Your Sheffield Transport Solutions

[AndrewC]

I've just been browsing the Leeds Forum and thought their thread about 'Transport Solutions' had the potential to be about 100million pages long if applied to Sheffield. I know we have a IRR thread and some other train threads but let this thread be for transport solutions and personal theories etc. I know Dinp has his ideas for Glanville Road hat he's put on here many times so more of that kind of thing.

I'll start the ball rolling by suggesting that the Glanville Circulatory mentioned above still has major capacity issues when travelling clockwise. It definitely needs two lanes between the right hand turn at the bottom of Suffolk St and the first Rbt at Bramall Lane.

[SheffCity]

I think whatever solution is eventually decided upon it needs contingency plans to be drawn up.

When something happens to clog up the roads (be it a single breakdown in the wrong place or a major incident the likes of which we saw on Monday) chaos ensues. This doesn't only affect cars, but also busses and trams which use the same road space.

Such a plan could involve opening up one-way streets or having removeable bollards etc. where safe to do so, so that in the event of a route being blocked for any reason, an alternative to get traffic out of the city quicker could be made available.

[paulmat]

I was thinking, introducing a lot more 1 way roads within the centre would increase capacity by loads. Yes it would be confusing, but roads would go from being one lane to two. Also, channelling all the traffic onto a few roads means that if a car breaks down, the city comes to a standstill.

On another note, I would like to see the supertram extended all around the city. Not the half-baked plans that the council had, but a fully comprehensive system going to Rotherham, Dore/Totley, Ranmoor etc.

I know there's a traffic planner from the council who uses the SheffieldForum (dunno why he still does with the amount of abuse he gets). Would be interesting to get him on here and see what he says.

[muddycoffee]

Let's be controversial, I think that sheffield would be much improved if the outer ringroad was completed.
Basically if you look at a map we have a dual carridgeway which goes half way around the city.
I favour a tunnel under whirlow which would come out a rivelin, and join onto rivelin valley road which could be widened, then you have an outer ring around the city.

[paulmat]

What would be gained from the completion of the ORR? Relieve pressure on the IRR?

[SheffCity]

Even though I am not a public transport user, I would fully support extensions to the Super Tram network - up Abbeydale Road, Ecclesall Road, to the hospitals.

On the subject of roads, why don't we tunnel? That's a great idea. I watched a programme on Discovery about them tunnelling huge highways under something like Boston in the US. Limited disruption above ground and a great way of moving traffic.

[1867]

Part of the solution is public transport. It’s important that public transport is a viable option for every one in Sheffield. Public transport serves a purpose and benefits the wider community. At present bus usage is falling and car ownership is rising. The service is expensive, disjointed and most routes have an infrequent service. Forcing people to use cars and choke the road network.

To increase public transport usage. I believe that the local authority should take the local bus and tram services in-house. Revert to the low fares policy of the 1970’s and 80’s, with cross ticketing for tram and local rail services.


There should also be a drive to improve the local rail network. New stations and services. Reopen the Upper Don and Sheaf Valley stations. Park and ride stations at Dore, Deepcar, Oughtibridge, Woodhouse and near the M1 ( Skiers Spring and Wales).

[tom85]

I've raised this point before my solution would have to involve a super tram extention.
Firstly new park and ride schemes must be set up and initially to get them going they will have to be subsidised. The current Tram Park and ride scheme on the Parkway is crazy you have to drive into the city then out again to get to it. The Parkway is designed to take a 3 lane capacity all the bridges are there and the land is flat.

So I would propose that this extra capacity is given to the tram running all the way to the M1 (then possibly on through Rotherham looping round to Meadowhall via Magna). But initially it must run to the End of the Parkway to a huge Car park with its own slip road off the M1 to save on delays leaving the car park.

Along this new route there could be a branch line up through the Manor where people who are more likely to need public transport live linking up with Manor Top.

With regards to the road situation generally Sheffield is a fairly good city when compared to other cities the only real issue would be the state of some of the road surfaces. But Most major arteries are all duelled roads well to the North of the City they are. Some widening schemes could be needed along London Road and that end of Town.

[Owlingmad]

The problem with Sheffield is that it is living on such a fine line from total traffic chaos every single rush hour every day, and it only takes the slightest breakdown,traffic light out or accident to create total gridlock especially in the City Centre and Ring Road, this council for years has tried to discourage motorists from bring there car to town, and to a certain degree I agree with them as the buses and tram network do offer a good alternitive, but you do need your cars and they should offer a road network to cater for this. The inner ring road that is under construction at the moment is 30 years to late, it should have been built in the 70's, and when finished will it solve the problem or just move it to another bottle neck. As a Hillsborough resident, I know how bad traffic congestion can get and also the madness that the council does to make it worse, firstly the tram gates will not work as traffic is just forced back along Middlewood Rd and down Leppings Lane/Parkside Rd to get onto Penistone Rd thus making Trams get stuck in the traffic and they can't get to the Middlewood terminus to make the town bound journey.....total madness. Another is the 3 main roads in the S6 area to feed onto Penistone Rd are Holme Lane, Middlewood Rd and Halifax Rd, two of these are single carrigeways and they're bringing people in from all the northern suburbs and outlying towns,no wonder it's at a snails pace. One option that I think would help imensley, especially for the Middlewood Rd/Lepping Lane congestion is a new road along Claywheels Lane, dual carrigeway over the River Don towards Oughtibridge, plus opening up the Claywheels lane area for development of housing and light industry also Leisure.

[Owlingmad]

The problem with Sheffield is that it is living on such a fine line from total traffic chaos every single rush hour every day, and it only takes the slightest breakdown,traffic light out or accident to create total gridlock especially in the City Centre and Ring Road, this council for years has tried to discourage motorists from bring there car to town, and to a certain degree I agree with them as the buses and tram network do offer a good alternitive, but you do need your cars and they should offer a road network to cater for this. The inner ring road that is under construction at the moment is 30 years to late, it should have been built in the 70's, and when finished will it solve the problem or just move it to another bottle neck. As a Hillsborough resident, I know how bad traffic congestion can get and also the madness that the council does to make it worse, firstly the tram gates will not work as traffic is just forced back along Middlewood Rd and down Leppings Lane/Parkside Rd to get onto Penistone Rd thus making Trams get stuck in the traffic and they can't get to the Middlewood terminus to make the town bound journey.....total madness. Another is the 3 main roads in the S6 area to feed onto Penistone Rd are Holme Lane, Middlewood Rd and Halifax Rd, two of these are single carrigeways and they're bringing people in from all the northern suburbs and outlying towns,no wonder it's at a snails pace. One option that I think would help imensley help especially for the Middlewood Rd/Lepping Lane congestion is a new road along Claywheels Lane, dual carrigeway over the River Don towards Oughtibridge, plus opening up the Claywheels lane area for development of housing and light industry also Leisure.

[dinp]

Originally Posted by AndrewC

I've just been browsing the Leeds Forum and thought their thread about 'Transport Solutions' had the potential to be about 100million pages long if applied to Sheffield. I know we have a IRR thread and some other train threads but let this thread be for transport solutions and personal theories etc. I know Dinp has his ideas for Glanville Road hat he's put on here many times so more of that kind of thing.

I'll start the ball rolling by suggesting that the Glanville Circulatory mentioned above still has major capacity issues when travelling clockwise. It definitely needs two lanes between the right hand turn at the bottom of Suffolk St and the first Rbt at Bramall Lane.

That is their plan Andrew, my suggestion was a lot cheaper though and would have taken about a week to implement. Its Granville Square rather than Glanville isn't it?

My general gripe about the city centre is that they've forced so much traffic onto the still incomplete IRR without it actually improving the existing sections. Junctions have been closed off left, right and centre and one way systems put in place which simplifies the road infrastructure, but it makes the city more susceptible to gridlock, because when you get a breakdown or accident, there aren't viable alternative routes which could ease the flow of traffic. There's a lot of similarities between the road and water systems in Sheffield - if one thing goes wrong, it ALL goes to pot.

There need to be contingency plans, particularly in the city centre, to allow traffic onto alternative routes when blockages occur. Paternoster Row and Pond Street are two prime examples of wide roads in the centre of Sheffield that only buses and taxis can use - surely these could be used as a 'relief route' for when blockages happen around the rail station area. All it would take is one city centre ambassador to stand outside the Howard public house, giving priority to traffic and pedestrians in equal measure.

There must be other examples of where this can be done as well...

[AndrewC]

Originally Posted by dinp

Its Granville Square rather than Glanville isn't it?

I was intoxicated last night.

[dinp]

Don't drink from the Riven Don!

[paulmat]

Guided bus tops transport priority

DEVELOPING a new guided bus scheme between Sheffield and Rotherham is one of the top priorities for transport bosses in South Yorkshire over the next year.
South Yorkshire Passenger Transport Authority (SYPTA) has released its Business Plan for 2007/2008, setting out the goals and priorities for the coming year - and that could mean a Bus Rapid Transit scheme between Sheffield and Rotherham.
The move comes after the city's bid to extend Supertram lines was turned down.
The Government said tramlines were too expensive but held out the prospect of funding if SYPTA chiefs looked at a bus-based alternative instead.
Buses with their own 'rails' are popular in some other cities like Leeds, and are considerably cheaper than tramlines.
Roy Wicks, director general of SYPTE, said: "We are committed to ensuring South Yorkshire's public transport is of the highest standard and that it is a realistic alternative to the car.
"We want to encourage more people to use public transport and halt the decline of bus patronage."
The main aims of the Business Plan are to develop South Yorkshire's public transport network, to improve public transport infrastructure, and to get better information for passengers. It also hopes to improve ticketing and customer service.
Other big projects include launching the Yorcard pilot scheme, and looking into the feasibility of a rail link to Robin Hood Airport.

The guided bus route sounds good. A good link between Rotherham and Sheffield is something that is needed. Obviously I would've preferred trams, but it's looking increasingly like that'll never happen (atleast not under this government).

I read a bit about the Yorcard scheme, and it sounds like it will be a bit like the Oyster cards in London. Dunno yet whether it'll give you a discount, but I think it's a good idea.

And of course, a rail link to DSA is needed.

[LDN_EUROPE]

Well the tram you have is excellent. If that could be extended all over the city that would be ideal.

Would be good if the train station and bus transport interchange was joined up even better (eg. totally joined into the same station).

Fast direct trains to Manchester, Leeds and Nottingham would be very cool too.

[AndrewC]

Its a shame their aren't easier ways to get the tram into the south and south west.

[Bulldozer]

Originally Posted by paulmat

The guided bus route sounds good. A good link between Rotherham and Sheffield is something that is needed. Obviously I would've preferred trams, but it's looking increasingly like that'll never happen (atleast not under this government).

And of course, a rail link to DSA is needed.

there is a masterplan / dev. study for Lower Don Valley i was looking at the other day by the Council and Meadowhall covering all area from Attercliff down to Rotherham and that talked about extending tram onward. also re routing it from back of entertainment complex down Weldon street and to Meadowhall interchange then on to Rotherham via new stop at Tinsley before Magna.
Also talks of new link road from Carlise street by forgemasters to meadow hall lop road then on under M1 by side of cooling towers.

Best bit is talk of flood risk to area !!!

http://www.sheffield.gov.uk/index.asp?pgid=51228

I think this is it (first go at linking so if wrong please let me know)

[unners]

There is a good article in The Times regarding Trams, Trolleybuses and Buses.

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/com...cle2062058.ece

[AndrewC]

Originally Posted by muddycoffee

Let's be controversial, I think that sheffield would be much improved if the outer ringroad was completed.
Basically if you look at a map we have a dual carridgeway which goes half way around the city.
I favour a tunnel under whirlow which would come out a rivelin, and join onto rivelin valley road which could be widened, then you have an outer ring around the city.

I like this idea on paper. A completely inconceivable idea in practice of course because of the finances and complaints from the wealthy burbs out there. I was in Lyon earlier this year and some of their tunnels and motorways in the hilly west and north of the city were amazing - and they worked.

[arepeejee]

Trouble with any tram extensions is the fact they run 24 out of 25 trams the vast majority of the time. So we'd have to get some new trams, but theres no plans for any new trams until 2016 at the very least (given that the mid-term upgrade happened in 2005 til' present).

Personally, I'd sooner see a nice express link between Midland Station and DSA, high speed trains etc - like the Olympic Javlin ones. Cloudcookooland dreams those though