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Danger spots

10 Sep 2013
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Birmingham is laid out as a series of arterial roads (Pershore Road, Hagley Road, Stratford Road and so on) which cross the Middleway ring road on their way to the city centre. The roundabouts are known as Circuses, presumably because they’re regularly frequented by clowns. There was once an inner ring road, the infamous ‘concrete collar’ of the Queensway: this was partly dismantled in 2002, but much still remains as a fast motor road.

These busy main roads are famously cycle-hostile and cyclists will need no encouragement to stay away from them when possible. Belgrave Middleway, to the south of the centre, is particularly troublesome – the Gooch Street junction is notorious, despite the cycle crossing. Ladywood Circus, to the west, is another blackspot: the City Council is proposing to add traffic lights and new cycle paths.

Five Ways roundabout (on the Middleway) and Lancaster Circus (on the Queensway) have cycle underpasses which are a must for staying in one piece. Elsewhere, you can sometimes avoid the roundabouts with cut-throughs on local streets: for example, Bordesley Circus can be bypassed via Adderley Street and Kingston Road, or along the Grand Union Canal past Camp Hill Locks.