Oh my life, i've wanted to whine about this for such a long time now but i can never find the right place or the people to do it. Yes Yes....... i am on about the state of sheffield's lovely roads.

I am as accepting as the next person when it comes down to reasoning with fiscal restrictions - but it has got to a stage where something really needs to be done about it.

I have a car as i am sure most of you do too ----- but my car needs more repairs than your average four-wheeler. Why?? Because i live in Sheffield.

I travel about to various cities in the country and although i try to credit Sheffield for as much as possible - i dont have anything nice to say about the roads. They are worn, torn, bumpy, holey, and bloody dangerous to boot.

I live on Psalter Lane and as you approach from city end just up by Psalter Tavern, there is a raised bit of tarmac you need to negotiate to avoid flying into oncoming traffic --- not the mention the subsequent adverse camber which follows immediately after it. I love the history of old cobbled streets but the one down from Hunter House Road has not been resurfaced for so long, you can see the cobbles underneath and its like going back in time.

The bypass up to St Mary's Roundabout is interesting - as you approach it from shoreham st - dont be in the middle lane coming up to Bramall Lane as the car has trouble deciding which lane to choose when you hit the trench that is the middle lane. The approach from Ponds Forge to train station is also a classic example - no indicator to decide whether left or right lane has right of way in choosing the middle lane at Sheaf Square.

All i can say is thank goodness they sorted out the rough surface on the parkway city bound - it was getting so dangerous going along there that i started driving into the city from J34 instead just to avoid killing myself by bouncing into rotherham bound traffic


Now maybe im just being mardy but when we are spending X numbers of millions of pounds repaving the likes of Devonshire St and the bit outside of Winter Gardens - surely they could invest a little in at least fixing the roads to a urban standard - after all do we really live in a 3rd world african village????

No vote needed - cos its a poor excuse to validate my annoyance.... however your views appreciated!!!:x

Agreed mate.

I'm even thinking about sending the council my bill for having my wheels tracked and the new tyres I needed. All because the roads are such s*** in Sheffield.

I agree with your comments about the state of our roads in Sheffield. I too used to get fed up with the tracking etc on my car getting a beating cos of the holes and trenches, but I was relieved to see that it's not only a Sheffield problem. Many other areas in South Yorkshire and further afield have also got road surfaces that resemble an off road track. Maybe the highway's agency should dig in their pockets some more and award councils with more funds to correct roads that have been left to ruin.

As for Division Street, I'd rather take my chances and walk on the road as the newly laid path is totally shoddy, very uneven, and totally dangerous.

I think a poll would be in order. Something like:

In order to improve road services in Sheffield should we

Close schools one day a week
Shut down several libraries
Reduce the number of house calls made by social services
Sell off more parks/school playgrounds
Reduce, if possible, maintenance of council buildings

You, the people decide.

Originally posted by max
I think a poll would be in order. Something like:

In order to improve road services in Sheffield should we

Close schools one day a week
Shut down several libraries
Reduce the number of house calls made by social services
Sell off more parks/school playgrounds
Reduce, if possible, maintenance of council buildings

You, the people decide.

You forgot : spending some of the money motoriists pay in road tax and on every litre of petrol they buy.

I don't know what they do spend it on but I can't belive it's on the roads.

Nomme

When a friend of mine came over from Holland a couple of years ago he said our roads were worse than Poland's!

Originally posted by max
I think a poll would be in order. Something like:

In order to improve road services in Sheffield should we

Close schools one day a week
Shut down several libraries
Reduce the number of house calls made by social services
Sell off more parks/school playgrounds
Reduce, if possible, maintenance of council buildings

You, the people decide.

But wasn't part of the council tax increase last year earmarked to improve the state of the roads?

The thing with the road/fuel tax argument is it all goes to central government, yet the council has to cough up to maintain local roads!

If we are talking about cuts somewhere else how about a ban on SYPTE's harebrained schemes such as mini interchanges et all.

As a public transport user living in S17, I get the 25A bus from Bradway to town, or the train from Dore, either way I do not benefit from these schemes, and neither service is subsidised. The only benefits from SYPTE I get is timetable information and ticketing schemes.

If money was diverted from pointless pet projects into road and bus stop maintenence, I would enjoy a much smoother bus ride!

Originally posted by max
I think a poll would be in order. Something like:

In order to improve road services in Sheffield should we

Close schools one day a week
Shut down several libraries
Reduce the number of house calls made by social services
Sell off more parks/school playgrounds
Reduce, if possible, maintenance of council buildings

You, the people decide.

Tosh! Have neighbouring authorities done any of the above to pay for roads. IMO Sheffield roads are the worst in Britain.

Originally posted by Mo
IMO Sheffield roads are the worst in Britain.

They are certainly the worst i have experienced. Also the traffic planning is about the worst i have experienced as well.

But Sheffield has had tougher problems than most cities. Two of it's industries being decimated. We really are only seeing the other major cities regenerate in the last decade. So i guess we must give Sheffield a little longer to get it's act together. It hasn't had the Banking sector Leeds has had, or the fashion of Birmingham to rely on.

I totally agree - Sheffield roads must be the worst!
I find the best time to drive on these roads is the middle of winter when the pot holes are filled with Ice - lovley and smooth and bump free!

Until you do a 180 and hit the curb!

Originally posted by max
I think a poll would be in order. Something like:

In order to improve road services in Sheffield should we

Close schools one day a week
Shut down several libraries
Reduce the number of house calls made by social services
Sell off more parks/school playgrounds
Reduce, if possible, maintenance of council buildings

You, the people decide.

Well apart from the first, they seem to be doing those anyway. Maybe elect people who know about finances?

They are indeed bad i feel so sorry for my cars little tyres when i hear them scraping against bumps in the roads.
I was parked on a road the other day which had a steepish gradient downwards and i was in a tight spot with a car in front and a car behind. When trying to get out of this space I took my hand brake off and took my foot off the footbreak (yea i did have it in reverse before you start with the woman driver jokes) and it didnt move back much to my surprise. I got out to check if there was anything blocking my wheels (I was scared thered be a dead animal under there or something) but there wasnt it was just a bloody great pothole which i didnt notice when i got there. I think it must have sprung up spontaneously whilst i was out of the car. I had to apply the accelerator fairly hard to move downwards on this fairly steep downwards gradient and thank god didnt bump into the car behind.

Rotherhams roads are far better.

oh my life!!! really i can hear you saying that chalice you old git

Back me up here funky fish

I know that because you have to drive to another city in South Yorkshire every morning - you must experience the same problems with the roads as i do on a day-to-day basis, i can even think of a road that is literally yards away from your place that has some of the worst potholes i have ever seen in Sheffield. Its no good some fat sod from the council coming around in his beaten up van spraying yellow circles on the tarmac, in the hope that the holes will magically mend themselves.

This is a job for the scarborough sandpit brigade - we'll all go scarborough in convoy - fill up our car boots with sand and then fill the holes up ourselves. Then i can place makeshift flags into each cavity - as a warning to any drivers who venture out.

What amazes me about our roads is the fact that the bus lanes are always nice and smooth. Anyone else noticed this?
:loopy:

What amazes me about our roads is the fact that the bus lanes are always nice and smooth. Anyone else noticed this?
:loopy: Is it only the bus/taxi passengers who pay for road maintenance, and if so where does my extortionate road tax & petrol tax go?

Max makes the point that some other public service would suffer i.e. libraries or schools, but if the city cant afford to repair the roads where does the money come from for the idiotic so called traffic calming measures ? i.e. Millhouses and Crookes main road.
Surely road safety would be much improved by better surfaces which ,as a biker I am very aware of. I think too much of the council tax goes on lefty crap like refuges for abandoned lesbian whales or other nonsense.

8) Nah Den Ace.........

Originally posted by billyblade
I think too much of the council tax goes on lefty crap like refuges for abandoned lesbian whales or other nonsense.

Don't you think that abandoned lesbian whales have as much of a right to a roof over their heads as anybody else?

Equal rights for abandoned lesbian whales!

Regards,

Spacehopper.

No they dont deserve a roof over their heads, just been to Iceland and theyve got them on the menu along with dolphin,puffin etc. harpoon em all I say Ace.

(before I get the loony left all stamping their red shoes in unison, this is meant to be tongue in cheek)

Bill, animal lover.......hmmm that could be taken two ways:D

8) Nah Den Ace......

Originally posted by billyblade
(before I get the loony left all stamping their red shoes in unison, this is meant to be tongue in cheek)

Have not the "Loony Left" as much right as anybody else to stamp their (comfortable) red shoes in unison?

(Before I get all the neo-nazis stomping their jack boots in unison, this is meant to be tongue in cheek........;) )

Regards,

Spacehopper.

Spacehopper,
Is Wooduss somewhere near baaarnsleey cos Ive never eard Woodhouse pronounced like that in Sheffield, more like wud ous (lived for a while in nearby andsworth). The Wooduss could be near Cuduth (Cudworth) or dodoth (Dodworth) or I think there maybe even a Woodhouse in Doncaster.
Or are you from Dingle land

Keep eating the lentils

Bill

8) Nah Den Ace.......

Originally posted by billyblunt
Spacehopper,
Is Wooduss somewhere near baaarnsleey cos Ive never eard Woodhouse pronounced like that in Sheffield, more like wud ous (lived for a while in nearby andsworth). The Wooduss could be near Cuduth (Cudworth) or dodoth (Dodworth) or I think there maybe even a Woodhouse in Doncaster.
Or are you from Dingle land

Keep eating the lentils

Bill

Gi'orr wi'dee, daft un'!

Wooduss is just up from Normanton Spring; granted not many people under 60 still call it "Wooduss" these days, most people say "wud ous". The same as not many people say "a'do!" anymore; it's all your new fangled "orreight!"

I just like these traditional pronounciations, such as Grenill (Greenhill), Beechif (Beauchief), Sue-ter (Sothall), etc.

I'll sithi!

Regards,

Spacehopper.