Sheffield Clean Air Zone

[*_ash_*]

7 minutes ago, Andy C said:

Public transport is never going to be viable for everyone, however on corridors where lots of people are travelling in the same direction such as to the City Centre or other key shopping/business/employment district you want people using public transport as it is less vehicles on the road, therefore less congestion, less pollution and less space in those key destinations that has to be given over to parking.

 

For public transport to be attractive, there are elements such as frequency, comfort, cleanliness, accessibility and reasonable ticket prices, however the most important thing is the journey time and that journey time being consistent and reliable.

 

For the journey time to be attractive and reliable, you need to segregate the public transport (be that bus, train or tram) into its own free flowing lane/track away from the congestion other road traffic suffers from.

 

If both car and bus sits in a traffic jam, people would rather sit in the comfort and privacy of their own car. If by catching a bus you avoid the traffic jam and get into town quicker, it becomes an attractive option - thats when the other factors such as price, comfort etc come into play.

 

That is why bus/tram priority measures benefit.

 

Then there is the idea of the clean air charge being imposed on buses. That adds operating costs, therefore increased fares. That starts swinging things back towards car and causes congestion, which causes pollution.

As the closing date is today, have you filled it in yet? If not the link is in 1st post, make sure you do it Andy, otherwise this bold will happen (along with all the other issues!)

 

I'm disappointed with the lack of entries from the industries.

[*_ash_*]

22 minutes ago, Andy C said:

For the journey time to be attractive and reliable, you need to segregate the public transport (be that bus, train or tram) into its own free flowing lane/track away from the congestion other road traffic suffers from.

 

I could bore you to death in real life, with what I consider has made public transport rubbish in Sheffield. But 2 things stand out.

It's the cutting off of two sides of the city. The West St side, and the bottom end of town (Arundel Gate side). There is no connection now at all, bus gates or not).

 

The only viable fixes are make the turn at the top of the Moor a bus gate*, (so they can cross the one-way system at this point)

AND re configure a downwards path from West St to Castle Sq (old whole in road for people not knowing street names)

I can't see the second one happening, it's too much work.

 

 

*more info, for clarity. meaning open up the road for buses to be able to go from Charter Row (BT TOWER/new hsbc) over to Furnival Gate (redgates).

 

 

Edited August 15, 2019 by *_ash_*

[Andy C]

I've filled the survey in.  Posters have been on TM Travel buses encouraging passengers to have their say against it. The publicity suggested it was a public consultation, not an industry one.

 

I agree regarding Moorhead. Forcing buses that come down Pinstone Street to turn left, spin round roundabout and double back is unnecessary extra fuel burned and if the Arundel Gate/Eyre Street traffic is busier than normal the roundabout can gridlock.

Edited August 15, 2019 by Andy C

[*_ash_*]

36 minutes ago, Andy C said:

I've filled the survey in.  Posters have been on TM Travel buses encouraging passengers to have their say against it. The publicity suggested it was a public consultation, not an industry one.

 

I agree regarding Moorhead. Forcing buses that come down Pinstone Street to turn left, spin round roundabout and double back is unnecessary extra fuel burned and if the Arundel Gate/Eyre Street traffic is busier than normal the roundabout can gridlock.

Hopefully TM have got a few responders. The taxi uptake in the survey is very low, but I think because a lot are old timers, rather than not bothered. Small bus companies are screwed when this comes into effect, just like SME/SE inc taxi drivers. Another win for the big boys.

 

It's been posted all over the cycle sites, and green sites, so the responses will inevitable be one-sided, especially as so many loaded questions too.

 

ah well. A few of us tried. Really though a waste of time, as I thought it would be.

 

Over and out

 

-

 

yes moorhead is a mistake, but now the new building is there, it's probably too difficult to fix. Empty building too on the bottom floor.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited August 15, 2019 by *_ash_*

[Weredoomed]

Let's face it, the CAZ is just another nail in the coffin of the city centre.

 

I very rarely go there these days. In fact, apart from occasionally using part of the IRR to take the missus to/from work and picking the daughter up from the station now and again, I can't recall the last time I went into the city centre itself, early this year at a guess?

 

God-awful one way/otherwise restricted road system, expensive parking, tatty shops and chuggers/chavs all over the place. Best avoided. 

 

If SCC and planner1 want a nice city centre for pedestrians to wander around in, sure, the CAZ is just the ticket. The chavs will be able to mug the chuggers in a nice, clean air environment. How nice.

Edited August 16, 2019 by Weredoomed

[Andy C]

2 hours ago, Weredoomed said:

Let's face it, the CAZ is just another nail in the coffin of the city centre.

 

I very rarely go there these days. In fact, apart from occasionally using part of the IRR to take the missus to/from work and picking the daughter up from the station now and again, I can't recall the last time I went into the city centre itself, early this year at a guess?

 

God-awful one way/otherwise restricted road system, expensive parking, tatty shops and chuggers/chavs all over the place. Best avoided. 

 

If SCC and planner1 want a nice city centre for pedestrians to wander around in, sure, the CAZ is just the ticket. The chavs will be able to mug the chuggers in a nice, clean air environment. How nice.

That is a reason I'm not arguing that private cars should be charged, rather that the whole thing is a bad idea.

 

Good work is being done to bring life back to the City Centre with new developments and schemes to smarten up neglected parts of town and to promote the fact to potential visitors. City Centre living is also booming with all the new apartments and other residential schemes.

 

The road layout is designed so cars follow the ring road to the desired part of town then straight into a multi storey car park or alternatively a cheaper scrap of land pay and display jobbie just outside the City Centre.

 

Buses and trams need priority and need to be attractive, however the City Centre needs to be accessible to all including cars and commercial LGV/HGVs to ensure businesses are a success - it just needs balancing with the needs to keep the City Centre a pleasant place to visit and therefore managed.

 

I don't think the Clean Air Zone charge is the right tool for the job.

Edited August 16, 2019 by Andy C

[*_ash_*]

On 15/08/2019 at 21:03, *_ash_* said:

---

also, do you have any info on the new closure at the LMS?

 

It was chaos today even when quiet.

 

@Planner1

You've definitely read this post.

 

I bet your 'old friends' told you to not comment.

 

[Guest busdriver1]

I own a transit van and would be subject to the charge. I very rarely visit Sheffield by choice and this would reduce my visits to zero. There are other places where i can do business that also have the advantage of not being Sheffield. Win Win for me.

[Andy C]

last chance to take part in the consultation survey, it closes 25th August https://www.sheffield.gov.uk/home/pollution-nuisance/clean-air-zone.html

 

In my opinion the idea should be opposed - it will hit bus based public transport increasing costs and red tape which will lead to either reduced number of bus services serving the City Centre or higher fares; it will increase the cost of living or doing business in the City Centre and be generally damaging to the economy.

 

Yes, there are environmental concerns that do need addressing, but there are better ways of doing so. Encouraging more people to use public transport, creating operating conditions for bus operators where they can justify investing more in new hybrid or electric vehicles, investing in new tram lines (which of course are electric), lobbying the government to electrify the railways through Sheffield and providing encouragement for van and taxi owners to invest in newer, cleaner vehicles.

Edited August 24, 2019 by Andy C

[gazza c]

Another knee jerk reaction for the flavour of the year 'climate change' . Let's drive even more people away from the city centre, another tax on the motorist and businesses. I'm sorry but the buses are unreliable and sometimes don't turn up and tram doesn't touch my postcode. I think the townhall has this vision of us all riding around on bicycles. I'm sick of all these green activist banging the climate change drum. How do they think the clothes they wear and food they eat actually arrives in shops.