£362,000 bid to improve walking and cycling in Brierley Hill meets success!

In case you don't know what a cyclist looks like

A £362,000 bid to the governments Local Sustainable Transport fund aimed at improving and encouraging walking and cycling in Brierley Hill has been successfully submitted by Dudley Council.  A working party including Dudley Council, Dudley Primary Care Trust, Sustrans (the cycling organisation), Brierley Hill Town Centre Partnership and Living Sreets has been set up to engage local views.  A copy of the bid can be viewed below.

A website is being prepared under the strap line ‘I Get Around’.  Marketing materials highlighting walking and cycling opportunities is being prepared for distribution to businesses, schools and community groups.

Feasibility work on new and improved walking & cycling routes connecting the surrounding residential catchment areas to Brierley Hill Centre is underway. Work is planned to commence next financial year.  Locations for new cycle parking in Brierley Hill are also being looked at.

The team will be attending events during the coming year to encourage further cycling.

£10 million Brierley Hill bus improvement scheme…new bus lanes coming on the Boulevard and to Pedmore Road

The March meeting of Brierley Hill Town Centre Partnership heard of the £5 million funding bid towards a £10 million scheme deliver a step-change in bus user experience at Merry Hill Bus Station and on the wider Brierley Hill bus network.

The government has now announced that they have approved the bid as covered in the Express and Star (merry-hill-bus-station-to-get-10m-overhaul/).

It will address congestion that causes unreliability by focusing on pinch points. The key elements of the proposal are:

  • Brand new state of the art bus station, with 25% increase in capacity, full DDA compliance and high quality passenger information and facilities
  • Significant highway measures to remove delays and increase reliability for buses in the Brierley Hill area, including a dedicated bus only link and two bus lanes with bus gates.  The work will include establish bus only lanes on the Boulevard and opening a bus only link from Merry Hill bus station to the Pedmore Road.
  • Segregation of buses from general traffic without loss of highway capacity
  • New bus stop infrastructure and RTI at key locations along strategic routes
  • New commercial multi-operator Smartcard (e-purse and bus)
  • Bespoke marketing and communications campaign
  • Workwise support to help 1,090 people into employment
  • £2.2.m investment in brand new euro 5 buses
  • On Vehicle Displays (Talking Buses) on strategic routes

The bid can be read below:

Brierley Hill Bus Network Transformation BBA Bid Submission