Earlsdon to become 20mph zone under new pilot scheme

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Under the Earlsdon Liveable Neighbourhood scheme, all roads in the area will operate a reduced speed limit



Roads across one of Coventry's most desirable areas will soon be subject to blanket 20mph speed restrictions. As part of proposals put forward under the Earlsdon Liveable Neighbourhood pilot scheme, all roads in the area will operate a reduced speed limit compared to the 30mph restriction in force on most residential roads.

A series of other road safety measures, including a toucan crossing on Albany Road and a zebra crossing on Earlsdon Street close to the Co-op, have also been put forward along with widening the pavement outside Earlsdon Primary School, with new seating and greenery. Widening the pavement on Earlsdon Avenue South, between the Elsie Jones Centre and the City Arms, to provide a better pedestrian route has also been listed as a final proposal though councillor Mattie Heaven (Cons, Wainbody) said there was some uncertainty around that particular proposal.

New benches and a new West Midlands Cycle Hire dock outside the library were also recommended in the scheme, which is designed to make Earlsdon an even nicer place to live. The plans were discussed at a meeting of residents at Albany Theatre on Tuesday.

Following feedback from a public consultation held during October and November, some ideas have been dropped or modified. A bus lane will no longer be introduced on Spencer Road and a one-way system will not be rolled out on Newcombe Road and Spencer Avenue. Likewise, a no-entry will no longer be enforced on Berkeley Road North.

"Instead, we will be introducing a raised table at the junction of Spencer Road and Dalton Road and at the junction of Broadway and Belvedere Road," the Earlsdon Liveable Neighbourhood Proposals webpage says. "A raised table means the road is raised to pavement level at the entire junction. This slows down traffic and creates a safer, step-free crossing area for pedestrians."

Several suggestions for the Beechwood Avenue area have also been altered. "We will not be introducing a no-entry at Warwick Avenue or Styvechale Avenue," the page says. "We will be introducing additional traffic calming features on Beechwood Avenue instead.

"This will be a raised table at the junction of Beechwood Avenue and Warwick Avenue / Stoneleigh Avenue. The proposed closure at Stoneleigh Avenue junction with Kenilworth Road will now be a no-entry instead. This will enable traffic to exit onto Kenilworth Road. The roads beyond the no-entry will remain two-way for all traffic. Cycles will be exempt from the no-entry.

"We will reduce the length of proposed yellow lines on Beechwood Avenue. This will still improve visibility out of Styvechale Avenue and Warwick Avenue, but will mean more parking is available between the golf club and Kenilworth Road.

"We will be installing traffic calming features along Beechwood Avenue, to reduce vehicle speeds including changes to road markings, enhancing the roundabout at Hartington Crescent and reducing yellow lines to help with parking."

Other measures affecting Earlsdon Street and the Arden Street and Shaftesbury Road area have also been amended. All of the final proposals can be found here. They are set to be implemented in the new year after the associated traffic regulation orders have been advertised.

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Coventry suburb to get blanket 20mph zone and traffic changes despite concern from locals



A suburb of Coventry will get a blanket 20mph zone and traffic calming measures despite concerns the council is "rushing ahead" with the scheme. Earlsdon will become the city's first so-called "liveable neighbourhood" with new crossings and 'modal filters' restricting vehicles on two roads.

The project, which aims to tackle traffic issues and encourage walking and cycling, got approved at a council meeting yesterday (8 January.) It originally included a bus gate, one-way system and 'filters' on some roads - but these were scrapped by the council after its survey in October found most people opposed them.

The survey taken by more than 400 people also found strong support for the 20mph zone and crossings, and a "balanced response" to other changes. The scheme is being funded by £500,000 from the West Midlands Combined Authority and £270,000 from the charity Sustrans, and is intended to be a trial that could be rolled out in other areas of the city.

But a petition by a local resident signed by more than 250 people and supported by opposition councillor Mattie Heaven claimed there was not enough engagement and called for a pause in the project. Speaking at the meeting, organiser Peter Garelik said "relatively few people locally seemed to be aware of the consultation," and said some meetings had been cancelled or rescheduled at short notice.

He said residents had seen the project case through a freedom of information request, and it had "aspirational rather than quantifiable" success factors. "In some cases there are no metrics and the timescales are unclear," he claimed.

Mr Garelik did say he brought forward the petition because he wanted to get more engagement rather than to oppose traffic improvements. "Events have moved on since we raised the petitions and, as I say, there have been positive outcomes as outlined in response to the last set of proposals," he added.

"But I'm just worried about us rushing ahead and this being assumed as a template for the whole of Coventry." Former Conservative councillor and Earlsdon resident Nigel Lee was also critical of the plans and said he had been to all the consultations.

"My issue was that we had 18 schemes dropped on us, very very detailed drawings, very detailed specifications, but there was no joined up implication as to what a combination all these things could bring," he said. Mr Lee said the vision sounded "very pleasant," but claimed the scheme as drawn up would mean more traffic used Earlsdon Street if others near it are closed to traffic.

"Your wishlist for fewer cars ends up with more," he said. "We've now had the revised scheme but there's no details. It's just 18 pages of a wishlist," he claimed.

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Blanket 20mph zone approved by councillors



A new blanket 20mph zone in the Earlsdon area of Coventry has been given final approval by the city council.

The council said work on the "liveable neighbourhood" scheme would start next month.

It includes measures such as new no-entry roads, wider pavements, and extra pedestrian crossings.

The scheme was signed off by the councillor in charge of road safety, despite some opposition.

Patricia Hetherton, the cabinet member for city services, said she would listen to the concerns raised by residents.

"I know it doesn't please everybody, but if it saves one life then it'll be worth it," she said.

A public consultation on the initial plans started in 2022 and the design was changed after residents were asked to comment on the scheme again last year.

Further changes have been made this year after the council received 55 objections in another round of consultations.

Council officers recommended approval, but with some parts dropped from the final scheme, including a no-entry and changes to parking restrictions on Warwick Street.

Ms Hetherton accepted the recommendations at a council meeting on Wednesday.

The council said it expected work on the scheme to be completed by the "end of school summer holidays in August".

Supporters say the scheme will save lives and cut pollution.

One Earlsdon resident, Barry King, said he hoped the blanket 20mph zone would slow traffic down and encourage cycling.

"When I first heard of the scheme I thought this would never go forward, but it has and I'm very glad," he said.

But critics say blanket 20mph zones are unnecessary and make life harder for motorists.

Richard Overton said he was "disappointed a decision has been taken before we've seen any evidence, especially on road traffic usage or air quality".

But he said he was encouraged the council had promised to review the scheme if it proved to be ineffective.

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Coventry residents feel 'sacrificed' over plan to ban cars from part of road



Coventry residents feel "sacrificed" because cars will be banned from driving down part of a road in the city, a meeting has heard. Locals hit out at council plans for the street in Earlsdon that will be put in place in a bid to cut through-traffic.

The change - known as a "point closure" - on Arden Street is part of a raft of measures to make the suburb a so-called "liveable neighbourhood." But resident Denise Overton said it would have the opposite effect.

Speaking alongside her husband Richard against the move, she told the meeting: "We are now going to be penalised for the journeys we make and for the ways we want to live our lives. We really feel like we have been sacrificed for this, because of the so-called 'rat run' on Arden Street.

"We have lived in Earlsdon for 40 years and [it has] never seemed that way to us." She added: "We do think it will make [it] a less liveable neighbourhood.

"We are worried about house prices dropping. It certainly makes the place less attractive to live."

Mr Overton claimed there would be "no reduction of traffic" as a result of the move, and cars would simply take another route nearby. He raised concerns about the impact on air quality from the closure, which he said would affect four roads and two cul-de-sacs.

Other residents also hit out at the move and claimed some people on the street were not originally aware of it. But council officers defended the change, saying other residents had called for the scheme and said data backed up the claim it is being used as a rat run.

Head of Transport and Innovation, John Seddon, said they started the liveable neighbourhood scheme by "listening to the issues people were raising." "We wouldn't have proposed closing the roads if it were not for many people saying [we] need to do something," he added.

Mr Seddon admitted that there were "mixed responses" from people on the Arden Street and Shaftesbury Road closures but said it meant they had to "take a judgement" on it. He said there was enough evidence from the community of people living in the streets that the moves are supported.

Following the meeting, Mr Overton told the Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS) he is "not suprised" that it was approved. He added: "I am slightly encouraged by listening to comments by the officer and the councillor that they will at least monitor it."

The road closure will go on Arden Street, northwest of its junction with Clarendon Street for around 2 metres, and will not apply to bicycles. It "will remove the ability for through traffic to use Arden Street as a route between Beechwood Avenue and Earlsdon Street, reducing the volume of through traffic," the council's traffic order said.