing in mind the need for social distancing and also to encourage cycling.
“The fact is that congestion in this country is getting worse all the time and we need to try out new ideas. Changing road layouts is usually complex, process heavy and expensive; in this case, we can bid for funding (if we are quick about it), and using cones and fencing, try some of these things out. This is not a case of slipping things through without consultation.
“Any concerns will need to be dealt with and this will be covered separately.”
