City Centre Changes

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We are getting the city centre ready for some exciting developments. This includes a short route for Coventry Very Light Rail and a fully segregated cycleway. These will help reduce air pollution and make the city centre a healthier and safer place.

The Coventry Very Light Rail route will go from Warwick Road to the former IKEA building initially, and later to Pool Meadow bus station. The cycleway will connect the Railway Station to Pool Meadow bus station. It will also link to some of the new routes coming into the city centre from Coundon and Foleshill.

To implement these schemes, we need to make some changes to traffic.

Red route

To improve bus journey reliability and get ready for Coventry Very Light Rail, we will be installing a red route. This is shown on the map on the right hand side of this page and includes Warwick Road to Pool Meadow bus station along Corporation Street, the Trinity Street/Burges loop as well as Bishop Street to Ring Road Junction 1 and New Union Street to Ring Road Junction 5.

A red route means that where there is a double red line along the kerb, no stopping is allowed at any time, even to drop off or pick up passengers or deliver loads.

Red routes help keep traffic flowing and reduce congestion. The red route will be enforced using smart camera technology which will capture the vehicle registration numbers of motorists who stop their vehicle or park illegally.

Red route restrictions will not apply to emergency service vehicles, blue badge holders or taxis. All other vehicles will need to use specific parking bays which will be clearly signed and marked on the road to stop along the route.

To implement the red route, we need to reduce the size of the current city centre restricted parking zone. This will mean that certain streets where yellow lines were previously removed, you will see double yellow lines re-introduced. This will be done at the same time as the red route. Parking will be available in the car parks or the marked parking bays. The majority of existing parking bays on the red route and double yellow areas will remain.

Coventry Very Light Rail route

Coventry Very Light Rail will provide an alternative to cars, help to improve air quality and reduce congestion. The new vehicle and track will provide a reliable, frequent, environmentally friendly, hop-on hop- off transport system in Coventry and other cities and towns, at a lower cost than conventional light rail tram systems, whilst still providing the same benefits.

Installation of the system will secure local investment, provide local, high-skilled jobs, and put Coventry at the forefront of the green industrial revolution.

The Coventry Very Light Rail route will allow us to showcase the track and vehicle in a real city environment. You can find out more at coventry.gov.uk/coventry-light-rail

Work to prepare the area for the first section of Coventry Very Light Rail will begin in Spring 2024.

Segregated cycleway

The new section of segregated cycleway will be positioned between the pavement and the road and be physically separated from both. The cycleway will be located alongside the demonstrator route, starting from Greyfriars Green (Starley Statue) all the way to Pool Meadow bus station. We hope to start work on the cycleway in Autumn 2024.

We also plan to make some changes to allow cyclists to travel in the opposite direction on a number of one-way traffic streets. The following streets will become contraflow streets for cyclists:

  • Bishop Street (from Tower Street to Ring Road)
  • Cheylesmore
  • Greyfriars Lane
  • Lamb Street
  • Manor Road
  • Salt Lane
  • St Patrick’s Road

This will make it easier for cycles to access parts of the city centre that are further away from the proposed new segregated cycleway route.


You can see the map showing all these changes in more detail on the right hand side of this page.

To let us know if there are any local issues you want to tell us about please complete the survey by clicking the take link survey below.

This survey has now closed.

The feedback is currently being analysed.

We are getting the city centre ready for some exciting developments. This includes a short route for Coventry Very Light Rail and a fully segregated cycleway. These will help reduce air pollution and make the city centre a healthier and safer place.

The Coventry Very Light Rail route will go from Warwick Road to the former IKEA building initially, and later to Pool Meadow bus station. The cycleway will connect the Railway Station to Pool Meadow bus station. It will also link to some of the new routes coming into the city centre from Coundon and Foleshill.

To implement these schemes, we need to make some changes to traffic.

Red route

To improve bus journey reliability and get ready for Coventry Very Light Rail, we will be installing a red route. This is shown on the map on the right hand side of this page and includes Warwick Road to Pool Meadow bus station along Corporation Street, the Trinity Street/Burges loop as well as Bishop Street to Ring Road Junction 1 and New Union Street to Ring Road Junction 5.

A red route means that where there is a double red line along the kerb, no stopping is allowed at any time, even to drop off or pick up passengers or deliver loads.

Red routes help keep traffic flowing and reduce congestion. The red route will be enforced using smart camera technology which will capture the vehicle registration numbers of motorists who stop their vehicle or park illegally.

Red route restrictions will not apply to emergency service vehicles, blue badge holders or taxis. All other vehicles will need to use specific parking bays which will be clearly signed and marked on the road to stop along the route.

To implement the red route, we need to reduce the size of the current city centre restricted parking zone. This will mean that certain streets where yellow lines were previously removed, you will see double yellow lines re-introduced. This will be done at the same time as the red route. Parking will be available in the car parks or the marked parking bays. The majority of existing parking bays on the red route and double yellow areas will remain.

Coventry Very Light Rail route

Coventry Very Light Rail will provide an alternative to cars, help to improve air quality and reduce congestion. The new vehicle and track will provide a reliable, frequent, environmentally friendly, hop-on hop- off transport system in Coventry and other cities and towns, at a lower cost than conventional light rail tram systems, whilst still providing the same benefits.

Installation of the system will secure local investment, provide local, high-skilled jobs, and put Coventry at the forefront of the green industrial revolution.

The Coventry Very Light Rail route will allow us to showcase the track and vehicle in a real city environment. You can find out more at coventry.gov.uk/coventry-light-rail

Work to prepare the area for the first section of Coventry Very Light Rail will begin in Spring 2024.

Segregated cycleway

The new section of segregated cycleway will be positioned between the pavement and the road and be physically separated from both. The cycleway will be located alongside the demonstrator route, starting from Greyfriars Green (Starley Statue) all the way to Pool Meadow bus station. We hope to start work on the cycleway in Autumn 2024.

We also plan to make some changes to allow cyclists to travel in the opposite direction on a number of one-way traffic streets. The following streets will become contraflow streets for cyclists:

  • Bishop Street (from Tower Street to Ring Road)
  • Cheylesmore
  • Greyfriars Lane
  • Lamb Street
  • Manor Road
  • Salt Lane
  • St Patrick’s Road

This will make it easier for cycles to access parts of the city centre that are further away from the proposed new segregated cycleway route.


You can see the map showing all these changes in more detail on the right hand side of this page.

To let us know if there are any local issues you want to tell us about please complete the survey by clicking the take link survey below.

Page last updated: 02 Jul 2024, 09:19 AM