Some lovely installations for BrumPark(ing)Day showcasing how much more valuable parking spaces are when they’re places to meet and socialise. Imagine if we closed half of Caroline Street to traffic and spread the greenery and the public space along its whole length

Some lovely installations for BrumPark(ing)Day showcasing how much more valuable parking spaces are when they’re places to meet and socialise. Imagine if we closed half of Caroline Street to traffic and spread the greenery and the public space along its whole length

Let's go! It's now 74,000. Membership rising fast 🚀 Join.greenparty.org.uk

At the Sustainable Mobility Conference in Barcelona, I spoke about a critical modern challenge: urban obesity. Cities stretched by sprawl, scattered functions, and decades of car-centric design. Mobility must now serve a different ideal — proximity, equity, and human connection.

“You have to get out of bed in the morning and sometimes for that you need delusion.” #RadicalOptimism?

This & the rape last week in Oldbury should be national news but will be ignored by newspapers too excited at the thought they might get to play at being court press for fascists

Another attempt by Lidl to turn Northfield into an American strip mall. Unsustainable, single storey, congestion causing ugliness. It conflicts with plans for an A38 cycle route and I’ll let you decide how convincing this ‘local distinctiveness’ claim is. Objections encouraged. 2025/04646/PA

The automated people mover between HS2’s interchange station and Bham Airport/Station is a waste of time. Given the timescales involved development and funding could have been directed to expediting the East Bham tram and extending it all the way to the interchange station.

Looking forward to this, although given how many architecture practices have offices in the JQ it’s disappointing that more of them aren’t taking part. Road space reallocation for more green space is essential to ensure the JQ grows and thrives. Get involved.

FINALLY

A scheme that makes streets safer is only ‘divisive’ to people who are intent on making streets more dangerous.

A city the size of Brum should have had a tram network like GM’s Metrolink AND an underground/metro like T&W decades ago…

This photo shows 58 cyclists and just two cars. MPs looking out of their window today will see a steady flow of people cycling, some for the first time in a while, given confidence to do so with quality infrastructure. Just over 10 years ago there wasn’t even a cycle lane here.

If you want to know why Italy’s economy has overtaken the UK’s. When it opens in 2026, Bologna will have built a tram system bigger than the WM’s network in just 7 years. Sprint, touted as easier and faster to deliver than trams, was announced in 2014. The vehicles still haven’t been ordered.

At this point not a single person will vote for Labour because they’ve frozen fuel duty. Labour won’t lose any votes if they unfreeze it either, but many more people would vote for Labour if the billions of £s made available from unfreezing it was spent on public services.

Anything attached to lampposts has to be removed so they can be upgraded. This transparently cynical politicking is tantamount to them opposing upgrades to street lighting to make streets safer, particularly for women, at night.

Birmingham City Council have now launched their parking charges consultations for a number of parks in the city. Please support them. It’s about time we ended the scandal of using taxpayer money to subside drivers at the expense of everyone else. You should pay to store your car on our parks.

One of the most unheralded parts of making streets safer for children is the amount of time it frees up for parents.

And one final thought: Ozzy going out after giving an emotional final performance that raised a ton of money for charity is more spiritually uplifting and did more genuine good than anything any televangelist and religious grifter who railed against him ever did combined.

It’s been 356 days since a road safety emergency was declared. The cabinet member has made no progress on any recommended action. The healthy streets audit hasn’t been released. The Cllr who established this at scrutiny has been deselected. The injunction does nothing.

Rail passenger numbers have been released for 2023-2024 and as predicted by literally everyone who knows anything about transport, they have already surpassed pre-Covid figures. Birmingham’s passenger growth second only to London.

Wolverhampton are very quietly and without much fuss delivering superb public realm improvements that are now starting to break through their ring road to create green, liveable and loveable streets. Support the proposals here 👇 www.wolverhampton.gov.uk/news/have-yo...

These proposals are good, be sure to show your support and complete the consultation here: www.birminghambeheard.org.uk/bcc/a38-cycl...

I left the Labour Party today. We had a leader imposed on us. Now those with vision & ability are being purged for loyal incompetents & idea-free careerists. They would rather hand the city to extremists & fascists than councillors they can’t control. insidebirmingham.substack.com/p/massive-la...

I went to see the premier of @sarahchaundler.bsky.social excellent & hard hitting film ‘City of Cars’ at the Mockingbird Cinema tonight. Followed by a discussion facilitated by @janerockhouse.bsky.social We all want safe roads, this film makes it clear why it is so important.

'Ethan Akotiah, 22, who lives off Stratford Road, said: "It's terrible, it's getting worse and worse. My nan was in a collision and so was my mom. It's constant ... I fear for my family's life."' @betterstreetsforbirmingham.org www.birminghammail.co.uk/news/midland...

How many more Midlands Rail Hub announcements will there be before they actually build it?

Sphphipix kitchen

When roads are built like racetracks rather than for safety or efficient people movement, ‘high court injunction against street cruising’ signs have all the authority of the ‘do no tumble dry’ label & just demonstrate how little interest there is in fixing the problem. We must redesign our streets.

Nice article from @janerockhouse.bsky.social - the reason many of the residents feel that the development is the best place they’ve ever lived is *because* there’s no parking; the place isn’t ruined by cars and there’s beautiful public space instead. www.birminghammail.co.uk/news/midland...

I made this film because I was so concerned about what I was witnessing on Birmingham’s roads every day. In the film I speak to people who have lost loved ones in road traffic collisions and follow the campaigning activities of @betterstreetsforbirmingham.org‬

We have published our response to proposals for a cycle lane on the A45/Coventry Road. The scheme is welcome but needs design changes to be usable. ⏰ The deadline for submitting a response is tomorrow. 🔗 betterstreetsforbirmingham.org/our-response...

We need tram funding to be separated from five-year settlements. While welcome, this £2.65bn is confirmation of an indicative amount allocated a while ago. It’s good that the budget hasn’t been cut as we’ve struggled to spend it, but it’s still lacking. 🔗 www.birminghammail.co.uk/news/midland...

We've seen many Farage false dawns before. After these results, this time it really could be different. To stop it, both Labour and the Tories will have to do something important but which they're not doing- disagree with him. New writing from me. open.substack.com/pub/goodalla...

Off to The Exchange on Centenary Square shortly to hear alternative visions for the future of Birmingham at: - What's Next for Birmingham?

I find it really amusing when politicians say that ‘our greatest strength is our people’, as if someone whose job depends on people voting for them is likely to ever say anything different to a crowd of people.

Date for your diary: Please do come along and hear thinking on how Birmingham can best navigate the challenges and the opportunities ahead to realise its potential. Expect meaningful exchanges and no awkward silences; your participation/insights will be positively encouraged.

‘Site visit’ - unromantic, sounds like a chore or like you’re attending the aftermath of a natural disaster ‘On location’ - cool, mysterious, like you’re a 50s Hollywood actor drinking on a beach, rather than at a contaminated former industrial premises in a hard hat

How to fix the bin strikes? Have waste collection centrally managed across the region by the WMCA. Shared fleet, incinerators, recycling processing. Maximum efficiency. Larger scale = commercial operations selling recycled plastic, compost etc to sustainable manufacturers.

Strikes, cuts, bankruptcy. What I wouldn't give to relive that hopeful summer of 2022. Unfortunately the Commonwealth Games opening and closing ceremonies aren't on iPlayer. How do we get them back?

The WMCA is supporting the first ever national Live Music Fans Survey. This survey builds on the recommendation from the Culture, Media and Sport select committee for a Fan Led Review of live and electronic music. You can have your say here: cgastrategy.eu.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_...

Good to meet with @bradford-street.bsky.social for a tour of the Cheapside city centre cell being implemented. Removing through traffic is going to make such a difference to this increasingly residential area.

Of course I agree that more councils should close off streets for play, but children have been actively squeezed out of public space, by councils, govt, media - there needs to be a strong political & cultural pushback to reclaim children’s right to space and to play. www.thetimes.com/article/b792...

Spot on. 👍

A mixed bag. Only a handful of Cllrs demanding better for the city, defending its history and pushing back on poor design. The rest were either redundant or actively damaging. A lively discussion though. I’ll do another thread for the next one.

A billionaires' coup. By billionaires, for billionaires. To create a country that's run solely in the interests of billionaires.

Hotel prices in the city have skyrocketed for the Black Sabbath gig. We don’t have the hotel infrastructure for major events like this, never mind international visitors having to see the state of Aston Station. I hope TfWM get into Commonwealth Games transport mode again.

Everything you've been told about the 'unpopularity' of Low Traffic Neighbourhoods is a lie.

Artists decry ‘irresponsible’ plans to demolish brutalist Midlands tower

This week’s planning committee (13th Feb) is a big one - a few major applications, some deferrals coming back and a new chair (not sure why) with some big shoes to fill as the last two have been very capable. So here are a few thoughts. 1/n