When I begin planning any retrofit projects/improvements to buildings, the first thing on the agenda is to survey the building and ensure the existing structure is in good repair.
I have been walking into Sheffield City Centre from Banner Cross since my University days (2006 - present). In basic terms, the same problems/inconveniences are still a burden on the pedestrian including:
Decaying leaves underfoot, leaving the footpath slippery and muddy.
Uneven paving slabs to trip over, or, the area under the slab fills with rainwater so when you stand on them, this sprays out and all over the backs of your trousers/shoes.
Uneven asphalt/concrete surface where water ponds - see consequences above.
Uneven road surface where water ponds, bus/car drives past and sprays you with water. Just what you need for the day ahead.
Bins and builders' rubble that seem to have been on the section between Greystones Road and Endcliffe Park for the last ten years.
Moorfoot roundabout - no way of getting across without the underpass, which floods.
Vomit, glass and rubbish along the footpaths for days on end.
Bush/Tree branches at chest/neck height - either bend under them or have to walk around them on the road. Can't go under them with an umbrella. Why are the lower limbs not cut so that they can be walked under?
And the above is just one road (Ecclesall Road). I have repeatedly reported to the Council over the years, and was last advised they were dealing with this in 2020. Still waiting.
Before implementing ‘schemes’ why not get what's already there working?
SCC like 'New' initiatives that can get headlines over implementation of boring old stuff. They don't enforce parking regulations on Ecclesall and Abbeydale Roads but want to bring in new ones that can be electronically enforced. Councillor Johnson admitted that these regulations won't be widely adhered to but say at least they will bring in revenue!
Thanks for your comment Elaine but in order to enforce parking regulations on Ecclesall and Abbeydale Road properly I would imagine you would need a team of parking attendants. And cameras will cost a lot less money to install than it would to employ more people. I disagree with Councillor Johnson: I think if you were guaranteed a ticket if you parked on a red line it would stop most people from doing it. It certainly would me!
Thanks for your comment Simon. I don't know for sure but the way councils are funded now I would imagine that the active travel money has to be used on these kinds of schemes. As you say many other things need money spent on them but councils have far less money than they used to do clean streets etc. Also, the pavements will (I think) be looked after by Amey, which has problems of its own. It would probably make more sense to give Sheffield an amount of money and let us decide how to spend it but that's now currently how local government finance works.
I wonder why The Tribune considers Oliver Coppard - our new mayor - such a champion of active travel? His record on support for taking buses back under local control is decidedly unconvincing, while his support for the (mothballed) Doncaster airport is beyond enthusiastic, though also uncosted.
Hi John. Thanks for your message but I didn't say Coppard was good, the person I spoke to (who is an active travel expert but not from SY) did. Sorry, maybe I should have made that clearer. Also, in terms of buses, it took Andy Burnham in Greater Manchester 6 years to bring them back under public control. Coppard was never going to be able to do that in a year (mainly because of the legal cases the bus companies will undoubtedly bring). In terms of the airport, I believe many people see it as a question of prestige i.e. we can't be the only region without an airport.
I think you’re a bit late to the party to write an article about United. The FA cup semi and promotion back to the Premier League (again), all happened weeks ago.
Thanks for your comment Joel but there’s no reason we can’t do one at the beginning of next season. Be interesting to do something about the benefits of having a premier league team to the city and speak to some of the fans from around the world the Blades have because of it?
But many of those food couriers (Deliveroo, Just Eat) use bikes and not cars? Most of the couriers who wait outside McDonald's on High Street are bike based now, presumably because the clean air zone charges commercial vehicles £10 a day. Surely that's going to be a massive improvement for the city centre?
And all those taxis parked on double yellows and the Clearway at the bottom of London Road? A girl who lives opposite my son's lockup in Abbeydale has coffee delivered in a taxi most days. There's taxis clogging up Division Street too, just ask the shops, if you can find one still open that is.
'No taxation without representation' was the slogan that helped fuel the American Revolution. In Sheffield you could turn that round to say 'No implementation without explanation' when it comes to Active Travel Plans. Just saying 'We know best' has never gone down well with Sheffielders. We aren't Manchester or Leeds or Birmingham. We aren't Liverpool either, but we match them for feistiness. If you want to convince Sheffielders you have to go the extra mile. Like it or not you really do have to involve them from the beginning. Once you get their buy in they will stick with you through thick and thin. But you cross them at your peril. Political leadership is first understanding that South Yorkshire, and Sheffield in particular, is different. Then finding a way to fully explain and properly involve the people. Hard work and time consuming? Of course it is. But that's Sheffield. Long may it remain that way.
Thanks for the comment Peter. It's an interesting idea that Sheffield folk are more opinionated than other cities (I'm from Bolton and I don't think many people would describe Mancunians as shrinking violets!). Consultation is clearly needed but the people doing them need to sell what is happening as an improvement. What many politicians are doing at the moment is sitting on the fence and allowing the debate to be dominated by extremists and conspiracy theorists.
I am originally from the North West myself. So I know that Mancunians are not 'shrinking violets'. But when it comes to having strong opinions and digging their heels in Sheffielders in my opinion are second to none. Whether that is a bad thing or a good thing is a matter of debate. Lots of politicians talk about consultation but very few actually do it properly in the UK. If you want to see it done properly you can look at places like the Netherlands. But done properly it is time consuming and costly. That's why it rarely happens in a way that those being consulted feel engaged. Rather than being part of just another box ticking exercise.
When I begin planning any retrofit projects/improvements to buildings, the first thing on the agenda is to survey the building and ensure the existing structure is in good repair.
I have been walking into Sheffield City Centre from Banner Cross since my University days (2006 - present). In basic terms, the same problems/inconveniences are still a burden on the pedestrian including:
Decaying leaves underfoot, leaving the footpath slippery and muddy.
Uneven paving slabs to trip over, or, the area under the slab fills with rainwater so when you stand on them, this sprays out and all over the backs of your trousers/shoes.
Uneven asphalt/concrete surface where water ponds - see consequences above.
Uneven road surface where water ponds, bus/car drives past and sprays you with water. Just what you need for the day ahead.
Bins and builders' rubble that seem to have been on the section between Greystones Road and Endcliffe Park for the last ten years.
Moorfoot roundabout - no way of getting across without the underpass, which floods.
Vomit, glass and rubbish along the footpaths for days on end.
Bush/Tree branches at chest/neck height - either bend under them or have to walk around them on the road. Can't go under them with an umbrella. Why are the lower limbs not cut so that they can be walked under?
And the above is just one road (Ecclesall Road). I have repeatedly reported to the Council over the years, and was last advised they were dealing with this in 2020. Still waiting.
Before implementing ‘schemes’ why not get what's already there working?
SCC like 'New' initiatives that can get headlines over implementation of boring old stuff. They don't enforce parking regulations on Ecclesall and Abbeydale Roads but want to bring in new ones that can be electronically enforced. Councillor Johnson admitted that these regulations won't be widely adhered to but say at least they will bring in revenue!
Thanks for your comment Elaine but in order to enforce parking regulations on Ecclesall and Abbeydale Road properly I would imagine you would need a team of parking attendants. And cameras will cost a lot less money to install than it would to employ more people. I disagree with Councillor Johnson: I think if you were guaranteed a ticket if you parked on a red line it would stop most people from doing it. It certainly would me!
Thanks for your comment Simon. I don't know for sure but the way councils are funded now I would imagine that the active travel money has to be used on these kinds of schemes. As you say many other things need money spent on them but councils have far less money than they used to do clean streets etc. Also, the pavements will (I think) be looked after by Amey, which has problems of its own. It would probably make more sense to give Sheffield an amount of money and let us decide how to spend it but that's now currently how local government finance works.
I wonder why The Tribune considers Oliver Coppard - our new mayor - such a champion of active travel? His record on support for taking buses back under local control is decidedly unconvincing, while his support for the (mothballed) Doncaster airport is beyond enthusiastic, though also uncosted.
Hi John. Thanks for your message but I didn't say Coppard was good, the person I spoke to (who is an active travel expert but not from SY) did. Sorry, maybe I should have made that clearer. Also, in terms of buses, it took Andy Burnham in Greater Manchester 6 years to bring them back under public control. Coppard was never going to be able to do that in a year (mainly because of the legal cases the bus companies will undoubtedly bring). In terms of the airport, I believe many people see it as a question of prestige i.e. we can't be the only region without an airport.
I think you’re a bit late to the party to write an article about United. The FA cup semi and promotion back to the Premier League (again), all happened weeks ago.
Thanks for your comment Joel but there’s no reason we can’t do one at the beginning of next season. Be interesting to do something about the benefits of having a premier league team to the city and speak to some of the fans from around the world the Blades have because of it?
How do you square reducing car use with the proliferation of Uber Eats etc.? Coffee by taxi!!
But many of those food couriers (Deliveroo, Just Eat) use bikes and not cars? Most of the couriers who wait outside McDonald's on High Street are bike based now, presumably because the clean air zone charges commercial vehicles £10 a day. Surely that's going to be a massive improvement for the city centre?
And all those taxis parked on double yellows and the Clearway at the bottom of London Road? A girl who lives opposite my son's lockup in Abbeydale has coffee delivered in a taxi most days. There's taxis clogging up Division Street too, just ask the shops, if you can find one still open that is.
'No taxation without representation' was the slogan that helped fuel the American Revolution. In Sheffield you could turn that round to say 'No implementation without explanation' when it comes to Active Travel Plans. Just saying 'We know best' has never gone down well with Sheffielders. We aren't Manchester or Leeds or Birmingham. We aren't Liverpool either, but we match them for feistiness. If you want to convince Sheffielders you have to go the extra mile. Like it or not you really do have to involve them from the beginning. Once you get their buy in they will stick with you through thick and thin. But you cross them at your peril. Political leadership is first understanding that South Yorkshire, and Sheffield in particular, is different. Then finding a way to fully explain and properly involve the people. Hard work and time consuming? Of course it is. But that's Sheffield. Long may it remain that way.
Thanks for the comment Peter. It's an interesting idea that Sheffield folk are more opinionated than other cities (I'm from Bolton and I don't think many people would describe Mancunians as shrinking violets!). Consultation is clearly needed but the people doing them need to sell what is happening as an improvement. What many politicians are doing at the moment is sitting on the fence and allowing the debate to be dominated by extremists and conspiracy theorists.
I am originally from the North West myself. So I know that Mancunians are not 'shrinking violets'. But when it comes to having strong opinions and digging their heels in Sheffielders in my opinion are second to none. Whether that is a bad thing or a good thing is a matter of debate. Lots of politicians talk about consultation but very few actually do it properly in the UK. If you want to see it done properly you can look at places like the Netherlands. But done properly it is time consuming and costly. That's why it rarely happens in a way that those being consulted feel engaged. Rather than being part of just another box ticking exercise.
Ah, that's interesting. I don't know much about consultations and how they are designed. Might be something we can do a story on sometime.