Get off your bike: why walking is the new cycling
Get off your bike: why walking is the new cycling
Plus, is Nether Edge really one of the best places to live in the North?
Good afternoon readers — and welcome to our Monday briefing.
Getting Sheffielders to walk more emerged as a major priority at a gathering of transport panjandrums earlier this month. The movers and shakers of our city’s transport system hope that using your own two feet (if you can) will be the obvious choice for all journeys under two kilometres, and believe they can make this happen by redesigning our neighbourhoods with pedestrians in mind. But why is encouraging people to walk so important, compared to other forms of active travel? And will it be popular among the vocal Sheffield cycling community? That’s the focus of our big story today.
As well as that, we have a nostalgic look back at the Green ‘Un, an exciting new exhibition at Site Gallery, and a Walkley home with stunning views over the Rivelin Valley.
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Catch up and coming up
In our weekend read, regular Tribune contributor David Bocking wrote a moving account of his experience of being a foster parent — and the problems that are driving other carers out of the system. You can read that piece here.
Last week we sent out two great newsletters to our 2,107 paying members. In the first, Dan attended a meeting of Politics in Pubs at the Red Lion, got into a heated debate with a conspiracy theorist and ended up having to rescue his notebook from the women’s toilets. And in the second, Victoria revealed the latest about the food hall Kommune, as the company goes into liquidation and a face from its early days swoops back in to rescue the business. An extract from that second piece is below.
On 28th February, the WhatsApp group chat for Kommune staff received a series of messages from their HR manager. She was technically not supposed to be working, given she’d just had a baby, but made an exception “to make sure everyone is informed and as stress-free as possible”. She told staff she wasn’t sure how much they “might have heard, or not have heard” but Kollider Social, the company that started Kommune, would be going into liquidation soon. “Tomorrow I will be sending out redundancy letters to everyone (including myself),” she added.
This week we’ll send out two more, including one of our popular writer’s editions from our investigations queen Victoria, and another about why Nether Edge has been named one of the best places to live in the North.
Editor’s note: People may call me biased, but I think last week’s stories were a brilliant example of the kind of range you can expect as a Tribune subscriber. From council coffers to foodhall farragos, we’ve got it covered. To fund a new way of doing journalism based on paying members rather than clickbait and stories about celebrities, please subscribe using the button below. It costs just £1.34 a week if you pay for 12 months up front (£70) — but be quick: prices will be going up to £89 a year on the 6th April, so the right time to lock in an incredible rate is now.
The big picture: Park (Hill) life 🏡
Another great photo by Sheffield snapper Emma Bothamley shows individual flats illuminated against the night sky at Park Hill (fortunately Dan’s flat is not visible). Work is due to start soon on Phase 4 of the long-running redevelopment and a planning application for the fifth and final stage is imminent.
This week’s weather 🌦
Our weather forecast comes from dedicated Sheffield weather service Steel City Skies, who say it will remain changeable with low pressure generally in control. Turning cooler by the weekend from the north.
Monday ⛅ Mostly dry and bright, with cloud variable and southwest winds light. Cloudier overnight with patchy rain. Highs a respectable 15°C.
Tuesday 🌦 Overnight rain clearing to bright spells and a few scattered sharp showers. Mild and breezy from the west with highs of 14°C.
Wednesday ☔️ A poor day with a warm front stuck over the country. A lot of cloud with outbreaks of rain or drizzle. Light winds and highs of 12°C.
Thursday ☁️ Rather cloudy throughout with limited brightness and a risk of patchy rain. Drier spells likely too. Turning windier from the southwest. Highs of 13°C.
Friday 🌦 Low pressure brings a turbulent mix of sunshine and showers with colder air wrapped up within. Windy from the west and feeling chilly with highs of 10°C.
Outlook: Winds turning more to the north as the low clears east. A bright, showery but cold weekend with temperatures struggling and the risk of frosts return.
To see the full forecast and keep up to date with any changes to the outlook, follow Steel City Skies on Facebook.
The big story: Why walking is the new cycling 🚶
Top line: We’ve seen the future, and it’s… walking. That was the message from the UK Walking Summit, recently held in Sheffield.
Time to chuck the bike in the skip? Not really, but the gathered crowd of councillors, Mayors, and think tankers are trying to change the emphasis. Walking, they claim, is the most popular form of transport — even journeys that use other forms of transport tend to involve at least some walking as part of the total trip. It is also a cheap and accessible way of improving public health by providing an opportunity for gentle exercise.
This is a big change from Boris Johnson’s Gear Change report which, as the title suggests, saw cycling as the future. Policymakers now believe that walking is an easier sell given how interventions like low traffic neighbourhoods are often portrayed as a “war on the motorist”.
Everyone walks to some extent (or wheels in a wheelchair) so it’s harder to single out walkers as “arrogant elites” than it is cyclists. Sheffield Council and South Yorkshire MCA intend to push walking (and wheeling) as the most obvious travel choice for trips under 2km.
It may sound pedestrian, but the idea has strong political support in South Yorkshire. Oliver Coppard hopes we can walk our way to his goal of making our region the healthiest in the country (he also included running as a form of active travel for the very keen). Sheffield Council leader Tom Hunt said he was “passionate about walking in this city” and argued that public transport and walking were actually “two sides of the same coin”. And the deputy chair of the transport committee, Green Christine Gilligan Kubo, said her 40-minute walk to town is actually quicker than by car once she’d found somewhere to park. “Walking is free and easy to do,” she added. “Streets are for people, not for vehicles, and that’s what we’re trying to do in Sheffield.”
One local group pushing this is Living Streets South West Sheffield. During the conference they held workshops on how infrastructure which has been designed for cars can be dangerous for walkers. One example of this are “flared junctions” which ease the flow of traffic but can mean that pedestrians have further to travel in the road. The campaigners said they now wanted the “fine words” to turn into concrete action.
One example of good practice locally is the magnificent walking and cycling path at Grey to Green at Castlegate, which is currently being extended.
Sheffield’s Better Points app tracks movements and gives rewards for not driving. It rewards walking just as much as cycling.
On the negative side, the reopening of Archer Lane in Nether Edge was seen as a backwards step. Our piece from last year showed how walking had increased in the area after the LTN was brought in, but councillors still voted to allow motor traffic back.
Regular Tribune contributor David Bocking attended the conference. He told us:
“Walking is hot now, not least because councillors understand it, and maybe even do it themselves. Cyclists have had rational arguments for years, cycling is quick, cheap and practical for several miles as a car or bus replacement, but media generated culture wars have made it a hard sell to some decision makers. Meanwhile, many of the public still often see cycling as dangerous, and a bit of a faff. So walking is often an easier option for the public too.”
Bottom line: At the conference, South Yorkshire’s Active Travel Commissioner Ed Clancy MBE said there has historically been a “massive gravitational pull” towards cycling in the active travel world. Now it would seem that the centre of gravity is shifting towards walking. While Coppard, Clancy and Hunt will still want to continue improving our cycling infrastructure, in the future they may not be as vocal about it as campaigners. Time will tell whether that will prove easier to sell to the public, and whether we become a more active, healthier, and less car dominated society as a result.
The Weekly Whitworth ✍️
Our cartoonist James Whitworth with his own take on this week’s big story.
Our media picks 🔗
Why Nether Edge is one of the best places to live 🏡 The Sunday Times has named Nether Edge as one of the top ten places to live in the North for 2024. They say the “family-friendly suburb” is a happy community with cosy coffee shops where the barista knows your name without having to ask. They add it is also in the catchment area for some of the city’s best schools, has neighbourhood-wide yard sales, and the Peak District is just a short drive away.
Dan will be heading down to Nether Edge this week to see what all the fuss is about — where should he visit? And is it really one of the best places in the North to live? Let us know in the comments.
The Peak District disaster that formed rescue team 🥾 A fascinating piece on the BBC website tells the story of how the deaths of three Scouts in the Peak District led to the creation of the park’s mountain rescue team. On 15 March 1964, 240 Scouts set off on the Four Inns Walk but after bad weather closed in only 22 finished. After the deaths, it was decided search and rescue operations needed to become better coordinated, and the mountain rescue team was formed.
Green ‘Un ⚽️ It may seem strange to anyone under 50 but the way people used to find out the Saturday football scores before the internet was through a hastily printed newspaper called the Green ‘Un. The legendary publication, which was published just minutes after the games had finished, was the subject of a nostalgic discussion on BBC Radio Sheffield’s Football Heaven show last week. Blades Substack The Pinch also has a good piece about the Green ‘Un here.
Home of the week 🏡
This beautifully-presented three bedroom stone-fronted semi in Walkley has a private, south facing rear garden with fabulous views over Rivelin Valley. It is on the market for £290,000.
Tribune Tips: If you want to tell us about a story or give us some information, please email editor@sheffieldtribune.co.uk. We are always happy to speak to people off the record in the first instance, and we will treat your information with confidence and sensitivity.
Things to do 📆
Talk 🏰 On Wednesday at Portland Works, join the Friends of Sheffield Castle’s Martin Gorman and John Moreland, Professor of Medieval Archaeology at the University of Sheffield, for a talk about the history and future of Sheffield Castle. Professor Moreland will explain the history of Sheffield Castle by looking at 10 historic artefacts before Martin Gorman explains Sheffield Council’s plans for the future of the site. The event starts at 7pm and tickets are priced £5.
Art 🖼️ From Thursday at Site Gallery, an impossible maze with no end forms the basis of a gallery installation and inner-city billboard campaign by Birmingham-based artist and activist Foka Wolf. Why Are We Stuck in Hospital? illustrates the invisibility of people with learning disabilities and/or autism in long-stay hospitals. The free installation continues outside the gallery on Jack Arts billboards around Sheffield and will continue until Sunday, 7 April.
Music 🎸 Also on Thursday at Sheffield University’s Octagon Centre, legendary New Jersey rock band The Gaslight Anthem return with their first album in nine years. On History Books, the band bring their soulful breed of punk to ten thrilling songs exploring everything from mortality and mental illness to the more precarious dimensions of human connection. Tickets are priced £42.50 and doors open at 7pm. The gig has been rearranged from the Sheffield O2 Academy.
I love walking around Sheffield it is one of the nicest places to explore on foot with abundant footpaths and green spaces and the city centre has definitely improved a lot over the past few years. I wouldn't cycle here because of the hills and having seen way too many drivers overtake dangerously and aggressively on the narrow roads. The biggest problem for walking is still pavement parking and drivers behaving as if the pavement is just an extension of the road for them to use at will. And the speeding, particularly delivery drivers who are always in a rush. I don't think I could live anywhere that I couldn't get about on foot and I expect it has added a few years to my life having to trek back up the hill whenever I go out!
The Council's claim that want to look after walking is hardly the experience of the residents of Nether Edge Road, Ashland Road or Archer Lane, within the so called 'Nether Edge Active Travel Neighbourhood'. The newly re-opened 'Abbeydale Road By-pass' (as one neighbour calls the Archer Lane - Nether Edge Road rat run) brings regular stand-offs between vehicles, while other drivers, with seeming complete ignorance of the danger of their manouvre, mount and drive along Nether Edge Road's narrow pavement. Walking residents and teenagers on their way to Mercia school risk their lives daily.