Birmingham’s Labour-run council plans to turn part of the city’s famous ring road into a “park that circles the city” in an effort to put “pedestrians and cyclists first”.
Labour’s City Council Leader Ian Ward explained on Radio 4’s Today programme that the goal is to double the amount of green space and become “carbon zero”.
MailOnline has the story.
According to the plans for how Birmingham might look in 2040, it will double its green spaces and build around 124 miles of walking and cycling routes, placing it on a level with Denmark’s cycling haven capital city Copenhagen.
‘”The plan we are going to be launching tomorrow is a route map to a greener Birmingham, creating more jobs, better transport options and having higher quality, more energy efficient new homes,” Mr Ward, told Radio 4 Today.
“We are already a city on the up and we’re looking to use the investments coming in to double the amount of green space in the city, making us as green as Vienna, and to double active travel routes to some 200km which will put us at the same level for cycle friendliness as Copenhagen.
“This is probably the most ambitious plan in a century for the city and it’s going to map out how we’ll become carbon zero and how we will green our city in the future.”
Mr Ward claimed the council is attracting record levels of investment into the city.
He said they are working with developers and investors “to ensure that as the city expands out into the deprived communities beyond the ring road that the wealth that this creates as a result is shared with those communities. We’re also working to create a new park in Birmingham, right in the heart of the city centre, creating a green space – in order to ensure the city is more liveable.”
Mr. Ward said the “plan has been very well received”. No comment was provided from motorists who will have to find new ways to get to work.
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