Plans for a 21-mile cycleway linking Birmingham to Coventry alongside the HS2 line have been described as a “no-brainer” for health, wellbeing and economic growth in the region.
In a letter seen exclusively by the Guardian, Andy Street, the mayor of the West Midlands, wrote to the government-owned HS2 Ltd this week asking that it keep haul roads and maintenance tracks alongside the rail route for conversion to a future cycleway, rather than dismantling them. Street said he has the backing of all local authorities along the route to connect these paths with local roads, along with a plan to fund it, and said the plans will “maximise HS2’s benefits for the region”.
