ENVIRONMENT
Birmingham ring road could become green paradise
Council seeks to transform A38 Aston Expressway with trees and cycle paths
The plans would double the amount of green space in the city by 2040. Inset, how Birmingham currently looks
It was once seen as a symbol of modernity and a future liberated by the motor car. But Birmingham’s central ring road has since come to be viewed as a concrete collar, a blight dividing the centre from the rest of the city.
Now, if the Labour-run city council has its way, the roads known as the Queensway will go the green way. Sections of the A38 Aston Expressway would be transformed from traffic-clogged tunnels to tree-lined cycle routes and pedestrian paths, and a new city centre park built around new offices and homes.
Britain’s second biggest city has long famously claimed to have more canals than Venice. According to the vision for how Birmingham will look in 2040, due to be formally unveiled next
