Velo Birmingham and Midlands - all the Coventry road closures

[dutchman]

A number of roads in Coventry including the ring road will be closed throughout the morning



Thousands of riders will be cycling right through the heart of Coventry this weekend as the Velo Birmingham and Midlands 2019 event comes to the city.

Around 17,000 cyclists are expected to hit the streets for this year's event which sees riders take on either a 100-mile route or a 42-mile route.

A number of roads in the city centre and to the north and west, including the ring road, will be closed throughout the morning on Sunday (May 12) while the event takes place.

Coventry City Council is advising motorists to plan ahead and allow extra time for journeys.

The ring road will remain open anti-clockwise for the duration.

The ring road will be closed clockwise from junctions one to nine from 6.30am until 1.15pm.

Junction five of the ring road will be closed by the police station at New Union Street.

Junction eight will be closed at Holyhead Road and the junction with Barras Lane.

Some clockwise ring road slip roads will remain open. These include: Warwick Road to Butts Road (Jct 6 -7), Radford Road to Foleshill Road (Jct 9-1) White Street to Sky Blue Way (Jct 2 -3), Sky Blue Way to London Road (Jct 3 - 4), London Road to Mile Lane/Quinton Road (Jct 4 - 5).

In the city centre, where participants of the 42-mile ride will cross the finish line, Fairfax Street (between Priory Street and Cox Street) and Cox Street will both be closed for the duration of the day.

That section of the route is expected to reopen by 6pm.

Other roads that are part of the route will be closed on a rolling basis, with the first closures in Coventry from 6.30am.

All Coventry roads (except for Fairfax Street and Priory Street) should be back open by 2.45pm.

[Melisandre]

The organisation of road closure s were discusting no diversion signs they were laying flat on the payment not bothering to errect them put no road closure signs at the beginning of roads only at the end of the roads which made people late for work having to divert on the out skirts to get where they need to go for work.

As Rebbonk said on another thread this council could nt organise any thing.

[rebbonk]

There is rather a lot of discontent on social media about how this has been handled.

I witnessed a car getting amongst them this morning and the stewards panicing! I also saw the cyclists split to use both sides of the road at Longford canal bridge; which was equally amusing as a police motorcyclist was coming the other way!

[rebbonk]

Apparently there was a bit of a nasty Mosely Ave way. - A car allegedly brought 3 cyclists down.

There are also several reports of drivers trying to remove the road closued bollards at various points around the route.

[dutchman]

Midlands Vélo to return in summer 2020



A 100-mile closed route bike ride is to return to the Midlands for a third time, organisers have announced.

The next Vélo Birmingham and Midlands, which attracts thousands of cyclists, will be held on 28 June 2020.

The event, which has been criticised for widespread road closures, will again take riders on a circular route through Birmingham and Coventry.

Organisers say the Vélo is a "huge success" and course information will be released in the coming months.

Previous events have attracted controversy, after residents living along the routes told the BBC they felt "trapped" in their homes because of road closures.

Following a hiatus after the 2017 ride, when part of a road through Worcestershire was targeted with nails, the May 2019 course was altered to pass through Coventry.

This year, 17,000 people participated, with one man dying after coming off his bike in Atherstone, Warwickshire.

A vet also accused stewards of delaying him reaching a horse and newborn foal, who he said might not otherwise have died.

A Vélo Birmingham & Midlands spokesperson said on Friday: "Whilst incidents like this are unfortunate, we as organisers, are comfortable with the plans and processes put in place for the event and that they were carried out appropriately and in a timely manner."

[rebbonk]

Let's hope that the next one is handled beter than the last.

[dutchman]

Concerns Coventry is putting up with "inconvenient" road closures for public events



Concerns have been raised that some parts of Coventry are having to put up with "consistent inconvenience" because of road closures for public events.

Cllr Glenn Williams (Ind, Bablake) had tabled a question at this week's Full Council which referred to the disruption arising from the likes of the Coventry Half Marathon, Northbrook Run and the new Velo bike ride.

In a written question to Cllr Patricia Hetherton, cabinet member for city services, he claimed that areas such as Coundon and Allesley seemed to be disproportionately affected.

Cllr Williams said: "Residents would like to know if the cabinet member would consider using different routes for certain events so that it isn't always the same residents who have to suffer consistent inconvenience."

It was noted that alternative routes were being considered for some events, such as the next Velo ride, scheduled for June 2020.

The issue was raised during this month's Question Time, which was itself mired in some controversy.

Members of the Conservative group and Cllr Williams had criticised changes to the format, said to have been introduced to respect "purdah" rules ahead of tomorrow's by-election in Wainbody ward.

Councillors were told that supplementary questions would only be allowed if they were to clarify factual content.

The Tories, who had said they had also been blocked from presenting a motion at the meeting, had suggested the changes frustrated their role of holding the ruling Labour group to account.

[dutchman]

Routes and road closures announced for Velo Birmingham and Midlands 2020



Cyclists are being urged to get in gear for the return of a flagship Midlands cycling event.

Entries to the Velo Birmingham & Midlands event 2020 are now open to the general public, plus full details of all routes and road closures are announced today.

Riders of all abilities are invited to take on a 100 mile or 45 mile route through the West Midlands – including through the heart of Coventry – on Sunday, June 21.

Both routes will start in Birmingham near Centenary Square, and cyclists will travel through the north Warwickshire countryside, including villages and towns such as Fillongley, Bedworth and Exhall. When they reach Coventry, those on the 45 mile route will cross the finish line close to Coventry Cathedral, while cyclists taking on the 100 mile route will continue onto Meriden, then through Balsall Common, Dorridge, Quinton and finally back to Birmingham.

There will be unrestricted access for emergency services through the road closures and providers will be operating as normal.

Residents are urged to plan ahead for the road closures. You can find out all the timings and how to navigate around the road closures here.

From Monday, February 10, residents and businesses on and around the route will be receiving detailed information leaflets so they can find out more, and find details of event organisers if they need further assistance.

A dedicated team will also be engaging with all businesses on and close to the route to raise awareness of the road closures and find solutions to any access issues that arise.

[dutchman]

Birmingham and Midlands Vélo off due to coronavirus fears

One of the biggest cycling events in the country has been cancelled due to the coronavirus outbreak.

About 18,000 cyclists were expected to join the Vélo Birmingham and Midlands on 21 June, taking in parts of the Black Country and Coventry.

Organisers said they would not immediately be refunding the £100 entry fees, saying they had already paid out "unrecoverable" costs.

They have yet to confirm whether entrants will be compensated in future.

In a statement posted online, organisers said the decision to cancel was made with a "heavy heart".

"We are simply unable to complete the work necessary in the next few weeks to ensure that the event could proceed safely and with minimum support from and/or disruption to local emergency services," they said.

"With an event the scale of Vélo Birmingham & Midlands, rescheduling 100 miles of road closures across seven different local authorities, in this time of crisis and strain on public services, is simply not going to be possible."

They said none of their insurance policies "cover the unprecedented circumstances" of coronavirus and had lost funds paid out upfront, as well as expected revenue from the event.

"Put plainly, refunding participant entry fees now is not something our business could absorb," the statement said.

However, it is hoped the event will be brought back for 2021, organisers added, although it is unclear whether fees will be waived for this year's entrants.