AT THE HEART OF THE ROAD TRANSPORT INDUSTRY.

Call our Sales Team on 0208 912 2120

ONLY

26th June 1953, Page 50
26th June 1953
Page 50
Page 51
Page 52
Page 53
Page 54
Page 50, 26th June 1953 — ONLY
Close
Noticed an error?
If you've noticed an error in this article please click here to report it so we can fix it.

Which of the following most accurately describes the problem?

■ TE, WAY For the Present

By P. A. C. Brockington, A.M.I.Mech.E. Views on the Solution of Birmingham's Traffic Problem Vary According to the Interests of the Persons Concerned: In this Report, All Shades of Opinion are Presented after a Close Study of the Subject

THESE comments were made by Birmingham citizens in reply to questions about the traffic conditions in the main shopping areas. The first was by a leading member of the Birmingham Chamber of Commerce, who measures the future in terms of revolutionary change, and the second by the manageress of a hosiery shop, who is typical of those who measure possible change in terms of disrupted travel facilities. They both agree with the majority that the " free-Row " cog-wheel traffic system could not be improved upon in the present circumstances and that the police are discreet and firm in the right degrees.

Before dealing in greater detail with personal opinions, it is pertinent to disregard the observation of another citizen that "the outsider doesn't matter—we do things to suit ourselves," and give a brief outline of the system and of the way in which the inner ring road would completely change it. It may confound the driver who infrequently visits Birmingham and claims that any change would be for the better, and it may show the non-Midland admirers of Joseph Chamberlain that the authorities would be ready to emulate his foresight if the Government permitted. As shown by the map (page 616), the sun-wheel of the one-way system is formed by sections of New Street, Corporation Street and Bull Street, with shops on both sides, and the full length of Colmore Row, between Snow Hill railway station and Victoria Square, lined by offices, a few shops and the grounds of St. Phillip's church. Traffic flows in an anti-clockwise direction, and vehicles joining the stream (except from Snow Hill and Livery Street flanking the station) travel along streets which are parts of five traffic planet wheels meshing with the main wheel at various points.

For example, all vehicles bound for the centre from Hill Street, Suffolk Street and Broad Street, and any corning from the northern section of Congreve Street or the eastern end of Edmund Street, must travel along a part of the periphery of the Paradise Street, Easy Row, Edmund Street, Congreve Street wheel and turn off into New Street at Victoria Square. Were it not for the necessity to provide pedestrian control in Victoria Square and the intersections of Corporation Street with New Street and Bull Street, no traffic Tights would be employed in the one-way area, but a policeman is stationed on point duty at the Bull Street--Colmore Row corner, where the traffic from Bull Street turns left into Colmore Row or right into Steelhouse Lane (also a one-way street) or may cross into Snow Hill, where two-way traffic is permitted.

This is the worst bottleneck in the system, and it is generally agreed that the rate of flow limits the maximum flow at the other intersections. Police also control the traffic at the Hill Street—Navigation Street and the Bull Street—High Street five-lane intersections, both of which are joined by two-way roads.

Parking for a limited period is allowed on both sides of New Street and Corporation Street, is debarred in Bull Street, except for one short section, and is permitted on both sides of Colmore Row.

Parking regulations are based on the principle of main taming the maximum flow rate at the four bottlenecks, and as these cannot handle more than two streams from any one direction, it is claimed that a general " no-parking "rule would not increase the rate of flow. In a number of narrow side streets, one-row parking restricts the traffic to a single line, and a vehicle making deliveries can cause a serious hold-up.

It is a compliment to the system that some people consider it could profitably be extended to include main roads such as Digbeth, which leads to Deritend, and to the Stretford and Coventry roads. Cross traffic from the market on one side and industrial areas on the other causes lengthy delays at peak periods to the buses using the Bull Ring terminal south of the New Street-High Street intersection, but widening is held up by the Treasury's decision to concentrate road expenditure on " danger spots."

The example of congestion in Digbeth, Hagley Road and other main arteries forcibly illustrates the advantage that one-way twin-flow traffic has over the traffic in a two-way road with barely sufficient width for two lines in both directions.

Despite an average flow of about 1.200 vehicles an hour (according to the 1950 rensus) round the inner roads between 7.30 a.m. and 6.30 p.m. on a working day, with a highest recorded peak of over 1,500 vehicles an hour in Corporation Street, the drivers of vehicles operated by retailers and local haOliers are seldom delayed by traffic congestion in the =tile streets, and are expert in avoiding hold-ups in outlying districts. Parking and manceuvring difficulties are the cause of most complaints.

In 1950, 400 corporation buses per hour traversed the section of Bull Street leading to the Colmore Row intersection at the peak pet iod, and this number has not decreased since then. The figure for Midland "Red" buses on the same section between 5.15 p.m. and 6.15 p.m. is now 92, so that it is reasonable to conclude that one-third of the total number of vehicles comprises buses, and that they take much more than one-third of the ground area occupied.

A room-sized scale model of the city area with the inner ring road, on view in the Civic Centre, shows that the road will encircle the main shopping area (where two-way traffic will be restored) and provide for three lines of moving traffic in both directions, in addition to two parking lines. Existing streets which will form part of the ring road include Suffolk, Great Charles, Loveday, Stafford, Moor and Smallbrook streets.

Buses will operate outside its boundary except for a service along the widened Colmorc Row, which will be one of three link roads converging on Snow Hill Station. No point in the centre will be more than 300 yd. from the ring or link roads, but it has been suggested that the original plan should be modified to allow an inner-circle bus service.

This vast project would involve the demolition of over 500 shop premises as well as other buildings, but' would provide an increase of shop frontage of over 5,000 ft. It would necessitate the building of ramps, viaducts, round

abouts and bridges, and the plans include multi-storey and underground car parks. An estimate based on the 1947 census figures indicates that there is now space for OS CT 3,500 stationary vehicles in the parks and streets of the city. The parking facilities associated with the inner ring road scheme would provide for 7,400 vehicles.

The plan transcends the norm of individual, group or public opinion, particularly as it is part of a larger project involving the construction of an intermediate ring road, with 12 radial roads, and the completion of the existing outer ring road, but a short-view study of present conditions in the centre is not irrelevant to the grand vision of a new Birmingham.

The quoted supporter of the inner ring road is Mr.-Gordon Mathews, chairman of the retail section of the Birmingham Chamber of Commerce. He is also the secretary and

director of the Beehive Warehouse in Albert Street and of Rackhams, Ltd., at the corner of Bull Street and Temple Row. The former is a " warehouse for the people," and the latter a store which numbers many car owners amongst its customers.

The Beehive Warehouse is, like the Birmingham office of The Commercial Motor, in the direct path of the inner ring road, and in the event will be partly demolished. Its new site will be on the inside of the ring road, and transport facilities, including parcels handling, will be given priority. If the plans of the building are typical of others on the road (they will be partly based on American practice), the speedy ' reception and dispatch of goods should be a major factor in reducing overall costs.

With regard to the trade at Rackhams, Mr. Mathews voices the fairly common complaint that many car owners in the suburbs and surrounding country shop in Stratfordupon-Avon, Leamington Spa, Worcester and Cheltenham by reason of the traffic conditions and parking difficulties in Birmingham. A fleet of Thames vehicles is employed for deliveries from the two stores, and it has been estimated that it now takes as long to deliver 50 parcels as it did before the war to deliver 70. This is attributed partly to congestion delays and more especially to the spread of population following the building of new housing estates.

Mr. G. T. Mayhew, managing director of Chamberlain, King and Jones, Ltd., furnishers, of Bull Street, backing on Martineau Street, makes a similar complaint with regard to loss of custom. In his opinion there is an urgent need for more car parks and for a reduction in the number of buses using the central streets.

A fleet of 16 Albion and Bedford petrol-engined vans is employed for long-distance deliveries and for a shuttle service to the warehouse in Holloway Head. Transport costs have increased from a pre-war figure of 21per cent, of the turnover to 5 per cent., but this is mainly attributed to labour-cost increases and to factors other than congestion. Mr. Mayhew considers that there could be no other way than one way—for the traffic.

Favourable comparisons of Birmingham traffic conditions with those of London and Bristol are made by Mr. S.

Britton, manager of the Dolcis shoe shop on the Corpora tion Street—Bull Street corner. Mr. Britton praises, without qualification, the one-way system and the efficiency of the police, and his views are endorsed by Mr. H. Wilson, manager of another Dolcis shop in Corporation Street, and by Miss G. Pullen, manageress of a hosiery and underwear shop, Dolcis Dolores, owned by the same company and also situated in Corporation Street.

Deliveries are made to the three shops once a week by one of the company's vehicles. It was Miss Pullen whose comments were quoted with regard to retaining the bus stops in the centre for the convenience of employees.

The most controversial subject of any with regard to travel facilities is whether traffic and parking should be regulated in the interests of bus users or of car owners. Mr. E. J. Dodd, C.B.E., chief constable of Birmingham, is representative of those officials intimately connected with the practical aspects of the traffic problem who advocate a non-sectional approach to the many problems involved.

Mr. Dodd states: "No one is more conscious of the difficulties that confront those who use the central streets than the police, and it is their endeavour to ensure that reasonable facilities are given to all categories of road user in the very limited space available. In this they receive a full degree of co-operation from public transport undertakings, the Chamber of Commerce, the recognized automobile associations, and, of course, the city council, who Wee so obviously tried to hold the balance between all interested parties in the imposition of only unavoidable restrictions upon the use of the highway.

"The planning of two, if not three, ring roads in the city, linking the main arterial thoroughfares, is undoubtedly capable of solving Birmingham's traffic problem of the future, but until those plans come to fruition the co-operation of all concerned is essential to avoid unnecessary hardship or inconvenience to any one type of road user."

A representative of E. Gomme, Ltd., furniture manufacturers in High Wycombe, wrote in reply to a letter that the concern's drivers all agree that traffic conditions in Birmingham compare most unfavourably with those of other large towns, and this is largely attributed to the corporation buses. Special mention is made of bus congestion in Old Square, bordering Lewis's store, which is situated on the Corporation Street—Bull Street corner. The concern delivers furniture to the store, which has a two-vehicle reception bay in Upper Priory at the north end of Old Square.

Practically all the furniture, hardware, garden equipment and so on supplied to Lewis's is received at the warehouse in Tyburn 5-1 miles away, and a twice-a-day shuttle service between the store and the warehouse is performed by a ICarrier Cub with a 2i-ton trailer and a Guy van of similar capacity. Goods are unloaded in the receiving bay or in the Minories, a road under Lewis's double archway from Bull Street to Old Square, and parking difficulties are often such that vehicles have to travel round the streets many times before a place can be found.

Delays of two to three hours are not uncommon, the problem being particularly acute when the receiving bay is occupied by vehicles, -such as those carrying china, the unloading of which takes several hours.

The dispatch of goods from Lewis's does not present a comparable difficulty. A tunnel connects the basement with a bay in Dalton Street, on the other side of Corporation Street, and although the street is narrow, delays caused by obstruction are not serious. Complaints with regard to parking in this area mainly come from businessmen who arrive in their cars during early-morning deliveries by visiting commercial vehicles.

On the inner side of Bull Street to the north of Lewis's is situated Greys store, which has a canopy over the pavement to show hospitality to passengers waiting at the bus stop for Corporation and Midland " Red" vehicles. The concentration of passengers outside the doors is welcomed.

A warehouse and a loading bay in Upper Priory, which is a one-way street leading from Steelhouse Lane to Old Square, are a short distance away as the pedestrian walks from the store and a multiple of the distance as the vehicle traVels. Formerly, the goods were transferred on skips and fully occupied the time of four men. Recently a Morrison Electricar 20-cwt. battery-electric van was acquired to do the work and fitted with a hand-operated tailboard lift for loading six skips, two at a time, with a total capacity of about 14 cwt. Now the driver and mate not only move a greater weight of goods, but have time for other local runs, including trips to a warehouse in Mill Street, half a mile away.

The value of early-morning deliveries by British Railways is exemplified by the transport organization at the store of F. W. Woolworth and Co.. Ltd., on the inner side of New.

. Street. About 12 tons are unloaded in a narrow side entranee, leading to the back of the premises, from vehicles which make four calls between 7.30 a.m. and 9 a.m. Formerly, when unloading started at 9 a.m., it was not completed until about 3 p.m.

Manceavring a vehicle to back up to the entrance presents the greatest difficulty when the traffic down New Street is dense (the railway vehicles are semi-trailer units which are well suited to the job) and some visiting drivers of goods vehicles will not attempt it. About 75-80 per cent. of the goods is delivered and dispatched by rail.

The horse-drawn vehicles employed by British Railways arc the subject of a complaint by Mr. Gordon Pattison, a director of Paulson and Co., Ltd., confectioners, with shops in NeW Street and Corporation Street. These ponderous vehicles are linked with parked cars as the main cause of delays when delivering from the warehouse in Bordesley Street, about half a mile away. The problem of finding a place to unload is exacerbated by objections from the health authorities when the foodstuff has to be carried a long distance from the vehicle to the shop.

Two Commer 30-cwl. vans are employed for the runs, and it is considered that a 10-cwt. van could replace one of these if congestion problems were eased. None of the directors uses a car when visiting the shops.

When making deliveries three times a week to hotels, confectioners and clubs at the centre, the drivers of the Austin 5-tonners operated by ,Mackie and Gladstone, Ltd., wine merchants, are "more often than not" prevented from unloading by parked cars, and have to travel round the streets until a space is vacated, or risk a summons by the po:ice for double parking. The buses cause no trouble. Drops vary from two dozen bottles up to 100 dozen.

To be or not to be, related to the buses with routes on the one-way system, is also a subject of particular importance with regard to vehicle operating costs. A comment by Mr. Richard Brandon, M.Inst.T., traffic manager of the Midland Red" company, on the desirability of concentrating the company's bus terminals on one site is, therefore, pertinent. According to Mr. Brandon, the establishment of a central bus station above New Street railway station would be infinitely preferable, in the interests of bus-service organization, to building the far more costly inner ring road, given that suitable alterations were made to the access roads. Existing terminals, are in the lower end of New Street, and in Bull Street, Navigation Street, Paradise Street and thf..' Bull Ring. A single terminus would greatly reduce supervision costs, facilitate the interchange of passengers and enable modern amenities to be provided for waiting passengers.


comments powered by Disqus