This meeting of the Decision Making Session for the Cabinet Member for Environment and Highways was scheduled to consider highway improvement schemes in Sandwell. The schemes are part of a wider programme of upgrades to bus routes between Dudley and Druids Heath. The meeting was scheduled to be held in private.

Cross City Bus Package 3

The main item for discussion was the proposed construction of the Cross City Bus Package 3 schemes at Burnt Tree Junction and Dudley Road/Oldbury Ringway.

The Dudley to Druids Heath project is led by Transport for West Midlands (TfWM) and is funded by the Department for Transport (DfT) through the Better Deal for Bus Users fund, with additional funding from Birmingham City Council for the Birmingham sections. The project aims to improve bus services on the Dudley to Druids Heath corridor through Birmingham City Centre, specifically routes 50, 82 and 87.

The proposals for Sandwell consist of bus priority interventions at two locations:

• Burnt Tree Junction: This involves alterations to the traffic signals to benefit bus services, cyclists, and pedestrians, integrating with the City Region Sustainable Transport Settlement (CRSTS) projects along the A4123 and A461 corridors.
• Dudley Road/Oldbury Ringway: This involves the provision of a bus lane and segregated cycle lane on the Dudley Road approach to the junction, allowing the city-bound bus service 87 to bypass queuing traffic.

According to the report pack, the interventions at Burnt Tree and Oldbury involve some carriageway widening. The land required is already owned by the council but is not part of the adopted highway¹. It would therefore be necessary to appropriate this land as adopted highway once the detailed design is complete and the extent of the land-take is confirmed.

The report pack stated that public consultation on the schemes had been completed, and no objections were received.

The report pack included the following appendices:

• Burnt Tree Junction Scheme Drawing
• Dudley Road/Oldbury Ringway Scheme Drawing
• Burnt Tree Junction Consultation
• Dudley Road/Oldbury Ringway Consultation Outcome
• Land Take Plan

The report pack recommended that Councillor Keith Allcock, Cabinet Member for Environment and Highways, give approval to progress the delivery of the schemes, subject to officer approval of the detailed designs and approval of the Business Justification Case by the West Midlands Combined Authority (WMCA). It was also recommended that the Executive Director – Place be authorised to complete the necessary statutory procedures, including authorising the funding agreement for the Dudley Road/Oldbury scheme once finalised.

Burnt Tree Junction Consultation Feedback

The report pack included the results of a consultation on the proposed changes to Burnt Tree Junction.

The consultation found that over half of respondents felt positively towards the proposed changes (56%), while around a quarter felt negatively (26%). Cyclists felt most positive towards the proposals (63%), while car drivers felt most negatively (30%).

When asked what they liked and disliked about the proposals, a polarisation in opinion emerged. While 35% liked the improvements for cycling, 27% disliked the cycling investment, thinking it was a waste of money. Similarly, while 14% liked additional lanes for traffic, 11% disliked the proposal as additional lanes could increase traffic in the area. A fifth liked the measures for pedestrians.

A quarter of respondents had no changes to make to the proposals, however a fifth wanted more bus lanes/bus priority measures, while 15% wanted the removal of the proposals around cycle lanes. 12% wanted improved phasing of traffic lights, while 12% wanted more improvements for cycling.

Respondents were most likely to agree that the changes would improve safety for walking and cycling (63%). Only around half thought they would reduce congestion (53%) or speed up bus services (51%).