Top 3 things to do

Send us your ideas for mobility equity videos to John Munro at  hello@betterstreetsforbirmingham.org

Respond to the WMCA bus survey (deadline 15/11/2026) and the Lime bike consultation (deadline 30/11/2026)

Consider applying for the remaining committee posts or let us know if you are willing to volunteer for local events at hello@betterstreetsforbirmingham.org

News

Organisation news

Committee

The work of the committee is building up now that new members are settling into their roles. We have had productive meetings with the leaders of Birmingham City Council, WMCA, Police and Crime Commissioner (PCC) team. We are reviewing infrastructure plans and responding to consultations, and obtaining data and evidence to support our campaign for improvements for all.  We are also working on engaging with schools, delivering clean air and road safety workshops,  and the wider community, explaining BSfB's aims at community events. 

BSfB have been meeting with councillors over the past month to get to know the 2026 intake and hear from them about what road safety issues they see in their wards. All councillors have been offered a meeting and so far we have heard back from well over half, which includes members from every political group across the city. We have had meetings practically every weekday for the last 3 weeks, with more scheduled over the coming weeks.

Each councillor will soon start to make decisions about their healthy streets funding . We have offered support to all councillors on this vital road safety fund, from helping to identify problem locations and how to work with officers to consider all options, and we have offered help with engaging with residents in their communities. Across all meetings, every councillor has focused on safety outside schools and needing to prevent harm on our roads. 

When councillors move forward with any proposals, we will work with our local network of supporters to advocate for the most impactful and cost-effective measures. 

1) We have written to the West Midlands mayor to ask that he investigates how they can bring about a train station at Balsall Heath and increase the current service to 2 trains an hour throughout the entire schedule, and also that he investigates a lorry control scheme, like in London. 

3) We have written to Birmingham City Council to ask that they explore using a PSPO (public spaces protection order) to prohibit antisocial vehicle use, specifically noisy vehicles, as has been done by Dudley Council. 

4) We have written to Cllr Huxtable, Chair of the Sustainability and Transport Scrutiny Committee, to ask about his plans for the committee's work program, and ways to prioritise road safety. We want to ensure that accessibility issues, the timely delivery of transport projects, including the HSF and bus delivery, are all properly overseen and delivered.

We have ongoing vacancies: Fundraising Lead, Website & Creative Design Lead and a second Community Outreach Lead.

If you would like to have a chat about committee roles please email: hello@betterstreetsforbirmingham.org.

Paid roles

Applications have now closed for the 2 paid roles recently advertised. Thank you to those who applied. We hope to have made appointments by the end of November. We are excited that filling these vacancies will strengthen our ability to achieve our organisation’s aims which so far has been through the passion and dedication of volunteers.

Meetings

Committee Strategy day

The Committee met on October 25th for a very useful day to discuss the aims and objectives of BSFB in person and to plan ahead for how to make our roads safer and better for everyone. We discussed our priorities:

• engagement with local leaders in the council, WMCA and Police on road safety and enforcement, implementation of Healthy Streets funding, providing critical appraisal of infrastructure proposals
• community engagement and outreach, to broaden the reach of BSFBs work
• optimising communication -  the use of social media
• how best to use our own resources. 

We are fortunate to have a group of passionate campaigners who are willing and able to provide their expertise to the committee. We also acknowledge that we have a large group of supporters, some of whom may also have expertise that they can lend, even if this is not on a regular basis on the committee. We would therefore urge people to volunteer to help at community events and to get in touch if they can.

BSFB Monthly Supporters meeting (previously known as the 6-8 meeting)

Our monthly meeting (usually held on the first Monday of the month at 6pm at the Warehouse, Allison Street) is for every Better Streets supporter. This in-person gathering acts as an ideas incubator for BSfB, where we review ongoing issues, take up areas of concern from any part of the city, and develop actions to bring about positive change.

This meeting also acts as a direct line of communication between supporters at large and the BSfB Committee, while offering supporters an opportunity to help set the agenda for BSfB as a whole.

Whilst this time and place is not convenient for everyone, we hope that if you have an idea/issue to discuss, you will be able to attend and share your thoughts. Many great initiatives and ideas have come from this meeting including the monthly Circle the City ride, the mobility equity video, and the suggestion of a lorry control scheme.

Consultations

We have submitted a comprehensive response to the Birmingham City Council's Safer School Journeys Phase 2 consultation making specific comments for each school as well as the wider points about the importance of effective bold changes in infrastructure, making them traffic-free where possible and highlighting the potential negative consequences of one-way streets.

There are 2 more consultations which are open this month. The first is about bus travel in the West Midlands and what people’s priorities are when travelling by bus. The second is about where people would like to see Lime bike stands.

Other activities

School Workshops

We continue to offer workshops in schools for parents, pupils and teachers to talk about road safety, active travel and clean air ,in conjunction with Mums for Lungs. The last one we did was on 21 October at Princethorpe School in Weoley Castle organised by a brilliant teacher who is keen to engage her pupils and empower them to use their voice to raise local issues. We are able to offer these workshops to primary and secondary schools in Birmingham. If you know of any schools where the staff and parents would like to host one, please reach out (Florence cadge@theaws.org).

Mobility Equity Video Series

John, our Campaigns lead and Majid, a BSFB supporter, recently recorded a video about a positive action to address a road safety issue. 

Originating in discussions at our Monthly Meeting, this video series speaks to issues of local concern for BSfB supporters across the city. Is there a dangerous crossing in your area? Somewhere where drivers routinely speed? Places where car parking acts a barrier to pedestrians? A road where cycling is unsafe by design?

Raising awareness about such common issues can be a lonely task, and getting people with power to do something about them can feel impossible. But short videos that explain examples of mobility unfairness while calling attention to who they impact can be a powerful way to show that not everyone accepts the status quo. If you would like a trouble spot in your area to be featured in a Mobility Equity video, get in touch!

Better Streets for Birmingham was honoured to help lead the latest Dom Whiting Drum'n'bass ride. We were very grateful for the impromptu police escort to shepherd us down the A38, as there were too many riders to fit on the cycle lane. Even though this was intended to be a low-key ride, there were still 1-200 people who came along.

Once more, this shows that people will cycle, even on Birmingham's roads, when they feel safe, highlighting the need and latent demand for a city-wide protected cycle network.

Things to read/watch/listen

Podcast about how we think about/rethink our streets with Professor Ben Ansell (June 2026)

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/m002xp70?partner=uk.co.bbc&origin=share-mobile

Mobility equity in Birmingham  - a video telling the story of simple intervention to make a busy crossing safer for pedestrians and cyclists (Oct 2026)

https://youtu.be/LY4gMRc3y-k?si=hCTzYcyOy9Cz9Bzp 

An article about the ongoing positive impact of introducing the 20 mph speed limit in Wales (Oct 2026) https://road.cc/news/serious-cyclist-injuries-down-50-and-overall-road-casualties-continue-to-fall-since-20mph-limit-introduced-in-wales 

A call for action to protect the more vulnerable members of society who are exposed to poor air quality as new data from a Freedom of information request from Mums for Lungs show high numbers of admissions for respiratory problems in children (Oct 2026)

https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2026/oct/19/andy-burnham-government-inquiry-unequal-health-impacts-air-pollution 

The issue of noise on public transport (Oct 2026)

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cm89z008x7xdo 

Circle the City - Friday 6th November, 6 pm

Join us on the first Friday of every month for a group ride around Birmingham leaving from Hippodrome Square, B5 4BN at 6pm. Meet people, learn new cycle routes and enjoy the fun and freedom of cycling safely in the city. All ages and all abilities are welcome. Last month the ride was joined by runners. Runners are welcome again!

PLEASE note this month it will be dark, so please bring plenty of lighting, including Christmas type lights, and Hi Viz garments. And if you are planning on coming, please try and encourage one other person to come along too.

Monthly Supporters meeting (previously 6-8 meeting) - Monday 2nd November, 6pm

The Warehouse, Allison Street.

Friends of the Earth will be joining us to discuss the recently consulted on plans for the Midlands Rail Hub. Whilst we view this infrastructure project as critical to improving local train services in Birmingham, we share the concerns about how destructive the initial plans are to Digbeth, though we do hope that the Midlands Rail Hub Alliance respond positively to the large amount of feedback they've had on the issue. You can read our official response to it here.

Please bring your ideas and knowledge to shape the streets of Birmingham.

Upcoming events

Cycling UK local campaigning conference in Reading on 14th November 2026

Clean Air Night 17th November 2026

Committee Membership

We still have some vacancies on the committee. If you are passionate about the aims of BSFB and have some time to build on the success of BSFB, please consider joining the committee.

Current vacancies:

• Fundraising Lead - To maintain/grow donations at a rate that supports the costs of the organisation.
• Website & Creative Design Lead - Maintain the website and produce designs for any literature we produce. Again, if you would like to volunteer for only one of these responsibilities, we'd be open to that
• Community Outreach Co- Lead - Responsible for strengthening relationships with communities across Birmingham and encouraging participation

Furthermore, if you feel that you have an issue that you would like to assist us with, but don't want to step up to the committee, please get in touch anyway, as we are happy for people to take on advisory roles to help us.

Thank you for taking the time to read this newsletter. Wishing you safe travels this month as the nights get darker.