Friargate development

A footbridge was the last thing I expected to see in such an elaborate 'view' of a future plan of the city!!

There's little or no sense in having a main entrance on Warwick Road, so that passengers detraining at Coventry would have to climb up to Warwick Road, to then walk down to the level of the promenade into the city, when they can walk straight out at the platform level And where would public transport - buses, taxis - stand on Warwick Road? The station has a perfectly good main entrance where it is, to be enhanced by the redevelopment

What ideas do you have, then, for pedestrians to get from Spencer Park to Greyfriars Green?

I don't know - maybe they could hover! I wasn't saying that pedestrians couldn't/shouldn't/wouldn't walk from Spencer Park to Greyfriars Green. Which part of my response gave you that impression? I simply said, in the "futuristic" view provided in that image - I didn't expect to see a "simple" footbridge.

But for three of the four platforms you have to go up then go down again to get to the station entrance. For platforms 2, 3 and 4 it could actually be easier to provide a route at around the first floor level exiting onto Warwick Row around where the current steps are by the bridge (which would be around the same level)?

Isn't this just building a new entrance where there already is an entrance? It wouldn't be used for access to the city centre, but for the offices (And shops) both on the same side and on the other side of Warwick Road and access for people who live in the Earlsdon area - which is probably where commuters who use the trains to get to London will more than likely live. There are already bus stops there, and I see no reason for them to be removed.

Here is a masterplan for Coventry Station: Coventry Station masterplan - new bus hub/station and cycle facility on Warwick Road (Currently the entrance to Central Six) - new MSCP (Multi Storey Car Park) next to bus hub. - new station entrance on Warwick Road with office units above. - direct route to the station for 'drop off' from Warwick Road. - bigger platforms - more facilities (Such as retail) - new platforms for local trains Apparently the station was built for 7000 passengers a day, and now sees about 17000 a day, and this is predicted to go up. This looks pretty good and sensible - the station will not be hidden away and access will be easier.

To summarise, the existing main entrance would be redesigned for pedestrians/taxis/car drop-offs only. The existing stairway from Warwick Rd east side would close. There would be a new entrance from Warwick Rd west side via a ramp and subway with a bus hub and a multi-storey car park.

No, the new entrance ('Western Entrance') is where the current staircase is on the East side of Warwick Road. This will be a new building with ticket facilities and barriers plus a new bridge across the platforms - which are going to be extended. There will also be typical station retail here, such as small supermarket, WH Smiths, cafe, etc. The current route under the bridge is going to be widened and will lead to the MSP and a new 'platform 5' for local trains.

Thanks for the link to the Coventry Station Plan, flapdoodle. It's very interesting. I just wonder if their projected passenger figures will ever become a reality. But, projections are always the planners dilemma. Will commuting to work continue to grow at its current rate? If the planner reduces the figure then in 30 years time he will be considered to have been short-sighted, and operating only in the short term. If he plans on the projected figures and they don't materialise then his ideas will be regarded as fanciful, and a bit of a pipe-dream. Whichever way he jumps he will be criticised. In 1975 I commuted from Cannon Park to Hammersmith in West London on a daily basis using the train between Coventry and Euston. They were long and tiring days. It seemed I made the 220 mile round trip merely to sleep at home. I was not fit to do much at either end of the journey. With the explosion of property prices in London then perhaps Coventry could become a city within London's commuter belt with the need for cultural activities in the city centre at the weekends.

Hi Pixrobin, Yes, it's all interesting. There's been an explosion of train use in recent years due to the investment of the past few years - whether or not this continues upwards is anyone's guess. The train journey from London to Coventry is now effectively 'high speed', and takes around 55 minutes, but then you have to get to where you want to go, which means using the City's underground/overground. My wife used to commute to London to do a course before the train times were improved and she found it a tiring experience. Having said that, I've got a friend who lives in Greater London who says it's probably quicker to commute from Coventry to central London than it is from some parts of Greater London. I've read another report recently in which Coventry is seen as being the 'next' place to benefit from the London effect. As capacity for growth in Milton Keynes and the M42 corridor is limited, the next place out is Coventry, and it has good links. For this reason the city is expected to see 'south eastern' growth figures... So maybe this is why the growth in rail is expected. I wonder if interesting times are ahead. The attempts to regenerate the city centre over the years - from the 1960s onwards - have been disappointing, maybe the time wasn't right.

I stand corrected, It appeared from the plans that the new building was at level 0, the subway level, whereas the artists impression on P29 does indeed show an entrance at street level on a higher storey. Page 39 though seems to imply that the subway would be complete by March next year whereas the new entrance would be by/in 2019. And it is also mentioned that for the subway to be wide enough it would need to replace the steps?

It seems to me that much depends on the HS2, and I did hear at one time that Coventry may not even be on the track. There also appears to be a lot of resistance to HS2.. LINK. I am looking at a 'Network Rail' PDF document which seems to think that the future plans, presumably HS2, will free up 'existing track' time and allow better commuting to B'ham, the favourite destination for commuting Coventrians. Whatever happens, I guess that it would be nice to get a new station..

Seems someone has finally agreed with me.

Coventry isn't going to be on HS2, then again, very few cities are going to be on the line. In the East Midlands there's a 'hub' so you'll have to travel considerable distances from Leicester/Derby/Nottingham to get it. Sheffield is going to have an 'out of town' station. I read somewhere that high speed trains really require 200 miles between cities to be worth it, but in the UK major settlements are barely 50 miles apart. HS2 will free up Milton Keynes and allow more frequent and larger trains to London. The whole thing is about London, despite what politicians say. I don't think Coventry is in the 'Travel to work area' for Birmingham, hence why it isn't being drawn into this 'Greater Brum' thing. The last statistics I saw showed a fairly small number of commuters to Birmingham.