Sheffield Parkway

[gracie]

Does anyone know when the parkway was built ?, and has it always been a dual carriageway ?.

[jan2002]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sheffield_Parkway

Bit of history on there

 

Regards

jan2002

[muddycoffee]

The parkway was built over several sections and its planning was an interesting tale.

 

It was originally due to link to the M1 further south at current J31 Aston because originally it was to take the path of the current M18 north. But the plans were changed and the M1 was finally built right around sheffield and up to Leeds insted. This meant that the Sheffield parkway could be much shorter and join at Catcliffe J33.

 

As the streets were laid out in new districts, space for the parkway was reserved, for decades before it was built. This is why you might think that the road is 40+ years old.

 

According to records, the road was finally opened in 1974 but I am sure that this was the original section which went as far as handsworth or catcliffe. I believe it operated for a few years like that before they finally linked it up to town with the final section. I actually remember them still working on it, and it opening. I don't think I would remeber that if I was only 4 years old in 1974.

[RichK]

Why is it called the Parkway? Sounds like a very dull name, but I've often wondered what its significance is (yet just as I type this I've realised it runs alongside High Hazels park - is that it?)

[Tooeg]

Yes Richk you could be right about the park, don't knock it

luckily it wasn't named after a twin town, a political activist, or a labour councillor.

Enid Hattersley way.

[jmdee]

I remember the first section being built around 1960-1 or so. It used to wind it's way from the bottom of Duke St, and Cricket Inn Rd. area, past some slag heaps, before actually starting the Parkway itself. It only ran as far as Prince of Wales Rd. in the beginning. I imagine the Parkway designation was to strike a similarity between a motorway, and the American designation of parkway

[*_ash_*]

Does anyone know when the parkway was built ?, and has it always been a dual carriageway ?.

 

 

It wasn't here on this pic in 1960.

[DUFFEMS]

My husband used to travel on it in 1968/9 in order to get to his business in Bradford, he was stopped by the police on several occasions to have his car checked as they were pretty dominant at that time. He now drives approx.30,000 miles a year in the course of his job and the Parkway is still one of his pet hates, admittedly, not as many active police now.

[Karukai]

Why is it called the Parkway?

 

 

I was under the impression that a parkway was a road that had a least some kind of green space eitherside of it for the majority of it's length? Think it's an American thing...

Admittedly Sheffield Parkway doesn't exactly run through open fields or anything like that but it's not built up right to the edge of the road...

[muddycoffee]

Here is some further information from Haydn ( SF poster ) about the development of plans for the original sheffield parkway in the 1950s.

 

http://www.d-zyne.demon.co.uk/srp-mosexp.htm

 

Of course the bit between town and Prince of wales road would be almost the same as it was when actually finally opened, the only difference was that it didn't swing north to handsworth, it turned south to mosborough.

 

 

As for the term "Parkway".

I believe this was just a variation of the american term "expressway" which was all about the 1950s and 1960s vision of inner city motorway roads.