Duke Street | Sheffield Green Party

This lettter was published in the Sheffield Star.

Manor Castle Green Party welcomes the roll-out of 20mph zones across Sheffield. Several of the responses to the confusingly-named Park and Arbourthorne consultation (including my own) requested that the 20mph zone should be expanded to include Shrewsbury Road, Talbot Street, Granville Road, City Road and Duke Street. It is disappointing that these roads have not been included in the zone. I have started a petition to include Shrewsbury Road and Talbot Street in the 20mph zone. This will be presented to the Transport, Regeneration and Climate Policy Committee at the first committee meeting after the local elections.

Please sign the petition here

The collision data for the five years 2020 – 2024 shows that the roads listed above that are not included in the 20mph zone have had 45 traffic collisions reported to the police. The roads included in the 20mph zone had 8 road traffic collisions. These figures are based on police reports, so the real figure must be much higher, as many collisions are not reported to the police.

The speeding vehicles on Shrewsbury Road and Talbot Street do a good job of cutting off our community from the city, from the railway station and from the bus station. If we want active travel to be attractive to all, then we need to include Shrewsbury Road and Talbot Street in the 20mph zone. This would pave the way for future speed reductions on Duke Street, City Road and Granville Road.

Yours

Ruth Abbey

Green Party Candidate for Manor Castle ward

Sheffield councillors Brian Holmshaw and Ruth Mersereau joined with residents in the Park Hill and Norfolk Park area of the city to protest at the Bernard Street/Duke Street/Talbot Street junction on Saturday 20 April. It was organised by the Safe Streets Now and included placards, banners, and a visit from a resident dressed as a zebra, to show the need for safe crossings.

Green Party Councillor for Broomhill and Sharrow Vale Brian Holmshaw, who lives nearby said:

“ Sheffield has the highest child pedestrian killed and seriously injured rate of all core UK cities by a significant margin. It is one of the most dangerous places in the country to be a child pedestrian.

I live locally and see young people and families crossing here all the time – going to the nursery at Park Hill, heading up to Manor Lodge Primary and the nursery there, to the bus stop to go elsewhere or being dropped off while a parent goes to work. They are taking their lives into their own hands.

We urgently need a controlled crossing, with pedestrian lights, both here, and at several other junctions in the city. I shall ask the council questions why this has not been put in place.”

Green Party candidate Ruth Flagg-Abbey, who is standing in the Manor Castle ward where the Bernard Street/Talbot Street junction is located said:

“It is great that we’re getting such good support from car drivers coming past today. They drive past, see our signs and show their support. They recognise that it’s not a them and us situation, this is us together, making roads safer for all.

We need more traffic cameras at junctions like this one, to catch the dangerous and unsafe drivers who risk their and other people’s lives when they run red lights.

We need more “School Streets” that restrict access near our schools at important times of the day. This will allow pupils and families to walk and cycle safely each day to and from school.

We need better monitoring of bad parking where vehicles just screech to a halt next to pedestrians or pull in and block junctions. I support an increase in parking enforcement officers to improve our quality of living.”

Green Party members also supported a second protest in Walkley where Upperthorpe resident Cllr Bernard Little spoke on the theme of road safety.

Tag: Duke Street

Ruth Abbey calls for main roads to be included in new 20mph zone

Sheffield Greens support Safe Streets Now campaign