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Parking enforcement around Sheffield

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I used to work for Sheffield Council up to a couple of weeks ago. I was a transport planner and was the Council's lead officer for residents parking schemes and many others.

 

I'd say that parking is becoming a national issue, it's not just in Sheffield. A great deal of the housing stock is quite old and has no off street parking. Car ownership is rising, so parking is becoming an issue all over the city. when there weren't as many cars, people would generally observe the guidance in the highway code about not parking within 10m of a junction, obstructing people's accesses / driveways etc. As competition for spaces increases, so people begin to park in places they really shouldn't.

 

The Council gets HUGE numbers of complaints about bad parking and requests for residents parking schemes, more waiting restrictions, better enforcement etc. It isn't just a few complaints.

 

It's easy to say build more car parks. There are a couple of problems with that. Where do we build them and how do we pay for it? City centre development sites are worth huge amounts and people want to build offices and flats on them because that is what makes them money. The Council doesn't own these sites and doesn't have the money to buy them and build car parks on them. Wherever possible, when a site is cleared pending a development, the Council rents it form the developer for use as a car park until the site is required. Many of the surface level car parks in the city centre are in this category.

 

It is very difficult to find sites for car parks in residential areas, the Council does what it can with the sites it owns (they are converting a disused depot on Speooner Road, Broomhill into a small car park), but here aren't many people who want the Council to demolish their houses so they can build car parks!

 

The Council are introducing residents parking schemes in a circle around the city centre to form a peripheral parking zone (PPZ). This is in an effort to combat the effects of commuter parking by limiting the availability of free all-day parking spaces. The permit schemes give back priority to residents who are suffering great difficulties at the moment. Doing this can also be beneficial for local shops and businesses as short stay parking bays are introduced, with pay & display to encourage turnover of spaces and help with enforcement.

 

The recently introduced scheme in Broomhill appears to be working well, there are now spaces available for residents and visitors and I've seen a couple of reports from traders saying they are finding business is better as their customers can now find somewhere to park, where before, they struggled to find parking space.

 

I can honestly say that in introducing these schemes, making money out of parking fines was never considered as a motivating factor. The Council are trying ther best to respond to local needs and cut congestion by encouraging commuters to come by more sustainable means.

 

When introducing area wide schemes the Council will bring the waiting restrictions up to current standards and stop people parking where it is inappropriate to do so. Parking at junctions causes danger for all road users and restricts the ability of larger vehicles to enter some roads. As I said, the Council gets huge numbers of complaints about inappropriate parking, but the only way they can do anything about it is if there is a waiting restriction.

 

Thankyou for the very informative post, I can appreciate that when you have worked for a said "company" you know all the facts and it can be difficult for an onlooker to grasp these. Thanks for laying it out to me but I'm stuggling to see the general increase in petty ticketing .... as I see it, I'll read it again when I am sober and will probable understand more then.

 

Thanks,

Gary.

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I don't know the location, you'll have to be more specific. Which roads?

 

Just below west bar police station there is the small round about... this follows into sheffield down the side of the crown court and towards park square roundabout. The other side goes into Hillsborugh towards the long stretch towards the college where the most disruption is. This peice of road has been in the air for at least 11 months now and does cause quite a lot of congestion during rush hour. Its the roundabout near the corporation night club ... I think! .. Near the new Business "Velocity" Sheffield building.

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Well I think it's time those nasty wardens got off motorists backs. Every motorist I've ever talked to...

"Was only there 30 seconds" or

"I was only overhanging the double-yellows by half an inch" or

"I didn't notice the (ten metre long) bust stop, yellow lines" etc. etc. etc.

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Just below west bar police station there is the small round about... this follows into sheffield down the side of the crown court and towards park square roundabout. The other side goes into Hillsborugh towards the long stretch towards the college where the most disruption is. This peice of road has been in the air for at least 11 months now and does cause quite a lot of congestion during rush hour. Its the roundabout near the corporation night club ... I think! .. Near the new Business "Velocity" Sheffield building.

 

You're talking about the roadworks for the inner ring road. They are going to be going on for quite a lot longer, and there does/did seem to be an attempt to disrupt traffic as much as possible whilst very little work was done.

This seems to have changed recently and work is progressing, although the closure of roads and reduction to one lane in places does cause some problems.

I'm not quite sure if it's shalesmoor or corporation street that you think is the bigger problem.

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You're talking about the roadworks for the inner ring road. They are going to be going on for quite a lot longer

I heard the other day that it's due for completion in a month or so. Perhaps there is light at the end of this particularly frustrating tunnel. :)

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Update: Check out the Councils ring road website. There are a bunch of progress photos on there that are quite interesting (to somebody like me ;))

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The Ring Road won't help the flow of traffic a great deal.

 

Every motorist knows our council has an obsession with poorly programmed traffic lights and you'll not be able to travel 20 yards without encountering another set of lights.

 

(A fine example of incredibly poor programming can be seen at Somerfield Street/Ecclesall Road and the junction between Somerfield Street/Cemetery Road. These two sets of lights create a totally unncessary tailback (ie, a result for our car hating council).

 

As for the parking attendants, I actually support them. Along Barber Road (where I work) they give motorists a chance to move their vehicle before issuing them with a fine. What I did find strange was that their own vehicle parked on double yellow lines outside our shop on one occasion.

 

When I mentioned to the bloke at the wheel 'You can't park there, you're on double yellow lines', his rather strange answer was 'Well, where do you expect me to park!'

 

They're as lazy as the rest of us!

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Firstly no i don't have shares, my mum works as a parking attendants. and no i am not saying yea lets go fine everyone for stupid reasons.

If you are parked illegally then you are going to get fiend i mean come on lets face it.

Double yellow lines and certain times to park places and etc are there for a reason why can't you just stick to the rules??? What is the problem?

When you learn to drive you also learn where you can park and where you cannot park why don't you people do it now! I just don't understand what the fuss is about! If your girlfriend hadn't parked there in the first place then she wouldn't have got a ticket would she? there is a car park in hillsborough about 5/10 minutes walk from the college what is wrong with parking in there?

 

Yea sorry about the capitals i got a bit carried away lol :hihi:

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A question for Planner1 :

 

When are you going to start enforcing the double yellows at the top of London Road?

 

This is on the brow of a hill, with a staggered crossroads and a pelican crossing. I can hardly think of a worse place to park illegaly, yet the takeaway drivers seem to do it with impunity.

 

If you can't stop them parking, couldn't you at least ask your planning colleagues not to be so stupid as to allow people to operate a food delivery business from high street premises with no parking?

 

the attendants do try to enfoce these areas, but like i have said somewhere else, they drive off before the ticket is issued, then they will come back and be parked there again, it is just a viscious circle with these people! if you drive off before the ticket is issued then you have got away with it!

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kimmie - I agree, hun.

 

It's these inconsiderate buffoons who create gridlock with their parking, a consequence of their sheer laziness (or more likely, not knowing the Highway Code). Get 'em shifted and we can get on our way (although we still have to contend with traffic lights every 20 yards).

 

I just wish there were Bus Lane attendants, there to issue fines for plonkers who don't use bus lanes when you're actually allowed to (Crookesvalley Road, city bound, every Saturday morning. No cars parked yet every single car uses the middle lane).

 

After that, let's have Mobile Phone At The Wheel Attendants, but ensure the fine is more than the £30 fine issued for illegal parking. £500 would be a start.

 

Rant over (for now).

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I heard the other day that it's due for completion in a month or so. Perhaps there is light at the end of this particularly frustrating tunnel. :)

that would be good news, but it would be way ahead of schedule. The plan says 2.5 years from Nov 04, which would be roughly may 07 for completion on time.

 

Fingers x'd.

 

I think that the ring road could actually reduce congestion significantly, most people driving through town from parksquare to penistone road have no desire or need to actually be in the city, a bypass would be ideal for getting around the city.

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Ah, it may only be part of it then. The stretch from Shalesmoor to Corporation St looks nearly there but appearances can be deceptive on building sites.

 

A bit of digging around on the net gives us this:

 

Scheme Outline

Creation of a new dual two-lane route around the centre of Sheffield, partly on a new alignment and partly by widening existing roads. The new route is effectively an inner ring road, and is intended to largely replace the abandoned 1960s attempt at an inner ring that was disruptive and caused a great deal of severance. The new road is at-grade and features extensive landscaping.

 

Stage 1 of the new road has already been completed and current works (detailed on this page) comprise Stage 2.

 

An anonymous contributor informs us that the plan for completing each section is as follows:

 

May 2006: Russell Street to Corporation Street via part of the new Corporation Street Gyratory

September 2006: Shalesmoor roundabout; Shalesmoor (to Gibraltar Street) in both directions

February 2007: Corporation Street in both directions

July 2007: new links to Savile Street and Sheffield Parkway

 

Project Statistics

Cost £23m

Finance Sheffield City Council/Central Government

Estimated duration of works 2004-2007

Length of new road 1 mile

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