Speed Limit On Sheffield Parkway Set To Be Cut?

[kevvy]

2 hours ago, smithy266 said:

If tbe council wants to cut traffic pollution, I suggest they look at the way traffic lights hold up massive queues, and do not stay on green for long enough when there is a big queue. They are supposedly monitored....

Totally agree !

[Top Cats Hat]

3 hours ago, Lnzab29 said:

There should be safety cameras on the parkway. 

There are.

[Phili Buster]

3 hours ago, smithy266 said:

If tbe council wants to cut traffic pollution, I suggest they look at the way traffic lights hold up massive queues, and do not stay on green for long enough when there is a big queue. They are supposedly monitored....

If they are monitored then those doing the monitoring are setting them to interrupt the traffic flow, increasing the amount of queuing and subsequently increasing pollution so that the introduction of a congestion charge can be justified. 

 

The traffic lights on the roundabout at the southern end of the Tinsley viaduct used to be phased such that once you had a green you could continue on green all the way round. After the, so called, expert (?) traffic planners got their grubby little hands on the phasing you are lucky to get two greens in sequence.

 

It is not rocket science to phase the lights such that traffic keeps moving and that will cut down the pollution. Even with switching engines off when stationary there is more pollution with continually re-starting the engine than if the traffic was continuously moving.  It might also help if Sheffield didn't grind to a halt following a breakdown by one car, bus or truck in the centre. Well done traffic planners in creating a congestion waiting to happen and you don't even have to use your traffic lights.

 

A question about the electric cars, by how much is the battery range diminished on cold dark foggy winter mornings when all the lights are on, the wipers are running,  the heater is  on full and the air-con is on full to keep the windows clear?

 

Slightly off topic but can anyone explain why it takes so long to upgrade a traffic light controlled pedestrian crossing? Three examples on Handsworth Road - at the junction with Hall Road, just above Handsworth Post Office near Lloyds Pharmacy and near Medlock Drive.

[Top Cats Hat]

22 minutes ago, Phili Buster said:

A question about the electric cars, by how much is the battery range diminished on cold dark foggy winter mornings when all the lights are on, the wipers are running,  the heater is  on full and the air-con is on full to keep the windows clear?

Probably not as much as you’d think.

 

Most lighting is LED these days, wipers and blowers don’t consume much current and the only high current device would be the heater as there is no engine heat in an electric car.

[mike84]

I presume the consultation or any details on on Rotherham Councils website considering this section of the Parkway is their responsibility.

 

 

[Planner1]

18 hours ago, Top Cats Hat said:

There was a piece on Look North the other day about air quality in Sheffield so this could be just a PR exercise.

 

If you care to read the Star article in the link posted by the OP, this is about reducing emissions in Rotherham, because the stretch of Parkway in question is in Rotherham.

 

Rotherham Council are doing what they can to reduce emissions in their area to avoid having to introduce a Clean Air Zone (CAZ) like Sheffield are being required to.

[Planner1]

35 minutes ago, Phili Buster said:

If they are monitored then those doing the monitoring are setting them to interrupt the traffic flow, increasing the amount of queuing and subsequently increasing pollution so that the introduction of a congestion charge can be justified. 

 

Of course they are monitored. The signals at every significant junction in Sheffield are connected to an urban traffic control system, they have CCTV cameras around the network, a control room and a team of staff who monitor traffic and operate the systems. All of that has been in place for many years.

 

The problem is that individual drivers don't have the overview and only see that they are sitting in a queue. They can't see the overall situation.

 

Traffic is held back on the parkway and other locations, because the inner ring road can't cope with the volume of traffic that arrives at peak hours and it grinds to a halt if you allow unrestricted flow onto it. Traffic is therefore metered onto the inner ring road at a rate which will still allow the IRR to keep following.  Traffic can queue on the Parkway without affecting the wider network, so having the queue there is better in overall network management terms.

 

It has been necessary to manage traffic like this at peak hours for many years and it is genuinely nothing to do with justifying any congestion charge.

43 minutes ago, Phili Buster said:

The traffic lights on the roundabout at the southern end of the Tinsley viaduct used to be phased such that once you had a green you could continue on green all the way round. After the, so called, expert (?) traffic planners got their grubby little hands on the phasing you are lucky to get two greens in sequence.

 

For many years, SCC operated those signals via their control room and urban traffic control system.  The junction and the signals belong to the Government and are maintained / operated by Highways England. SCC operated the signals on behalf of HE.

 

A couple of years back when Highways England refurbished and improved the junction, they took back control of the signals and now they operate them and set the timings / sequence.

[iansheff]

4 hours ago, Lnzab29 said:

I use the parkway on a regular basis. The whole road is 70 mph to most people. I use my cruise control and set it for 50 and there are always cars tearing past me. There should be safety cameras on the parkway. 

I don't use the Parkway from town very often but when I do I am surprised by the number of cars that overtake me driving well over the 50mph limit. The drivers either just ignore the limit or think because it is a dual carriageway it is 70mph.

[Planner1]

24 minutes ago, Top Cats Hat said:

Probably not as much as you’d think.

 

Most lighting is LED these days, wipers and blowers don’t consume much current and the only high current device would be the heater as there is no engine heat in an electric car.

You'd be wrong there. EV's lose a significant amount of range in colder weather.

 

Read this: https://www.marketwatch.com/story/cold-weather-saps-electric-car-batteries-2019-02-07

[PRESLEY]

5 hours ago, Cyclone said:

What would be the point of travelling at 60, or 50, or 30, or 10?  I travel at 70 if it's safe to do so because generally I'm on my way somewhere and there's no advantage to driving slower and taking longer.

No advantage to driving slower  safety springs to mind.