Transport changes for Coventry city centre
A new red route and more double yellow lines are set to be installed
A new red route and more double yellow lines are set to be installed in Coventry city centre.
It means drivers could face more restrictions on where they can stop in the centre and a maximum £70 fine for not following the rules.
The move will make bus journeys more reliable and allow work to get roads ready for the first ‘Very Light Rail’ route in the city, the council said.
Plans for a 2km demonstrator track for the tram-like system have been in the works for a while and funding for this was announced earlier this year.
It will go from Coventry rail station to Pool Meadow Bus station, via Warwick Road and Corporation Street.
Work to prepare the area for the VLR track will start in spring next year, the council confirmed in a webpage sharing plans for the traffic and transport changes.
A new cycleway from Greyfriars Green to the bus station is also proposed and work could start next autumn.
The move will “help reduce air pollution and make the city centre a healthier and safer place,” the council said.
People can give their views on the plans in a council survey open until Sunday 17 December.
Find the survey here
Where the red route and double yellow lines would go
If approved the new red route will cover 13 roads in the city, as shown in a map with the plans.
This includes roads where the VLR demonstrator track will go. These are: Warwick Road, Greyfriars Street, Queen Victoria Street, Corporation Street and Hales Street.
It will also cover roads outside this, many of which link the centre with the Ring Road. These include: Eaton Road, New Union Street, Bishop Street, Tower Street, Trinity Street, the Burges, Fairfax Street and Ringway Whitefriars.
Red routes mean most drivers aren’t allowed to stop for any reason where there are double red lines, including to pick people up or drop people off.
They will have to use signed parking bays instead. Emergency services, blue badge holders and taxi drivers are exempt from the rules.
In Coventry, the fine for stopping on a red route is £70, down to £35 if paid in two weeks. The council’s webpage says the route will have “smart camera technology” to catch cars that stop or park illegally.
The double yellow lines could affect 21 roads, a map of the changes shows. The council says to install the red route it needs to cut down the restricted parking zone in the city.
Both changes would be brought in at the same time and some roads that had double yellow lines removed previously could see them return, it said. But the council added parking will be available in car parks or marked bays.
It claimed most current parking spaces on the red route and double yellow areas would stay as they are.
Roads that would be affected by new double yellow lines if plans go ahead include: Warwick Lane, Greyfriars Lane, Manor House Drive, Friars Road, St Patricks Road, Manor Road, Park Road, Queen Victoria Road, Cheylesmore, Lower Holyhead Road, Spon Street, Hill Street, Bond Street, Upper Well Street, Lamb Street, Chapel Street, Well Street, Silver Street, Fairfax Street, West Orchards Way and Palmer Lane.
More on the VLR route and cycling changes
Very Light Rail is a planned new transport system funded by the council and other West Midlands groups. It includes a battery-powered vehicle and thin track, and has been called “faster and cheaper” than traditional trams.
Both the vehicle and the track were showcased at Motofest earlier this year, and people could drive a simulator of its ‘demonstrator route’ in Coventry centre too.
Last month, the system was tested successfully in Dudley. Plans for the 2km track in Coventry have now gone to the public for feedback.
If plans get the green light the line will go from Warwick Road down Corporation Street and Hales Street, ending at Pool Meadow bus station.
It will be built in two parts – the first phase ending near Spon Street and the second phase linking it to the bus station.
Other changes include a new segregated cycleway, i.e. between the pavement and the road, from Greyfriars Green to the bus station.
Cyclists could also be allowed to go in both directions on some one-way streets in the city. The so-called ‘contraflow streets’ would be far away from the planned cycleway and make it easier for cyclists to get to the centre, the council said.
Streets affected by this include: Bishop Street (from Tower Street to Ring Road), Cheylesmore, Greyfriars Lane, Lamb Street, Manor Road, Salt Lane, St Patrick’s Road