Thanks for raising this thorny problem again, Jon, and for summarising all
the issues raised by ECCO members.
I am keen to be part of any group discussing possible solutions to
car/cycle/pedestrian problems. My experience is a bit out of date: but 30
years ago (!) I was one of a tiny group that set up a Pedestrian Forum with
the 'support' of SCC and we worked alongside the cycle forum. We were
allotted a monthly slot with the transport officers and came up with some
innovative ideas. But apart from the traffic humps on Rustlings Rd, we
achieved very little on the ground, constantly thwarted by the highway
engineers and 'Government guidelines'. One suggestion we made was for a
raised zebra halfway up Brocco Bank; another was for a cycle lane on the
houses side of Brocco Bank. Of course, the highway engineers only saw
Hunters Bar as a main traffic through-route and said exactly that: their
fear was/is always that of a built-up of traffic right back to the centre
of town if anything was/is done to limit flow at HB. I don't know if any of
this thinking has changed; others will be more up to date with current SCC
thinking.
As we all know, HB is a hazardous place to walk, especially for children
going to and from HB school. And, of course, as Sue and Fred pointed out,
Endcliffe Glen Rd has twice-a-day rat-running traffic, much of it from
parents taking/collecting from the local private schools.
On Fri, 4 Dec 2020, 18:19 joncowley@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx, <
dmarc-noreply@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
Hi All,
A week or two ago Gordon forwarded to us Sheffield City Council's
"Ambitious Plans for the Future of Travel in Sheffield". In response Noel
wrote a piece on his experience of being a recent arrival to the area and
the one downside "which is that traffic congestion on Brocco Bank and
Ecclesall Road is appalling". This generated a very interesting email
discussion with several issues being raised:
- traffic congestion round Hunters Bar and the need to reduce car use
- free/cheap, improved buses as the key to changing that, and safer
cycling infrastructure
- Fred and Sue then kicked off a discussion about rat running through
the area with suggestions for blocking off a road and traffic calming
measures, and us becoming a Low Traffic Neighbourhood
- pavement parking
- Ecclesall Rd dangerous for cyclists, shocking for pedestrians
- air pollution measurements
- how flood defences could contribute to traffic calming
- Nick drew our attention to wider climate change campaigns and
discussions needed
Then the email chat went on to:
- tax (paying for it)
- should ECCO have a meeting to discuss these issues, campaign on the
issues etc?
I hope I've touched on the main points, sorry if I've missed something.
However, because I was excited by this discussion developing and don't want
it lost, I have brought together and organised the comments made in the
attached document (sad or what?: wet day in lockdown!).
Personally, I am 100% in favour of us campaigning (with others along
Ecclesall Rd and Sharrow Vale) to have a much cheaper bus service and much
safer & more pleasant environment for cyclists and pedestrians on Ecclesall
Rd, around Hunters Bar and down Sharrow Vale (which I think should be
pedestrianised at the school end). I also fully support a campaign to stop
the rat runs along Endcliffe Glen Rd, Everton Rd, and Rossington Rd (and
others) and working out between us how best to do that.
So I support the suggestion for an ECCO meeting/sub-group/forum to discuss
these ideas and draw up a plan/proposal.
All the best,
Jon
