Plans to transform major junction in Coventry

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Nearly half a million pounds has been allocated to transform it



Plans have been revealed for nearly half a million pounds being spent transforming one busy junction in Coventry.

Funds of £425,000 have been allocated to the junction of Brays Lane and Walsgrave Road in Ball Hill - but there is a very good reason behind it.

Back in June, we revealed only one junction in the whole of Coventry has higher levels of pollution than this one.

But while the junction of Holyhead Road and the Ring Road J8 is the most polluted junction, this is the first step in a wider plan to tackle air pollution in the city.

In June, there were no details available about how the junction will be reconfigured, but now, more have been revealed as a public consultation takes place.

The junction of Brays Lane and Walsgrave Road is to be reconfigured, and details have been revealed about how traffic will flow around the roads.

Access to Walsgrave Road and Clay Lane from Brays Lane will be removed for vehicles, however a connecting road will be made into St Osburg's Road.

With the access for cars stopped, the end of Brays Lane that joins with Walsgrave Road will be narrowed, and the crossing width for pedestrians will be made shorter.

As a new connection will be made by turning St Osburg's from a dead end road into one which can be accessed.

To help with traffic flow, the new corner of St Osburg's Road into Brays Lane will have parking restrictions introduced on the junction corner.

The alterations to St Osburg's Road and Brays Lane is set to help air pollution via motorists, however there are also plans to help the pollution by installing plants.

Hedgerows are going to be planted on the edge of Walsgrave Road to help capture airborne particles.

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Pollution-busting traffic scheme would 'put more people at risk' say protesting residents and councillors



CONTROVERSIAL proposals to change one of Coventry’s busiest road junctions have come under fire from protesting residents and councillors.

The aim is to reduce air pollution in Ball Hill – one of six areas in Coventry where nitrogen dioxide levels exceed the legal limit.

But residents’ groups and ward councillors argue it will create rat-runs in side-streets, making congestion and pollution worse for people living there.

Three residents’ groups in Stoke expressing concern are backed by all three ward councillors John McNicholas, Catherine Miks and Rupinder Singh.

The Stoke Park Residents’ Group, the Gosford Park Residents’ Association and the St Brays Residents’ Association say forcing traffic down side roads will put people at risk from congestion and pollution.

Parked cars already make those streets difficult to use, they argue, and St Ann’s Road has a busy entrance to Sacred Heart School. The residents warn queues will form in St Michael’s Road as traffic waits to join Walsgrave Road.

The St Brays group has organised a petition with 100 names.

Councillor McNicholas said: “I have made it clear to officers that creating rat-runs is completely unacceptable.”

Kevin Malcolm, chair of the Stoke Park Residents’ Group, said: “Of course we want to reduce air pollution, which affects all of us. But we believe that this won’t work, and that it will make things worse for a lot of people.”

Councillor McNicholas said he and his two council colleagues had put forward alternative ideas.

They include urging National Express to use only new electric buses, or buses with cleaner Euro 6 engines on Ball Hill routes; enlarging bus bays to keep traffic moving; improving the Sky Blue Way junction to prevent hold-ups there; signage to take HGVs away from the area; creating a roundabout to replace the traffic lights at the Brays Lane junction; and encouraging the use of electric taxis.

He said: “We are pushing at an open door. The officers want to come up with a solution which will have a minimal impact on the local community.

“They are going to go away and come back with further proposals. These will be collated for the cabinet member to consider.”

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Why trees may not be beneficial in fighting Coventry's air pollution



Coventry City Council has been told there are no health benefits for planting trees.

The topic of green infrastructure was discussed during a meeting with the cabinet member for communities and housing Councillor Ed Ruane on Monday.

Cllr Ruane was told the council submitted a funding bid for a green infrastructure scheme in Ball Hill in a bid to tackle high levels of air pollution, but this was rejected due to a lack of evidence pointing towards the benefit of trees.

Karen Lees, from Public Health, said the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) told them there was "mixed evidence" trees could improve air quality.

But Cllr Ruane questioned if this meant trees have a neutral effect on air quality, adding: "It is not going to add to the toxicity is it?"

Ms Lees said: "It is more that it is unproven, that was DEFRA's view. We were advised by DEFRA that there was not the evidence to show it was beneficial."

et Cllr Ruane questioned if the green infrastructure funding bid was turned down for Ball Hill, would the council be successful in funding bids for projects elsewhere.

He also cited a scheme in Mexico City, where authorities have attempted to tackle pollution by launching a project to plant 18 million trees two years ago.

He added: "The element of greening our city is because of the health benefits it brings and now they are saying there is no evidence for that.

"I am curious as to why they spent so much money doing it in Mexico City if our evidence is that it does not do anything."

[Melisandre]

I received an email a few years back by the Woodland Trust telling me not to grow or plant trees in the garden but shrubs instead as trees entraps air pollution not allowing it to rise.

I know Acer and Ginkgo trees cleans the air perhaps the best is not to group trees to close together. The Queen has been getting all the common wealth countries to sign a packed to preserve and grow forests woodlands for the future generation and Prince William touring getting the rest to sign this pact / agreement.

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Neighbours hit out over "nightmare" parking problem



Fed-up neighbours have called on Coventry council to help stop shoppers parking on their road as it is making their lives a “nightmare”.

A petition is calling for a residents’ parking scheme on St Michael’s Road, St Agatha’s Road, St Osburg’s Road, and Brays Lane, in Ball Hill.

Ward councillor John McNicholas said shoppers and staff from stores on Walsgrave Road are using the area to park, leaving nowhere for residents.

Cllr John McNicholas said: “I am supporting the request for a residents’ parking scheme to get some sort of order into the parking.

“We have got to look at the area as a whole. If you are disabled you need to be as close to your home as possible.

“There are 16-18 roads on a waiting list for a parking permit – I know there is a limited budget but there has got to be some sort of priority.

“This is an area with a clear need because of the Ball Hill shopping centre.”

Disgruntled residents say their roads are permanently clogged up with other cars, during the day, on weekends, with vehicles even left overnight.

Marie Brennan said: “I do not expect to park outside my house but I would like to park on my own street.

“If I am parking three streets away and it is dark at night then it is not very good.”

Another resident Alan Sprung said: “Parking outside my house is an absolute nightmare.

“Everyone has a problem with it. We have a particular problem because of the shops and a lot of people who work there park in the area.”

A petition calling for action will be heard by the city council in May.

A council spokesman said: “There is a criteria for the implementation of residents parking.

“The next cabinet member meeting will have this item as a holding letter not a full report as we will have to conduct surveys before we write a report.”