Tram needed in south sheffield?

[Vasquez Rich 10]

The Herdings Spur should have gone all the way to at least the top of the bypass from Chesterfield, add a massive park and ride there and the traffic down the Chesterfield/Dronfield/Woodseats route would be greatly reduced. Trouble is, road planners who sorted out the tram routes didn't understand traffic flow and destinations certainly along the whole south of the city... and before anyone says I don't know about that.. I lived on Ridgeway Road while the tramway was planned and built I was witness to the ignorance of, and unwillingness to consider, the opinions and data from the locals.

 

Richard

[geared 319]

The last time SYPTE made an application for a tram extension was in the early 2000's. They were told it didn't offer good enough value for money.

 

That was 15 years ago, are they not going to try ever again??

 

 

Do we think a Workplace Parking Levy is the solution here?

 

We should have put some kind of levy in ages ago, that was short sightedness of those in charge back then though.

 

I'm not saying that it would have funded the entire project, but having percentage to put towards the costs already would surely make any application look alot better??

[1978 14]

The Herdings Spur should have gone all the way to at least the top of the bypass from Chesterfield, add a massive park and ride there and the traffic down the Chesterfield/Dronfield/Woodseats route would be greatly reduced. Trouble is, road planners who sorted out the tram routes didn't understand traffic flow and destinations certainly along the whole south of the city... and before anyone says I don't know about that.. I lived on Ridgeway Road while the tramway was planned and built I was witness to the ignorance of, and unwillingness to consider, the opinions and data from the locals.

 

Richard

 

It currenty takes about 25 minutes by tram from the Cathedral to Herdings, so we can assume that extending it to Meadowhead would add at least another 5 minutes, possibly 10, depending on the route. It runs every 30 minutes at present.

 

There are many bus routes converging on Meadowhead to run into town, the majority timed to take about 35 minutes. Clearly congestion is an issue, but normally a wait of no more than 5 minutes for a bus should be experienced.

 

Unless the frequency of the tram were increased to every 10 minutes there'd be no advantage in taking that long way round, apart from comfort of the ride.

 

However, the number of bus routes currently running down Chesterfield Road certainly do suggest a direct tram into town would work - but how would it be squeezed in? My previously suggested Metro underground solution could cut the journey time to town to 15 minutes, but at a high cost!

 

The future means using the ground below our feet. It's hardly rocket science. Mining is something we were once good at, tunnelling too. We built the 3.5 mile Totley Tunnel 130 years ago. They're building Crossrail in London now and under the North Yorkshire Moors a 36.7km long tunnel for potash is being built.

 

Think big - but a tunnel from Meadowhead beneath the city isn't all that big by modern standards. Lets go for exits at Ponds Forge, Gibraltar Street and Broomhill with an interchange near the Cathedral. Clear the city streets of trams and get them underground through the centre.

 

Ah, must have been dreaming again, go back to sleep. It won't happen here.

[Planner1 438]

That was 15 years ago, are they not going to try ever again??

The business case didn't stack up then. What's changed?

 

Costs are now higher, so it will be even harder to make the numbers add up.

 

SCC are certainly interested in tram extensions, but the political situation with Sheffield City Region won't be helping. The lack of a devolution deal also means there's less money fro transport schemes available locally.

 

Leeds have tried to get trams and couldn't make the business case add up, they looked at the cheaper alternative, trolleybuses and that didn't work either.

 

Outlook doesn't look great unless they can raise a good slice of the cost locally.

 

---------- Post added 11-11-2017 at 17:44 ----------

 

We should have put some kind of levy in ages ago, that was short sightedness of those in charge back then though.

 

I'm not saying that it would have funded the entire project, but having percentage to put towards the costs already would surely make any application look alot better??

The was a firm view from politicians that the city's economy was not strong enough to support something like a congestion charge.

 

Manchester tried to introduce one but the public voted against it.

 

I'd think a workplace parking levy might have potential.

[Andy C 86]

I'm sure it would be quite feasible extending the tramway from Herdings to fairly close to Meadowhead roundabout on reserved track within the footprint of the current dual carriageway. The budget for the construction of the extension would also include additional tram vehicles so it would also be quite feasible to increase the frequency of the Purple route service up from every 30 minutes to every 10 minutes like the Yellow and Blue routes.

 

The big question is what would the tram do at Bochum Parkway? Swing off down to Jordanthorpe/Batemoor or tunnel under Meadowhead roundabout (similar to at University of Sheffield) and continue towards Lowedges/Greenhill/Bradway?

 

Then there is of course the question of funding, potential patronage and whether they could build a park & ride car park somewhere in the area. There may also be objection from local residents if they didn't agree with the design.

 

Another potential new tram line on the South side of the City would be a tram-train scheme with trams running on the main railway line as far as somewhere in the Millhouses area (ideally beyond where traffic congestion regularly occurs) before branching off onto street tramway to Totley and Totley Brook.

 

Personally I think a much easier win for the S17 area would be to improve the frequency of train services at Dore & Totley Station - which can get you into town in less than 10 minutes - and improve the local bus network to provide frequent buses feeding into trains at Dore & Totley station from places like Dore and Bradway, possibly also Lowedges or Dronfield Woodhouse.

 

A bus-train combo could see you get from Bradway to Sheffield Midland in about 25 minutes, including 5-10 minute connection time at Dore & Totley, this compares well with the number 25 bus which is scheduled at around 40 minutes into town and is also faster than a potential tram service via Meadowhead/Gleadless. It would also be reliably fast as the train isn't subject to road traffic.

[RickM 10]

They need to sort out some better trams before they think about extending it. Have you ridden the new ones? They're bloody awful, all the driver has to do is touch the brakes and it skids to a stop, plus they have no suspension at all, which must make them a complete roller coaster when they switch over to the main train lines.

 

Given they wont pay out for decent trams I cant see them spending a penny on extending the lines.