A CITY centre road that has been shut for two years was re-opened at the weekend to the delight of traders in the area.
After a lengthy campaign by retailers in the Lower Precinct, City Arcade and Coventry Market, the city council has re-opened Croft Road’s junction with Queen Victoria Road.
The junction next to Ikea was closed to traffic, except buses and taxis, when the Swedish furniture giant moved in.
The intention was to divert all traffic apart from Ikea customers to the next junction of the ring road amid fears there could be traffic chaos with scores of customers visiting the store.
But traders and shoppers who signed a petition for the road to be re-opened said that its closure cut off the south part of the city centre to traffic and damaged trade.
Shop owners are now happy about the decision.
Kewal Talwadia, joint partner of natural health shop Drop In The Ocean, in the City Arcade, said: “This is a positive step and I thank the council for re-opening the road.
“When it closed two years ago we definitely noticed fewer numbers of people coming through but hopefully this will increase footfall again.”
Jackie Logan, manager of Silver Glade jewellery store in the City Arcade, added: “This will help get people into this area of the city centre. We needed to get the traffic flowing to this part and get some life back.”
The petition, which will be considered at a council meeting in the new year, also calls for other measures to help reverse a decline in business, including a circulatory bus route in the city centre.
Councillor Gary Ridley, cabinet member for city development, said the opening of Ikea had not generated the high levels of traffic predicted or led to tailbacks on the ring road and Allesley Old Road.
He said.: “There hasn’t been the level of traffic we initially expected and so we’ve decided to re-open Croft Road again.
“It won’t take long to change road markings and signs, so hopefully footfall will increase.”
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