New lights brighten up Birmingham’s towpaths
The Canal & River Trust charity is working in partnership with Birmingham City Council to replace 250 worn out and broken lights located along canal towpaths in the city centre.
Costing £250,000, the project is part of Birmingham Cycle Revolution and involves installing new energy efficient LED lights along the main commuter routes into and around Birmingham.
With Birmingham’s waterways now more popular with visitors than ever before these new brighter white lights will help improve visibility along the waterways and should work for 100,000 hours before they need to be replaced.
The new lights will be installed on:
- Birmingham & Fazeley Canal from Old Turn Junction to Old Snow Hill Bridge
- Birmingham Mainline Canal from St Vincent Street to Gas Street Basin - both towpaths
- Worcester & Birmingham Canal from Gas Street Basin to Granville Street
- Digbeth Canal through Ashted Locks
- Edgbaston Tunnel
- Ashted Tunnel
- Curzon Street Tunnel
John Harris, from the Canal & River Trust, said: “These lights were originally installed in the early 1980s and most of them now don’t work very well or are broken. The new, low maintenance lights should last eight years before the bulbs need to be replaced and, as they are energy efficient, should be better for the environment, as well as brightening up the waterways.
“These lights are going to make a real difference for people visiting Birmingham’s wonderful canals.”
, cabinet member for transport and roads at Birmingham City Council, said: “I want everyone to enjoy Birmingham’s fantastic canal network, whether they are walking or cycling, and replacing these old and broken lights will help ensure that our towpaths are as attractive as possible for those who use them, particularly at night, as well as during the winter months when the days are shorter.
“I am pleased that this work is now taking place and look forward to seeing the finished results.”
Once completed the lights will be maintained by the Canal & River Trust.
For more information on the works of the Canal & River Trust visit www.canalrivertrust.org.uk
For more about Birmingham Cycle Revolution and to download our canal maps, visit www.birmingham.gov.uk/bcr
ENDS
For further media requests please contact: Sarah Rudy, on 01908 302 584 / 07788 691 219 or email admin@birminghamnewsroom.com
Notes to editors:
The Canal & River Trust is the guardian of 2,000 miles of historic waterways across England and Wales, caring for the nation’s third largest collection of listed structures, as well as museums, archives, and hundreds of important wildlife sites.
We believe that living waterways transform places and enrich lives and our role is to make sure there is always a place on your doorstep where you can escape the pressures of everyday life, stretch your legs and simply feel closer to nature.
www.canalrivertrust.org.uk @CanalRiverTrust @crtcomms
Birmingham Cycle Revolution (BCR) is a Birmingham City Council initiative. The objective of BCR is to make cycling an everyday way to travel in Birmingham over the next 20 years. We want 5 per cent of all trips in the city to be made by bike by 2023 and to double this again to 10 per cent by 2033. This will help to make our city healthier, greener, safer and less congested.
For more information on BCR, progress updates or how you can get involved please contact the Birmingham Cycle Revolution team by email at admin@birminghamnewsroom.com, tweet us @BCRbirmingham or like Birmingham Cycle Revolution on Facebook.
