Could It Possible To Restore The Tram Line Down To The Moor?

[GabrielC]

Sheffield's old tram system used to go down the Moor until it closed in 1960 granted at that time the road was still open.

 

Given now that the Market has moved to the Moor and the council have made it into a main shopping area why not replace the track to the top of the Moor yes I know buses stop on the other side of the Market but not all routes end their ?

 

The tram could turn off at junction before the Cathedral stop then make it's way down Fargate  towards the Peace Gardens then carry on to the top of the Moor it could go further but there is a few stall buildings in the way now that would have to be removed to allow track to be put in.  Given the fact the council have narrowed roads in places it would likely have to be a single track which would require the driver to change cabs at the final stop. It might be possible to lay double tracks but that would require a turn a round section but I doubt there is enough room for one I think the old system carried on down London Road now not possible due to the Manpower building been in the way.

[RollingJ]

2 minutes ago, GabrielC said:

Sheffield's old tram system used to go down the Moor until it closed in 1960 granted at that time the road was still open.

 

Given now that the Market has moved to the Moor and the council have made it into a main shopping area why not replace the track to the top of the Moor yes I know buses stop on the other side of the Market but not all routes end their ?

 

The tram could turn off at junction before the Cathedral stop then make it's way down Fargate  towards the Peace Gardens then carry on to the top of the Moor it could go further but there is a few stall buildings in the way now that would have to be removed to allow track to be put in.  Given the fact the council have narrowed roads in places it would likely have to be a single track which would require the driver to change cabs at the final stop. It might be possible to lay double tracks but that would require a turn a round section but I doubt there is enough room for one I think the old system carried on down London Road now not possible due to the Manpower building been in the way.

Not with the plans for Fargate as they stand - that is going to have loads of planters/seats down the centre - no room for tram tracks. Pinstone Street is pedestrianised and narrowed - again, not a safe environment for a tram service.

[geared]

You'd never get a tram down Fargate it's far too narrow for it to be safe.

[Planner1]

34 minutes ago, RollingJ said:

not a safe environment for a tram service.

Exactly

 

Why would anyone think that running trams through the main pedestrianised areas of your city centre is a good and safe thing to do?

[RollingJ]

No idea, @Planner1 - but I'm used to crazy thought processes on here. 😀

[AndrewC]

I'd run a tram down Arundel Gate, then across Furnival Gate on down Charter Square (or just straight down Eyre Street).

 

Either way, if you want to run a tram from High Street to the south-west of the city centre, there are ample on-street options that would save you from bothering to run it directly down Fargate/Moor, which - as others have said above - would be an unnecessary conflict between hefty trams and your busiest pedestrian areas.

[alexander874]

Many cities in Europe have tram routes through pedestrian precincts, much safer than buses and cars.

On 07/02/2024 at 13:03, Planner1 said:

How come you’re dredging up 3 year old reports? Nothing better to do?

 

As others have mentioned, Leeds are very keen to have a tram system. They have already had several attempts at it and West Yorkshire Combined Authority are currently spending millions on developing their plans and business case. 
 

No one is ever going to fund the provision of a tram system that serves every part of a city (or region) in one big bang. You start with a small number of routes and expand from there. There have been attempts to expand Sheffield’s network, but the government have refused to fund it. These things are extremely expensive and only the government will be able to fund it.

 

Say what you like, but being close to two larger cities / city regions with much higher populations doesn’t do us any favours when trying to attract investment. It also doesn’t help that people here think we should be directly comparable with them.

 

13 minutes ago, Planner1 said:

Exactly

 

Why would anyone think that running trams through the main pedestrianised areas of your city centre is a good and safe thing to do?

Many 

[alexander874]

Many European cities have tram routes through pedestrian precincts, much safer than buses and cars.

[pattricia]

1 hour ago, GabrielC said:

Sheffield's old tram system used to go down the Moor until it closed in 1960 granted at that time the road was still open.

 

Given now that the Market has moved to the Moor and the council have made it into a main shopping area why not replace the track to the top of the Moor yes I know buses stop on the other side of the Market but not all routes end their ?

 

The tram could turn off at junction before the Cathedral stop then make it's way down Fargate  towards the Peace Gardens then carry on to the top of the Moor it could go further but there is a few stall buildings in the way now that would have to be removed to allow track to be put in.  Given the fact the council have narrowed roads in places it would likely have to be a single track which would require the driver to change cabs at the final stop. It might be possible to lay double tracks but that would require a turn a round section but I doubt there is enough room for one I think the old system carried on down London Road now not possible due to the Manpower building been in the way.

I think it’s a good idea.

[AndrewC]

9 minutes ago, alexander874 said:

Many cities in Europe have tram routes through pedestrian precincts, much safer than buses and cars.

 

Not an unfair point that I nearly made myself but;

 

• Generally speaking a lot of the on-street trams in Europe tend to be the slightly smaller models of tram compared to Sheffield's. Not always, but quite often, and it does make a bit of a difference.
• I think we're really talking about your primary, busy pedestrian streets, not just any city centre street, however traffic-calmed and pedestrian-focused it may be. Even in Europe it's unusual to run them on absolute pedestrian areas - they are more often than not run on streets that still have car access, so whilst they might be 'traffic-calmed' side streets, there is still a distinction between pedestrian & vehicle space.

 

As I said above I think it's a case of 'why bother?' if you can get the tram close by without conflicting with pedestrians?

 

My favourite tram vs pedestrian experience in Europe is Ponte Luis I in Porto where trams the size of supertrams run across an otherwise pedestrianised bridge barely 10 metres wide!

Edited February 20 by AndrewC