Road Bottle Necks

[Planner1]

59 minutes ago, Findlay said:

Sheffield is very different to many cities in the UK with its stupid flat one level plan thats stops all traffic movement at some point.
Cities that have flyover inner circular roads flow much better and underpasses where main roads cross paths. 
Narrow bridges concentrate traffic to single lanes which are fed by two full lanes on the dual carriageway traffic.
Speed is controllable and needs to be done well in advance of the bottleneck like the parkway which should have average speed cameras along the entire length.
Drivers take too many risks with speed and space and are part of the 3 trillion pound problem of road accidents.

For decades, cities have been recognising that underpasses and flyovers represent significant barriers to PEOPLE and have been removing them to make their cities more safe, accessible and welcoming.

[Findlay]

E

12 minutes ago, Planner1 said:

For decades, cities have been recognising that underpasses and flyovers represent significant barriers to PEOPLE and have been removing them to make their cities more safe, accessible and welcoming.

Except for train stations and large roundabouts where they build underpasses and flyovers for people. 

[Findlay]

Cities have been making second rate cheap alternative decisions that put everyones safety and accessibilty in conflict is what you really mean.
Build roads and pavements together as its cheap, not because its accessible with pollution being a silent killer of millions lets stick pram pushers at the side of clogged dual carriageways.
If you really have wanted to put people first then you will have a hard case proving it by looking at any road in the UK. 

[redruby]

14 hours ago, Resident said:

Nobody pays Road Tax. 

True of course.  I do recall someone on here having a right old go at me for pointing that out though because apparently ‘road tax’ does exist because it’s a term people commonly use when they actually mean vehicle/car tax.
 

I have a sneaky suspicion why certain people prefer to use the term ‘road tax’ in certain contexts though 🤔

[redruby]

1 hour ago, Findlay said:

Cities have been making second rate cheap alternative decisions that put everyones safety and accessibilty in conflict is what you really mean.
Build roads and pavements together as its cheap, not because its accessible with pollution being a silent killer of millions lets stick pram pushers at the side of clogged dual carriageways.
If you really have wanted to put people first then you will have a hard case proving it by looking at any road in the UK. 

Are you saying that footpaths should be not be at the sides of roads and segregated off away from them instead?   If so, I get where you are coming from but have a think about the personal safety aspect of this.  Footpaths away from roads in urban environments tend to be a magnet for crime and anti social behaviour.  Think about some of the old subways in Sheffield, alleyways and canal towpaths.  

[Findlay]

28 minutes ago, redruby said:

Think about some of the old subways in Sheffield, alleyways and canal towpaths.  

I live not far away from such things and have found pathway robbery is isolated, not endemic. Fear of crime is real but irrational.

[Resident]

51 minutes ago, redruby said:

True of course.  I do recall someone on here having a right old go at me for pointing that out though because apparently ‘road tax’ does exist because it’s a term people commonly use when they actually mean vehicle/car tax.
 

I have a sneaky suspicion why certain people prefer to use the term ‘road tax’ in certain contexts though 🤔

Technically 'Road tax' has become a colloquial term for VED. I was just being pedantic 

[Planner1]

9 hours ago, Findlay said:

 

Except for train stations and large roundabouts where they build underpasses and flyovers for people. 

Train stations are a difficult one as generally you need to go under or over the tracks as it’s not considered safe to cross at surface level.

 

Surface level crossings tend to be the preferred way of getting across any road nowadays. Subways are perceived to be unsafe and attract anti social behaviour, over bridges are more difficult and a longer route. These only tend to be used if crossing at surface level isn’t possible/desirable, which is sometimes the case.

[Planner1]

2 hours ago, Findlay said:

Cities have been making second rate cheap alternative decisions that put everyones safety and accessibilty in conflict is what you really mean.
Build roads and pavements together as its cheap, not because its accessible with pollution being a silent killer of millions lets stick pram pushers at the side of clogged dual carriageways.
If you really have wanted to put people first then you will have a hard case proving it by looking at any road in the UK. 

Cities generally follow national policy and  guidance in planning and building transport infrastructure because the money to pay for the measures comes from government and the funders expect it.

 

The difficulty is that although you might plan and install the pedestrian routes away from the main roads, often people don’t use them and walk up the verge alongside the main road ( you can see examples of this in the Mosborough “townships” area). The road route is often perceived as safer because other people can see you and its well lit.

 

What you think people should do and what they will actually do are sometimes different. Policy and guidance evolves over time too as new thinking and evidence emerges.

[Planner1]

2 hours ago, Findlay said:

Cities have been making second rate cheap alternative decisions that put everyones safety and accessibilty in conflict is what you really mean.
Build roads and pavements together as its cheap, not because its accessible with pollution being a silent killer of millions lets stick pram pushers at the side of clogged dual carriageways.
If you really have wanted to put people first then you will have a hard case proving it by looking at any road in the UK. 

I think Arundel Gate and Eyre Street in Sheffield are reasonable examples of how the thinking has changed.

 

It used to be a dual carriageway with central barriers, subways and an underpass. These had the effect of severing the city centre from the adjoining area. People didn’t like going down the subways as they perceived it to be unsafe, particularly at night.

 

Now it’s more open, with surface level crossings and it’s a much more pleasant place to be and doesn’t feel to be a barrier to getting around on foot.