28 Comments

How can anyone read and inwardly digest a 2000 page document [did I get that right?]

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Hi Ron. Sorry having just looked at the document again it is in fact 1,526 pages long, so I exaggerated a bit! It's here if you fancy some bedtime reading!

https://democracy.sheffield.gov.uk/documents/g8798/Public%20reports%20pack%20Wednesday%2020-Sep-2023%2014.00%20Transport%20Regeneration%20and%20Climate%20Policy%20Committ.pdf?T=10

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not bloody likely

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Broadly right, Ron! It's "read, mark, learn, and inwardly digest." Source: Book of Common Prayer, the Collect [brief preliminary prayer for gathering ones thoughts] for the Second Sunday in Advent. Author: probably Thomas Cranmer, Archbishop of Canterbury under Henry VIII, and Protestant martyr under Henry's Catholic daughter Mary, who succeeded him. The style is brilliant: clear, forthright, and vigorous. The BCP is worth reading for its prose alone.

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Nice to see the Leadmill article referenced in tonight’s Guardian piece.

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I only moved to southern Sheffield just after the Little London Road barriers were put in, but I've really appreciated the fact they're there whenever I cycle into town. You have to encourage people out of their cars as well as onto their bikes & their feet

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Thanks Matthew. Yes, the Little London Road scheme was a no brainer. It was incredibly dangerous place to walk and cycle before the barriers and yet still drivers are going to moan about their rat run being cut off!

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Me too! That bit of Little London Rd under the low bridge was horribly dangerous for cyclists and pedestrians before the Council acted. A cheap solution too - simple use of concrete blocks. Use this route once a week - now its a pleasure! Not a great deal of sympathy for anyone arguing against improving road safety on routes like this.

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The report on the Leadmill was wonderful. You do a grand job x

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Thanks very much Cathy 🙏

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I stand [or rather sit] corrected Ruth

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It's "stand" even if you're seated, Ron! In Germanic languages, the verb "to stand" is sometimes used to mean "to be." In Dutch, Yiddish, and occasionally German too. There's the example you gave. Other examples: "don't stand on ceremony," and "standing in the need of prayer." It's to be found in Latinate languages too. In Spanish, you use "ester" instead of "ser." From sto, stare, steti, statum, Latin verb of the First Conjugation. There you go! It's amazing what you can learn if you only bother to wake up in the morning 😁

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Haha, Ruth, bit off topic, but it’s lovely to know I’m not the only language boff! (Short for boffin, originally military slang it seems 😆).

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Do we have an "off topic" rule in The T.? If worried, kick that one upstairs!

Anyway, Ron started it, nah, nah, nah 😁 Yes, I like languages. I wouldn't say I'm spectacularly good at them. What I am is a compulsive communicator (in case you hadn't noticed) and speaking another language is just communicating, only in another language 🙂

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the way the world is I'd rather curl up and go back to sleep.

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As a resident on Brincliffe Edge Road I was dismayed to read your article about the Nether Edge traffic changes. The traffic past my house has increased by 40% not 5% as stated in your article since Archer Road was closed. This on a part of the road which has 2 entrances to Chelsea Park and a 30 mile speed limit. I do not think that this article was researched very and just quoted figures from a report. Very disappointing.

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Hi Dot. If you can point me to a separate survey which says traffic on Brincliffe Edge Road has increased by 40% I'd happily take a look at it. The survey the council did, which is at the link below and looks in minute detail at every single part of the LTNs, shows it has increased overall by 5%. I'm not in a position to conduct my own survey so I have to take the council's on trust.

https://democracy.sheffield.gov.uk/documents/g8798/Public%20reports%20pack%20Wednesday%2020-Sep-2023%2014.00%20Transport%20Regeneration%20and%20Climate%20Policy%20Committ.pdf?T=10

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I agree with Dot about the questionable figures and throughly disagree with the use of the emotive term “Rat Run”. These are (were) proper roads. As far as the NetherEdge scheme is concerned the traffic on Sheldon Rd is now terrible, creating more pollution and making journeys longer.

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Hi David. As I said to Dot above, ultimately I have to take the council's incredibly detailed report (link below) on trust. I used the term rat runs as they are used as a way of people getting from one place to another by avoiding major roads. The council's policy is for drivers to be asked to use bigger roads where possible. You can find the Sheldon Road junction data in the below document. They say the biggest increase is northbound between 8-9am on Abbeydale Road between Glen Road and Sheldon Road when it has increased by 16%. This is obviously an increase but not the huge increases that people have been saying.

https://democracy.sheffield.gov.uk/documents/g8798/Public%20reports%20pack%20Wednesday%2020-Sep-2023%2014.00%20Transport%20Regeneration%20and%20Climate%20Policy%20Committ.pdf?T=10

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Hi David if you want to speak to a set of neighbours profoundly depressed about the opening of Archer Lane, come and join Nether Edge Road at our weekly meet.

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I'm fed up with saying this, but it's now become a duty to do so: LTNs and the like are wonderful IF you're young and spry. If walking has become difficult, then they're a barrier to activity, not to mention a right PITA

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Sorry Ruth I'm not quite sure I follow. In an LTN everyone can drive right up to their front door in exactly the same way they used to (they may have to drive a different route but no one has to walk any further). Pedestrianisation schemes fair enough, but are we really going to get cars running down The Moor and Fargate again?

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Everyone can drive to their front doors? Even the people who don't run cars? Lo, a miracle!

Answer to your question: The Moor and Fargate have both been pedestrianised for a long time, and I don't want them back. I want Leopold Street back. Also Pinstone Street, but I've taken on board what you said a few months ago about the value of the Peace Gardens' being vehicle-free. OK - Leopold Street with turning facilities on Barker's Pool.

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I would also respectfully remind you that you've not contacted me about our proposed journey to town by bus. Maybe ask Victoria to step in. If she can feel compassion for drug addicts who need to resort to crime to feed their addiction, maybe she could spare some for a 75-year-old woman the tendons of whose left foot are coming apart.

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Moving the barriers in LTNs definitely isn't vandalism, which is indiscriminate damage. This damage was done for a purpose. What you call it depends on who you are. If you don't want the LTN, then it's "direct action." If you do want it, then the right word is "sabotage."

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Percentages are interesting but can be deceptive - how many people used bikes before and after would be useful supporting numbers. Maybe this in the LTN report but it would be useful if the article included these numbers. Doubling is not very significant if they go from 10 to 20.

I have no particular axe to grind on this topic, I just like accurate data.

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Oh dear, I don't know when and how often the SCC surveyed the traffic in the Nether Edge area but I suspect not as often as the residents. Bannerdale and Brincliffe Edge Roads are now a nightmare for very extended periods morning and evening. People travelling longer distances only increases pollution. Traffic has merely moved from Archer Lane to these roads. It would have been more effective to allow traffic from Nether Edge to reach Abbeydale/Millhouses in the morning and reverse the flow from lunchtime, deterring rat running but allowing locals to get around their area. The weekends don't need the measures at all. Working families don't always have the luxury of time to walk children to and from school.

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