This afternoon, Sheffield City Council is proposing to create a "Gold Route" from Broomhill to the University Roundabout.
This will remove most of the on-street parking, and create a new 24 hr bus lane.
Full details can be viewed here (http://www.sheffield.gov.uk/your-city-council/council-meetings/planning-boards/south/agenda-24-november-2003/plan-4-western-bank).
Is this a good thing to keep the CIty moving?

Just a brief read of the document shows that a lot of work has gone into this. The main thing I noticed is that there will be no immediate reduction in parking until HUMUS have identified alternatives.

This has been a long time coming, imo, as any major congestion at the Brookhill r'about seems to bring the whole of the north and west of the city to a standstill.

Are there 24 hour buses to warrant a 24 hour bus lane?

These changes would cause major problems for parents who have to use the Childrens Hospital.

Something desperately needs to be done about the parking problems at the hospital.

One of the ideas is a park and ride. I have a child who has been a regular in-patient at the hospital and a park and ride is not an option. If you have one child in hospital and another at school public transport is too unreliable to organise being with the ill child as much as possible and organise school pickup etc.

As the hospital is a regional centre it is very difficult for parents of kids who are not local to do without a car. They also have the added problems of not knowing the area well enough to know where they are likely to find parking.

There is a car park at the hospital which is always full as the number of spaces is totally inadequate for the number of patients at the hospital.

Another problem is the cost of parking. If they find space for a car park the charges add to an already expensive time of having a child in the hospital.

To be honset I've been quite impressed by the level of consultation and information regarding these changes.

Lots of info here about the S10 plans,
as well as plans for Sheaf Valley & Woodseats :

http://www.citymatters.co.uk/

Nomme

Originally posted by Marber
These changes would cause major problems for parents who have to use the Childrens Hospital.

I totally agree. My son has regular appointments there, and it's almost impossible to park near the hospital as it is.

We're lucky, because we can if necessary get a bus to near the hospital, but that's only any good if your child is well enough to use the bus.

Yeah at last! They have seen sense! I personally can't understand why they ever let people park on the "fly over" which divides the Union building and Firth Hall. It always leads to chaos as those drivers wanting to turn left have to spend half their time in the right lane avoiding parked cars.

Having said that: the fly over part is the only bit that really needs changing and I don't agree/like 24 bus lanes. The road near the Wicker which brings you back from Meadowhall has a bus lane and it's a real pain as often the queues are huge but the bus lane is empty... :(

A 24 hour bus lane? Absurd, and entirely unnecessary.

So, what's happening with this scheme then?

The Sheffield.gov website is down at the moment but I seem to remember the plans saying it would start in the new year.

I believe one of the first tasks was to relocate the hospital entrance from the main road to the side road which quite obviously hasn't happened yet.

Anybody got anymore info?

Wow, another bus lane that'll sit empty for 23 and a half hours a the day while us car drivers who *pay* for the roads sit in ridiculous traffic to get to work.

The council really haven't done their homework on this one and as usual the half-empty, overpriced, unreliable busses have won. This seems to be the council's and the "greenies" answer to all traffic problems in the city. But what about the people can't use busses as their job means they have to travel. In a car (before you start). Remember: not everybody lives and works within one bus journey of town.

So what about us then? We've just got to wait.

That's absolute rubbish! Sort it out, Sheffield!

Originally posted by alchresearch
Are there 24 hour buses to warrant a 24 hour bus lane?

No.

The last buses at night are usually about half 11, and don't start again till the next morning about half 6.

Isn't the number 52 from town centre to Hillsborough via Broomhill still 24 hours?

Originally posted by daver
Wow, another bus lane that'll sit empty for 23 and a half hours a the day while us car drivers who *pay* for the roads sit in ridiculous traffic to get to work.

Sorry mate, it's a myth that car drivers pay their way.

The money you pay in tax does not cover the full costs of motoring. The annual marginal costs of road transport (including air pollution, global warming, congestion,accidents and road damage) have been calculated by Government economic advisors at between£45.9 - £52.9 billion, compared with road tax revenue of £16.4 billion. (Source: Maddison, Pearce et al 'Blueprint 5: the true costs of road transport')

Fuel tax raises about another £24bn

The country as a whole subsidises the remaining £15-£22bn

Lots of people trying to get to much the same place at much the same time, and doing so with one person per car is a hugely inefficient use of the roads. The route in question - City centre to Broomhill - has very high bus occupancy rates. A bus with five or more passengers makes more efficient use of road space than cars with just one person. Which has the greater moral right to use the space?

Originally posted by garrence
. Which has the greater moral right to use the space?

The car.

Originally posted by t020
The car.

Because?

Originally posted by t020
The car.
Thanks, t. You troll :D

It just occurred to me that the route is an important route for emergency vehicles, particularly the Hallamshire's ambulances of course. This has gotta be good for them, decreasing response times, saving lives etc.

Why 24 hours? Maybe the planners experience of these things is that there's always a couple who park at night then forget to shift their vehicle by the next day? Sure slap a ticket on them, but they're still in the way.

I just looked at the map on the CityMatters website. It looks like the 24-hour bus lane is only a small stretch directly outside the main university buildings. It's 24-hours because there are special bus traffic lights, like on the Wicker.

There is a 12-hour bus lane up to the hospitals.

The rest of the way to Broomhill will just be double-yellows.

Originally posted by garrence
Why 24 hours? Maybe the planners experience of these things is that there's always a couple who park at night then forget to shift their vehicle by the next day? Sure slap a ticket on them, but they're still in the way.

Why don't we tow away obstucting vehicles like they do in lots of other cities?

I think the new bus lane cameras will deal with most of the major offenders. It'll only take a few tickets before they stop, but that's a different thread...

thats why i bought a bike, the risks of surviving an accident are much reduced say to driving a car but I dont have enough time on this planet to wait for the highways dept to come up with a solution that pleases every road user.

why a 24 h bus lane when a 24h all traffic urban clearway would be much more appropriate...

People should park their cars in their own driveways not on the roads. If they don't have drives they should rent a garage. Parked cars on roads are a nusence to drivers and hold up traffic flow.

Originally posted by garrence
Lots of people trying to get to much the same place at much the same time, and doing so with one person per car is a hugely inefficient use of the roads

This would be great if they were all trying to come from the same place, unfortunately they aren't.

I think, when you consider the state of traffic in the south round to the west in sheffield, then a drastic measure has to be taken. Either a tram line or maybe, dare i say it, build a urban highway, just two lanes, or maybe a double lane one way street, one going each way, something to get people from the south west of the sheffield to the city centre.
except, big roads aren't really a very good idea and io'm not sure if the tram will be popular enough...