Update 4/2/18: The letter we recently sent to residents included ‘inconsiderate parking’ as one of the factors causing traffic issues on School Road. The impact survey reports an increased level of parking on that stretch of School Road at school pick up/drop off times. However the parking noted was not illegal and the narrowness of the road and lack of view from either end are also contributing factors. It is also important to note issues occur at all times of the day and not just during school times.
Residents are calling for action to deal with the poor driving they are experiencing daily on the section of School Road from the roundabout outside Kings Heath Primary School to the junction with Prospect and Ashfield Roads.
We are concerned that not enough consultation has been done with people who do not use Facebook and who were not aware of or did not attend, the public meetings.
What are the issues?
The issues faced by all users and residents of this route are:
*Drivers regularly mounting and driving along the the pavement to pass oncoming traffic.
*Aggressive behaviour from vehicle drivers including driving aggressively, verbal aggression, and physically intimidating behaviour.
* Noise caused from horns and traffic grinding to a halt at numerous times of the day and week
*Vehicles being driven at speed.
The current situation is dangerous for pedestrians and cyclists. It is affecting the quality of life for residents and users of this road . School Road is an important access route to two local schools and is heavily used by children and families on foot at all times. Their safety, and that of other road users, is a risk.
You can see a video produced by School Road Action Group here:
What are the solutions?
At a public meeting on 24th January 2018 six possible solutions were proposed by Councillor Trickett. They are listed below.
If you are unable to view the jpeg images we have included the six options as pdf files below . We have also included notes relating to the options produced by the council.
Notes of Considered Options for issues relating to School Road
Feedback so far:
These are some of the concerns/ points we noted that were raised at the meeting and in subsequent conversations:
*No modelling /traffic impact assessment was presented and a completed traffic survey had not been circulated. (We now have a copy of the Traffic Impact Study dated 9/10/17 – please see below)
*One way systems may need traffic calming to prevent increased speeding. Traffic calming humps are not good for motor cycles or cyclists and can increase pollution.
*It could be dangerous for cyclists to travel two ways in a one way system, but preventing them from doing that would inconvenience cyclists when we are trying to encourage more cycling and could cause cyclists to ride on pavements .
*A short two way system between two one way systems at the junction of Greenhill Road could be hazardous. This is already a difficult junction to manoeuvre out of.
*Preventing traffic turning from High St into Valentine Road would lead to more congestion and tail backs and more traffic going up Poplar Road (and possibly Woodbridge Road/St Mary’s Row / Oxford Road)
*Parking restrictions (option 4)with passing bays could be easily trialled but may not be enforced. There would be a displacement of parking to near by roads.
*The Moseley triangle, Billesley Lane & Oxford Road could all be negatively impacted by larger volumes of traffic. (Before traffic calming was put into Billesley Lane in the late 90’s there was a fatal and several very serious accidents at the junction of Dyott Road).
*Emergency vehicles may struggle to get through with options 5a & 5b. (It was suggested bollards could be removable)
*Options 5a & 5b are different to the first 4 as they discourage vehicles from the whole region as opposed to one or two roads.
*Options 5a & 5B could lead to the blocked off roads being used for car parking especially during school drop off and pick up times.
TRAFFIC IMPACT STUDY
We have now obtained a copy of the Traffic Impact Study which you can see below together with all the appendices.
NB: This study was undertaken in July & August 2017 to look into the impact on surrounding roads of the original proposed one way system (School Road between Blenheim Road & Valentine Rd/Springfield Rd/Poplar Road roundabout) which went out for consultation in June/July 2017 but was not progressed.
As the recent revised options also include one way systems along the same stretch we believe the report is still relevant although we would recommend it be updated if any of these schemes are taken further and made available as part of that consultation.
Existing Junction – AM Peak ARCADY Results
Existing Junction – PM Peak ARCADY Results
One Way Scheme – AM Peak ARCADY Results
One Way Scheme – PM Peak ARCADY Results
Imse_gd_436 School Road (Option 2 – One-Way restriction)
What happens now:
Councillor Trickett is seeking feedback on all the 6 options with the aim of one or two being put forward to a wider reaching public consultation and possibly trialled.
You can send feedback to:
What are your local Lib Dems doing:
We will be talking to residents over the coming weeks to gauge public opinion and would like to hear your thoughts on all of the options.
You can send us a message via our contact page, email moseleylibdems@gmail.com
or call Izzy on 07784 155208
We are looking for the best solution to address the issues with the least impact on surrounding roads. We do not want a situation that causes further issues elsewhere. However we also believe the status quo is not an option.
Moseley Liberal Democrats 
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