Your Sheffield Transport Solutions

[city dweller]

there is but it isnt the best or the safest, and it also doesnt have a bridge for mothers or the disabled. There is some talk of improving this but it will still reduce the directness of any tram to train travel, especially if you have to get off the tram, go all the way around the front of the station and then get on your train. (not that i would ever advise getting on a train without a ticket)

[RichJay]

http://www.yorkshirepost.co.uk/local...nty.4164681.jp

Blueprint for future of county transport network to be drawn up

PLANS for the long-term future of South Yorkshire's transport network will be drawn up over the next few months.

Experts are expected to compile a list of about 20 major projects. They will be vital both to keep people moving but also to open up the county for economic expansion and the development of new housing areas.

The Department of Transport has recently changed the way it will assess requests for financial assistance, looking for schemes which will bring wider economic benefits rather than just reducing journey times for passengers.

That largely fits the approach already being taken by South Yorkshire Passenger Transport Authority. The transport executive, which implements policies it sets out, is compiling a list of 20 schemes to form a blueprint for the network's future.

The first are likely to be a scheme to upgrade the A61 in north Sheffield and an improved fast-bus link between Sheffield and Rotherham, an alternative to proposals to extend Supertram that the Government rejected.

When they are completed it is expected the PTA will work in five-year blocks, seeking funding for a handful of schemes and completing them before moving on to the next. But it is believed that being able to place each scheme in the context of the long-term masterplan will help to justify individual requests for funding.

Another early priority is likely to be Centenary Way, a major route into Rotherham.

[muddycoffee]

Thanks Richjay.

I don't understand what they mean by improving Centenery Way and A61 north sheffield. As far as I was aware they are already busy dual carriageways.



My priorities would be to knock down those squalid shops at Fir Vale and make the Outer ring road dual carriageway all the way from Attercliffe to Penistone Road.

I like the idea of an express bus service between sheffield and rotherham, especially if it is based upon a new road going under the Viaduct.

[lewisskinner]

The A61 is dualled most of the way through Parsons Cross, but is single-carriageway before it enters Grenoside, just after the junction with that B-road which goes to Ecclesfield (Yew Lane?) It's then single again, all the way into Barnsley, save a section on the Sheffield side (west) of the M1, and a section approaching Barnsley's ring road (Westway), so I assume they'll dual it at the very least all the way to the M1.

As for Centenary Way, I think you're right, labelling it a priority doesn't necessary imply it's only single, just that they want to upgrade it. This could mean an extra lane, changing traffic priorities, converting roundabouts to GSJs - anything!

As for the bus system, am I right in thinking that this is essentially a new road under the Tinsley Viaduct with buses running (in bus lanes)? If so, I'm afraid I can't get excited by it. If the DfT has genuinely changed the way it makes assessments, ask about Supertram again! Get Rotherham, Sheffield and Barnsley councils on board (trams could even run into NE Derbys and Bolsover council areas) and go for a full-on network and lobby hard. A new road will just be turned over to cars when public transport and green issues are less sexy, but tram tracks are (relatively) permanent.

I do agree with you thought that the Outer ring road from the rail bridge in Darnall west is a joke. upgrading this could take some more pressure off the IRR (including it's newer sections) and have a knock-on positive effect across the whole city (we've already seen what the northern section did for Eccy Road). I live near Hillsborough Stadium, and it's generally faster to use Penistone Rd-IRR-Saville St/Brightside Ln then Herries Rd to get out to the cinema and industrial estates around Attercliffe.

[Bulldozer]

Well we need some joined up thinking to Join up the missing links and abandoned schemes. Agree on ORR needing improving. And Meadowhall to Rotherham link should be both road to feed local traffic away from M1 J34 interchanges and the viaduct, as well as dedicated bus (guided?) route corrider that should be alined for conversion to tram route.
Yes extend tram to Lowedges / Jordanthorpe and build a P&R at the border. (get a developer to pay by building flats and modest retail scheme (not a Tesco/Sainsbury mega store that been tried several times). Tram loop to North of city as well via NG Hospital needed.
P&R schemes needed as well on all primary routes long term, then slowly city center long term parking can be price driven to suit short term users and retail by cheap mid day and evening parking but dear all day rates. (but alternative viable transport must be inplace 1st). City center parking £10 > £5 P&R + return bus ticket.
Stop closing local schools and ban parking and stopping within 500 m of school gates from 8-9:30 & 3-5. School buses for all over 1 mile from schools.

[muddycoffee]

Lewis, I believe that meadowhall causes an enormous problem with the J34, as often the congestion with idiots driving to the shopping hell often cause very heavy traffic and even backing up traffic onto the M1. Taking the busses out of this mix onto a new road, may make a difference. If it doesn't it will certainly prevent the busses from getting delayed.
Obviously we would all prefer a supertram, link between rotherham and meadowhall, but realistically, we don't have enough clout to get anything like that. We'll have to wait 10 or 15 years to when we have an Elected Mayor and a congestion charge system to subsidise it.

[muddycoffee]

Bully,
I am sure we all love your ideas for expanding the tram with developers paying for aspects of it, but several times this has been done before the scheme never gets done and the council takes a payment instead.

[lewisskinner]

eg Waverley

[muddycoffee]

Originally Posted by lewisskinner

eg Waverley

Sainsbury and Tesco at millhouses too. They were supposed to build a bridge over the Railway and provide a park and ride scheme as well as a tramstop.

This is why Tesco has an enormous park and ride car park which never has any cars in it.

http://maps.google.co.uk/maps?f=q&hl...04404&t=h&z=18

[lewisskinner]

Interesting stuff! I didn't know that. That's truly shameful...

The theory is great, but we need to make sure that the tramlines are actually built, and not accept a payoff.

[TakeMeHigher]

There is no way that developers can afford, or should be required to provide transport solutions like trams.

[muddycoffee]

Originally Posted by TakeMeHigher

There is no way that developers can afford, or should be required to provide transport solutions like trams.

Why do they so often promise and sign up to fund tram infrastructure to sway planning decisions then ?

It makes me so mad when this happens so often only for them to renege time after time. If Sainsbury hadn't promised to do this they would still have a much smaller premises at millhouses. I am not sure whether to blame the chaotic council or the greedy multimilionaire supermarket with all its friends and relatives in very high places.

[lewisskinner]

Not quite Sheffield (nor indeed mine), but it's transport-related and (I think) a solution, so we're halfway there!

source

New M-way interchange to open



Published Date: 19 June 2008
By Richard Marsden
A LONG-awaited new motorway interchange between Bolsover and Chesterfield will finally open tomorrow.
Junction 29a of the M1, which has cost £15 million, will provide access to the new £65 million Markham Vale business development.

Derbyshire and Nottinghamshire Chamber of Commerce chief executive George Cowcher said: "One cannot stress enough how crucial this link is to the area. It's more than simply a convenience for drivers but a vital connection that will help businesses to get full benefit from the nation's most important road artery."


The full article contains 128 words and appears in Sheffield Star newspaper.

• Last Updated: 18 June 2008 2:15 PM
• Source: Sheffield Star
• Location: Sheffield.

[muddycoffee]

Thanks Lewis.

Typical of the shoddy lazy journalism of today that they couldn't be bothered to send anybody to take some photos of the new road scheme to go along with the article.

[lewisskinner]

I know! I was on the M1 on Tuesday, and it wasn't obvious that it was close to completion. Even lazier, that they can't even be arsed to spell "motorway" in the headline! It would have been nice to get a photo, like you say.

I expect that this will will take some of the pressure of the A617 at jct29 (which I know many people use to get to south and south-west Sheffield), and of course it's going to link to the J29A Business Park, so it's going to be good for the town and the region.

Next stop, Staveley Bypass!

[AdamBlade]

Originally Posted by lewisskinner

eg Waverley

Not true

[Bladerunner]

Often newspaper headlines are dictated by layout

[RichJay]

http://www.thestar.co.uk/news/Sheffi...lan.4209667.jp

A HIGH-speed train line linking Sheffield to London is one of a number of routes to be examined in a review of future railway building projects.
Network Rail, who owns Britain’s railways, is set to announce next week it plans to look at the possibility of building around five new lines across the country.

It is believed most routes would be high-speed passenger lines modelled on the TGV network in France and Japan’s bullet trains, which can carry trains travelling at up to 186mph.

The routes expected to be looked at include the Midland Mainline to Sheffield and the West Coast Line to Liverpool.

[muddycoffee]

The idea of a high speed line like this would be an incredible boost to the city. Could you imagine what a connection to London which takes much less than an hour would do to our profile nationally. No doubt Leeds will be gnashing its teeth at this one.

France in two hours ?

After years of private companies trying to get high speed schemes underway linking sheffield and London we finally get official scheme consideration.

I still think that there is a small chance of this happening but with Network Rail taking interest like this, the chances move up from 2% to 20%

[jozblade]

Yeah it's great. I can't believe there is a possibility of getting to Paris in around 2 hours by train from here. It's mad!