Sheff Council - Shalesmoor Road Layout

[Planner1]

1 hour ago, Tony said:

Sheffield just wasn't on top of its game so we're left with a legacy of feeble yet inherently dangerous stripes of paint instead of infrastructure that encourages people onto bikes. Let's hope the future is a bit better and the City is smarting enough from the past screw up to make this round really count. Sheffield isn't beyond hope. Or even Bamford.  

Many local authorities have the same issues as Sheffield.

 

Funding for transport planning and scheme development is the problem.

 

Councils have seen their revenue funding slashed by the government and have had to make very difficult decisions about priorities.

 

Many authorities only have a few staff to cover basic functions and aren’t equipped to respond to short timescale funding bids, which need a lot of input and are resource intense.

 

Lots of local authority transportation and design staff are funded by charging time against schemes. No funding, no work. In that environment it is very difficult to work up a pipeline of shovel ready schemes ( or at least a well developed business case for a scheme ) which you can then put into funding bids when the opportunity arises. Big scheme development needs big money. 
 

Sheffield and the rest of the city region have been struggling with this problem for some time. They are not alone, I see the same problem in other city regions. The devolution deal will bring more funding, so may help.

Edited July 29, 2020 by Planner1

[RJRB]

3 minutes ago, Bargepole23 said:

And then you would get the responses of those who would benefit drowned out by those who can't see the world beyond the end of their car bonnet, backed by the likes of the AA.

 

The same AA who were chuffed with an increase in speed limits through motorway repairs, citing a 68 second reduction in travel time as the tangible benefit.

A whole lot better than imposing an ad hoc scheme based on a total misinterpretation of the reasons for a boom in cycling in recent years and particularly during lockdown.

 

[Planner1]

1 hour ago, RJRB said:

The toolbox of the modern planner seem to amount to a lump hammer .

 

 

The planners can have all the tools in the world, but it’s politicians who tell them which ones they can use, where, how and when. 

[Tony]

15 minutes ago, Planner1 said:

Many local authorities have the same issues as Sheffield.

 

Funding for transport planning and scheme development is the problem.

 

Councils have seen their revenue funding slashed by the government and have had to make very difficult decisions about priorities.

 

Many authorities only have a few staff to cover basic functions and aren’t equipped to respond to short timescale funding bids, which need a lot of input and are resource intense.

 

Lots of local authority transportation and design staff are funded by charging time against schemes. No funding, no work. In that environment it is very difficult to work up a pipeline of shovel ready schemes ( or at least a well developed business case for a scheme ) which you can then put into funding bids when the opportunity arises. Big scheme development needs big money. 
 

Sheffield and the rest of the city region have been struggling with this problem for some time. They are not alone, I see the same problem in other city regions. The devolution deal will bring more funding, so may help.

Each LA decides and implements its own priorities and some will do some things better than others. This isn't contentious and you don't need to defend poor engineering and political performance locally when the evidence is that 

Quote

Bristol, Birmingham, Cambridge, Leeds, Manchester, Newcastle, Norwich and Oxford

got their act together on cycling infrastructure by using the same rulebook and opportunities.

 

Let's be positive about this. Sheffield has a chance to catch up a bit and they will need (and no doubt have) a hyperawareness of what they have screwed up so they can improve. Most sensible people want the same things to just happen and work instead of having to constantly wonder why the city is has fallen so far behind the rest of the Core Cities peer group. This cycling fund is an opportunity to catch up in part, although I have a gloomy feeling that Sheffield might just chicken out because of a bit of pressure about an extra three minutes travel time on Shalesmoor. I hope I am very wrong and we see something magical happening on active travel instead of more dangerous stripes of paint.

[alchresearch]

I was in Lancaster at the weekend and saw their version of this scheme.

 

https://www.lancasterguardian.co.uk/news/uk-news/mixed-reactions-new-lancaster-pop-cycle-lanes-busy-city-centre-road-2875909

 

Interesting to see the same sort of complaints and boilerplate responses to the local MP regarding emergency vehicles:

 

 “Such measures will also reduce the amount of available carriageway width for emergency vehicles heading to the Royal Lancaster Infirmary. Whilst we do not expect this to add significant time to their journey, we have passed your comments on to Safer Travel Restart team.

 

https://www.catsmith.co.uk/latest/2020/07/24/cycle-lane-lcc-response/

[RJRB]

1 hour ago, Planner1 said:

The planners can have all the tools in the world, but it’s politicians who tell them which ones they can use, where, how and when. 

The ultimate decision is that of the politicians,but you are not trying to tell us that one or several of their number studied all the possibilities in isolation.

We are not privy to how the decision was made but this must have been one of a few possibilities that were presented to them by road traffic engineers and planners.

Collectively they have come up with a scheme to secure public funds.

To be brutally honest the whole campaign based on very flawed reasoning makes me despair.

Cycling does seem to have had a bit of a resurgence which is great.The Tour of Yorkshire,the success of the Sky team gave cycling a higher profile.Certainly in this area.Add to that the popularity of the many varieties of mountain bikes and off road bikes.

All great leisure pursuits and to be welcomed.

To then confuse this boom with what happened during lockdown,and to use this as a supposed great opportunity as Boris would have us believe is puerile nonsense.

Many people on furlough or redundant,great weather,gyms shut,swimming pools shut. A potent combination.

So where is the surprise that a few cyclists used the quiet roads for a bit of fresh air,in addition to the dedicated cyclists heading up hill and down dale in the countryside.

To try to present this as the dawn of a new age in commuter transport is laughable but a few militant cyclists such as Chris Boardman(manufacturer of bikes) can sell his dream to others,without concern for the practicalities.

So I am all for sensible schemes to promote health and recreation and that is where any available money should be directed.

 

 

[Planner1]

9 minutes ago, RJRB said:

So I am all for sensible schemes to promote health and recreation and that is where any available money should be directed.

So not interested in the opportunity to reverse the car dominance of the places we live, improve public health, improve air quality?

 

These schemes in London seem like a decent idea: https://www.gov.uk/government/case-studies/london-mini-hollands

[alchemist]

On 28/07/2020 at 10:23, onewheeldave said:

Then it made a mistake didn't it, as if it had not moved into the cycle lane, the fire engine would have been able to do so, and then have been able to quickly whizz past the traffic. Even if on the longer video it made sense for the truck to enter the cycle lane, it should then have taken the left turn up the side road so the fire vehicle could have passed it.

 

One thing that is very clear from the video is that the cycle lane without blocks is wide enough for emergency vehicles- there is a great opportunity here; once it is established that such cycle lanes are for cycles only, and for use by emergency vehicles in emergencies, and under no circumstances to be used by other motor vehicles, then we have the fastest possible routes for emergency vehicles. 

 

 

Theres one thing for certain, they will never be impeded by cyclists in that lane, be damn lucky to actually SEE one!!!!

[RJRB]

4 hours ago, Planner1 said:

So not interested in the opportunity to reverse the car dominance of the places we live, improve public health, improve air quality?

 

These schemes in London seem like a decent idea: https://www.gov.uk/government/case-studies/london-mini-hollands

 

Just looking for a permanent scheme that would be a good first step in that direction so looking at the above decent idea,this could be applied from Moorfoot to Commercial Street.

Bike hire along the way.

The shops and cafes would appreciate the influx of custom.

E scooter hire as well.

Area already not available to motor vehicles.

However you have already poo pooed this idea,.

So where else on London Road,Chesterfield Road,Abbeydale Road and the many other arterial roads would you suggest for such a decent idea?

If you want to tackle public health for the future then start with the basics.

i.e.kids in schools having access to playing fields and organised sports,which have been sadly cut in mylifetime.

 

 

Edited July 29, 2020 by RJRB

[darylslinn]

It's been a lot busier on that stretch of road this week, which has meant i've spent a little more time there and still noticed the total lack of cycle's using the defined lanes.