Residents in the West Midlands are currently being consulted over plans to develop new rapid transit networks through key urban areas, among other proposals.

A 20 year blueprint known as ‘Movement for Growth’ has been published by the West Midlands Integrated Transport Authority to help unlock the economic potential of the region.

Tonight the residents of Coventry are invited to see the plans, followed by those in Walsall next Monday and Solihull next Thursday.

Among the proposals for Coventry are a rapid transit network, improvements to road junction bottlenecks in the city and links to a regional cycle network.

Coventry City Council leader Ann Lucas said: “Movement for Growth contains the transport schemes we believe can help Coventry grow its economy and create new jobs. It is an important document that will set the direction for transport over the next two decades so I would encourage people to take this opportunity to contribute their views.”

Plans for Dudley, which were exhibited to the public on Monday evening, include a new rapid transit link between the town, Brierley Hill and Wednesbury connecting to an existing Metro tram line to Birmingham and improvements to motorway junctions at the M5 and M6.

Elsewhere, residents of both Sandwell and Wolverhampton could soon see development of a ‘Sprint’ rapid transit system, which is effectively a bus that operates in a similar manner to a tram.

Tonight’s exhibition in Coventry takes place in committee room one at Coventry Council House between 6 and 7pm.

Photo courtesy of Centro. It shows a bus rapid transit vehicle in Metz, France, which is indicative of what Sprint could look like in the West Midlands.