PapierMache

You’re damn right I have an attitude of entitlement. I pay an awful lot of personal tax, council tax and business rates. And I EXPECT to see something in return for that. And not just things for the benefit of other people. And not just things that councillors deem to be right for me. I expect to them to provide what the public actually wants. And this is one of those things. As provided in so many other cities in the UK. And as it has worked before, and it has been paid for before (by us) so we are entitled to it. Local government may not be legally obliged to provide very much. But the basis and formation of local government is to manage and provide services to the people who pay for them. Services that the people want. And this is one of those things. However what we tend to find with local government, as demonstrated by your attitude, is that the tax payer is seen as a hindrance. An annoyance. “How dare they actual think they’re entitled to ANYTHING from us, just because they actually work and pay for it??????” The failure to provide this once operational service that has been lost for almost two years due to a single point of failure is pathetic. No amount of excuses about the way contracts work justifies that amount of time. It’s poor management and just another in a long list of two finger salutes to the tax payer.

Did you really just say Paying your taxes generally allows you to escape being prosecuted for failing to pay them, but that's about it. This sums up, for me, the attitude that I've seen so often in the public sector that makes so many people angry. I've met teachers who think that schools are actually there to employ teachers, not to teach children. And I've seen similar things in the NHS. While most in these professions are decent people, every now and again we get people like you with your 'how dare you expect ANYTHING from us' attitude. Those camera images are there for the safety and convenience of the public. That's what we pay for. That's what we EXPECT. That's what every other city provides. Two years to resolve, what in technology terms is a simple portal IS PATHETIC. Especially when we've been told so many time that it is due to be resolved 'soon'. And especially when the council admit themselves that it is of such value to the public. And your final attempt to actually divert criticism away from the council for not actually providing services that we pay for just sums up your two finger salute to Joe Public.

Planner1, with all due respect, I have owned and run my own software company from the centre of Sheffield for over 20 years, employing many developers, working in many sectors, including local and central government. I am very hands on with all the projects my company runs, so I understand the processes and technologies. While I accept that some things that are done in local and central government are unacceptably over complicated and unduly drawn out for no reason than to justify some very inept peoples jobs, I don't accept the complications that feasibly could be associated with this type of work taking two years to resolve. Certainly not form a technology perspective. Only if there are politics at play. And we, the tax payer, don't pay the council, the tax payers servants, to play politics with our money, our convenience, or our safety.

This has been on going for nearly two years. I refer to the quote I received last September: "Just thought I'd give you an update on the traffic cameras, we're currently running about 2 weeks behind in our project pipeline. We're aiming to start integration with the website around the 1st week in October. We are starting on the design phase next week so you should have some page designs to sign off shortly." Working in IT, I understand that things can be complex. But not so complex that it takes years to replace a server and build a web portal for something as simple a streaming content from a different feed. I know. I once developed something myself. In a matter of days. Everything stated by the council so far has been non committal and evasive. As usual. Every target has been missed. As usual.

Absolutely

Whether it is or it isn't doesn't really matter - the council, as noted in the responses I've had, recognise the importance of this service that is provided to local tax payers through their taxation, recognise the impact it has on peoples safety, and on local businesses, yet choose to treat it, and its users, with apathetic disdain. If they are going to provide it, then get on with providing it.

The council have a very large pot each year. A lot of it funded by road users. And some funded by central government that comes from road tax. All other major cities in the uk have public traffic cameras. Once again we're a million miles behind.

The traffic camera site shows the last images as 4 April. This was 4 April 2016. It's been almost 2 years now. I first logged an issue with this with the council in September 2016. I received a reply from a Ms ******** on 13 October 2016 to say the system was 'in the process of being replaced'. I asked what timescales existed on the project but my enquiry was ignored. I sent a further enquiry on 5 January 2017. I received a response on 23 March from a Mr *****. He said 'Unfortunately I am not able to give you a date as to when the CCTV images will go live. All I can say is that the camera server itself is still in the process of being upgraded, and until this upgrade is completed, we don't have the ability to share these images with the public.'. I enquired again on 31 August 2017, and was told, by Mr ***** (on 26 September 2017) that his colleague had said "" Just thought I'd give you an update on the traffic cameras, we're currently running about 2 weeks behind in our project pipeline. We're aiming to start integration with the website around the 1st week in October. We are starting on the design phase next week so you should have some page designs to sign off shortly." He also added "My understanding is that this will be resolved prior to Christmas, in time for potentially hazardous conditions where members of the public make use of the CCTV images". After the bad weather around Christmas, I sent Mr ***** a request for further information (on 3 January) and received this reply: Good morning Mr XXXXXX I have tried to chase up an answer to your query regarding the publishing of the CCTV images. Unfortunately, I still cannot give you an exact date as to when the images will go live again. We acknowledge that this service has always been an important one for commuters, further evidenced by the levels of correspondence we have received from many people since the images have not been provided. During this period since the images have not been live, continual dialogue and work has taken place behind the scenes to facilitate provision of the CCTV images, and I am confident we are not a million miles away from a solution in that respect. I do appreciate your frustration at this not being resolved. The access to these images are of great benefit to many people, especially on mornings like this one where the inclement weather takes hold, and access to these web images are vital for commuters to be able to make decisions as to whether to travel to work, or work from home for example. I know this answer is not good enough, it states the obvious and it does not answer your question regarding this matter, but for the time being I don't have a definitive answer to provide. All I can confirm is that when I am aware of any progress on this, I will be sure to inform you of this, and especially when this has been resolved. Apologies again, and if you have any further comments or questions, please contact me and I will try and assist as best as I can. Thanks So, to summarise: 1. It's been down nearly 2 years 2. It's simply a server replacement 3. It's the only on line traffic information we have in Sheffield 4. There's been a catalogue of failings in simply replacing the server in question 5. It's obviously a very low priority for Sheffield council 6. It's an embarrassment to the City and to the council 7. The council know it is important at times of bad weather - they acknowledge this, yet refuse to prioritise public safety. Another attempt to force car drivers off the road perhaps?