Tag: road safety

Each electronic billboard consumes as much electricity as 6 average UK homes.

2nd April 2026

Cllr Ruth Mersereau next to a giant digital advertising board near Sheffield Town HallI’m a Green Party councillor for City Ward . It’s a densely populated urban ward. I’m going to talk about digital advertising screens, which don’t sound exciting, but please bear with me. I want to explain why I spend time objecting to so many of these.

Since 2023, I’ve put in 31 objections to new applications for these. Sheffield already has 926 digital advertising sites (billboards, bus shelter ads, free-standing screens). They look awful, but worse, they clutter up pavement space, getting in the way of pedestrians, mobility scooters, and pushchairs. The ads often promote harmful products like gambling & fast food. And if placed roadside, they’re distracting, with bright, fast-changing images pulling drivers’ attention from the road. They’ve proven to be a direct cause of crashes, endangering pedestrians, cyclists & other drivers, and there’s more to the problem. They are actively making things worse for the city, compounding inequalities in health and wealth.

These digital billboards are concentrated mostly in lower-income areas. Residents & businesses aren’t notified of the plans, so they don’t have a chance to comment, and on top of that, they are huge energy-guzzlers. Each electronic billboard consumes as much as 6 average UK homes. That’s nearly 6,000 homes, just from Sheffield billboards alone. Half of my objections to these have been successful, and planning permission has been refused. But more applications keep coming.

How many more of these billboards will we tolerate? What’s your experience of digital billboards? Does it matter to you? Are they common where you live? Do you drive by them? Are they in your way? Do you see adverts for things that interest you? What are your thoughts on these?

Cllr Ruth Mersereau, City Ward

Greens back residents in call for safer streets

19th September 2023

Cllr Ruth Mersereau on her bike
Cllr Ruth Mersereau

Sheffield Green Party Councillors are backing local residents’ calls for safer roads, keeping the closure of a number of roads to through motor traffic. The roads remain open to people who walk, cycle or use a wheelchair or pram.

The Active Travel Neighbourhoods in Nether Edge and Walkley/Crookes were established using an Experimental Traffic Regulation Order in 2022, stopping through-traffic on a number of roads, preventing rat-running and making them safer for people on foot and on bike.

Green Party Councillor Ruth Mersereau, who is a member of the Transport, Regeneration and Climate Policy Committee, said:

“I have had an overwhelming number of residents contact me asking me to support making both of these Active Travel Neighbourhood schemes permanent. They’ve told me that the improvements have been a huge success and that people want to keep them. Children feel safer to play in the streets, and neighbourhoods are more pleasant and liveable. I was particularly impressed when primary school children from Nether Edge contacted me to express their appreciation of being able to walk safely to school and to Scouts. Any reopening of these roads would be met with utter dismay.

Cllr Maroof Raouf with "road open" signage
Cllr Maroof Raouf shows the road is open

“If we are serious about reducing road collisions, addressing climate change and health problems caused by lack of physical activity, then it is schemes like this that really make a difference. We have to put communities before cars and back safer streets for local people.

“I have studied the objections to the changes and the evidence shows that there has not been a measurable rise in traffic on adjacent streets. There are people who want to drive their cars where they like, with no restrictions, but we have a responsibility to the wider community and to residents who want to live in a safer, calmer, quieter and more pleasant environment.  The Council took a small but important step by installing these filters and they have been a success. It would be irresponsible to go backwards.”

 NOTES

The issues will be discussed and voted on at the meeting of the Transport, Regeneration and Climate Policy Committee on Wednesday 20th September 2023.