On Saturday the 8th of June I participated in an event with Central Co-op and Better Streets for Birmingham. The event took place on Northbrook Street. The end of Northbrook Street by the extremely busy Dudley Road has been pedestrianised. This includes a segregated two way cycle lane. The result is a lovely place that people can gather and use, rather than being dominated by car drivers as it was prior to the part pedestrianisation.

I attended with Laurence Braithwaite who is also part of Central Co-op and is also a campaigner for Better Streets for Birmingham. Better Streets for Birmingham campaign about reducing road danger. There have been several high profile deaths recently by dangerous car drivers and Better Streets for Birmingham are campaigning for structural changes to our road designs to make our communities safer. A cause I am fully behind.

I was at the event representing Central Co-op. Laurence brought the Central Co-op Gazebo and a bunch of goodies from the Cotteridge Central Co-op Store. We had different types of fruit, such as bananas, apples, and grapes. In addition we brought some sweet treats that we gave out as long as they took fruit first! We brought a wheel for fortune style device and people got to spin the wheel to win various fruits. Central Co-op want to promote cycling and engage with our local communities. We have many stores in Birmingham so it is great to show that we are part of the Birmingham community.

For me it was great to be part of an event that demonstrates the positive results of pedestrianising our public spaces. Children were able to play in the streets without fear of being in danger of dangerous car drivers. People were able to gather and enjoy the place as a community. We had several pop up stalls at the event, including a Dr Bike stand to complement the Central Co-op and the Better Streets for Birmingham stalls.

There was even a planter being built at the event. On top of this it was also pleasing to see so many cyclists at the event. The campaign cycling community is a wonderful group of people, trying to change the world for the better and I enjoy being part of it. Cycling campaigning is often tough and has involved more lost campaigns than campaigns that are won, making the opportunities to talk and share experiences with other active travel campaigners vitally important.

I look forward to participating in more events like this across Birmingham.

All photos used with permission from Lucia from Better Streets for Birmingham