Residents are seeking improved road safety on a narrow street in the medieval heart of Northfield.

A petition has been set up asking Birmingham City Council to review and improve road safety on Rectory Road, which runs along the side of the historic 12th Century St Laurence Church, near the Great Stone Inn.

The petition highlights the issue of cars driving the wrong way along the short stretch of road, which is signed as a one-way street, being just wide enough for one vehicle at its junction with Church Hill.

Rectory Road – part of the one-way system around the medieval heart Northfield – but locals argue that no entry signs from Church Hill / Church Road are frequently ignored:

Rectory Road narrows at its junction with Church Hill / Church Road:

With Rectory Road having no footpath, frequent “near misses” between pedestrians and cars entering the narrow end of the road travelling the wrong way are reported.

Northfield neighbourhood police team regularly attend the junction at busy times to warn motorists, however the issue still continues.

Now, the petition is calling on Birmingham City Council to take action by cleaning and repositioning the No Entry signs, replacing the Give Way junction with a Stop junction, placing a bollard and providing CCTV.

Rector of St Laurence Church, Rev’d Canon Janet Chapman said: “Increasingly, traffic travelling the wrong way on Rectory Road, especially in the mornings as people are travelling to school.  This is so dangerous and some very near misses have been witnessed.”

She asked people to support their petition – either online or at the church or pastoral centre (9am-12pm Mon-Fri) – which will be presented to local councillors at the next Northfield Ward meeting in March.

She added: “If you see anyone travelling the wrong way please take their number and report to the police.  It is worth reporting to the police even it you can’t get their number so they are aware how many people are doing this.”

Sign the petition online

9 COMMENTS

  1. Seen someone do this last Saturday. Bit of a queue going up Church Hill and round bend to get on to main road. Car two in front of ours just turned right and went straight up it to avoid waiting like the rest of us. Obviously far too important to wait.

  2. Someone drove straight into me as I was coming round the corner of Old Moat Drive /Rectory Road, wrote car off . Have contacted police several times as keep seeing cars nipping through. Very pleased petition set up: hope this sorts it.

  3. Just reverse the one way sign, so that traffic can go down that way. Also restrict / stop the cars parking just past the pub on the left hand side ( opp YMCA )between rush hour times as this is what is causing the traffic chaos in rush hour.
    Traffic tails back right down church road all due to inconsiderate parking.
    No need to widen any roads then.
    They may get a few moans from residents getting more traffic from the oneway sign being reversed, but Welcome to the real World.
    This would solve a lot of congestion at the traffic lights also.

    • camilla changing the oneway sign other way round will solve nothing guess where all the traffic will go??? you still have to get out on main road

  4. wouldn’t it be easier and cheaper to fit those traffic flow plates in the road, along with adequate changes to road signs ?

      • it seems a really simple solution doesn’t it sarah, also at a fraction of the cost of fitting,maintaining and monitoring cctv equipment,and bollards that motorbikes could still just go round anyway.
        Even if the council say they sill couldn’t afford flow plates because of government cuts,as long as the council granted all the necessary permits and legal paperwork and those additional incurred costs ect effected locals could surely fundraise at the local pub and church, if only, for a speedier and cheaper, resolution to the problem,before any locals are hurt or killed,just trying to get home.

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