COVENTRY MESSAGE BOARD

A thin blue line has been painted as a guide for visitors to Coventry city centre, following on online forum for original ideas.



The line, in the colour of Coventry City Football Club, leads from the railway station to the city centre.

It was voted the number one idea by people who took part in the interactive conversation about ways of improving the city.

Derek Nisbit said he was "thrilled" his idea was taken seriously.

Local people came up with other "wonderful and creative ideas" during the CovJam initiative, the city council said.

'Simple solution'

The blue line goes from the station, under the ring road, through Greyfriars Green, down along Warwick Row and then into Bull Yard.

It leads directly to one of the city centre direction signs.

Mr Nisbit said: "It struck me that walking from the station I'm often approached by people who are saying 'where is the city? which way do I go?'

"So I thought, well a simple solution would be a sky-blue line running into the city centre."

Personal security

The council said the line was the first idea to be taken up as it was the most popular.

But it added it would look at some of the other ideas to see which it could "turn into a reality".

The online conversation, with support from IBM, involved nearly 900 local residents, businesses and public bodies.

Participants debated ways Coventry could attract inward investment, sustain employment in the local area and improve personal security and quality of life.