Residents have raised their concerns about the safety of children and adults crossing Antrobus Road near to Boldmere Spinney, and going to and from Boldmere Infant and Junior School.
Local Campaiger Anja Pawson, as Vice-Chair of Friends of Boldmere Spinney, together with the Chair of Friends of Boldmere Spinney, have asked Birmingham City Council to fund improvements to the crossing on Antrobus Road (B73 5EJ). Sadly, the response has not been positive in spite of the fact that a Highways budget of £80,000 is allocated to Ward Councilors to deliver these kinds of improvements in their areas.
Anja, as a mother and Associate Governor at Boldmere Schools, raised concerns at Vesey Ward meetings about the challenges experienced by school children and accompanying adults crossing Antrobus Road. Anja asked a retired highways engineer to investigate the issue and identify possible solutions. The report identified three linked issues, being: a long narrow passageway from Mossy Bank; leading to a constrained area of footway; at the very point people stop to cross Antrobus Road. The issues combine in the after-school period to create the worst possible combination of pedestrian interactions, immediately adjacent to Antrobus Road. A sustainable solution is proposed which would involve road narrowing and associated pavement widening (at the Mossy Bank passageway) accompanied by a 20mph speed limit. The aim would be to redress the balance between pedestrian and vehicular provision at this location and with a specific attention to the concerns raised.
To see the full report, please look at the following PDF:
