Major changes to improve journey times proposed

Improved pedestrian crossings and extended bus lanes are among proposals to improve journey times on a major route into Sheffield city centre.

The council’s Connecting Sheffield scheme aims to encourage people to switch to the bus and improve safety for cyclists and pedestrians on the A61 Chesterfield Road.

The plans would involve a 3-mile (4.8km) stretch of the A61, from the Meadowhead roundabout through Woodseats and down past Norton Lees and Meersbrook towards Heeley.

A public consultation on the scheme runs online until 4 October.

Ben Miskell, the chair of transport, regeneration and climate policy committee, said: “We want everyone in Sheffield to be able to get to and from the city centre, whether for work or pleasure, as safely, quickly and cleanly as possible."

The council’s proposed changes intend to address the frequent congestion on sections of the A61, improve the speed of bus journey and improve safety.

Proposals includes extending bus lanes and modifying their operating hours.

Bus stops will also be upgraded to include shelters and real time service information.

At Meadowhead roundabout the council will be installing several new pedestrian crossings to make walking and cycling safer, a change welcomed by resident Janice Pursehouse.

She said she had witnessed over sixty accidents and near misses at the junction on Greenhill Avenue over the last five years.

“Drivers don’t understand the junction and think the cars coming from Bradway will stop.

“It’s stressful, every day I think we’re going to hear the thud of another collision.”

Another proposal is to fill in the underpass at Meadowhead and replace it with a pedestrian crossing.

Natalie, who works at Sparks Laundry and Dry Cleaning Service, said that was a good idea.

“Nobody wants to go down the underpass because it’s dark and scary and it floods so they run across the road instead which isn’t safe.”

In Woodseats, the council plans to introduce traffic management measures to reduce congestion.

Part of the changes could see bus lanes widened and a review of right turns into side streets, which would require the removal of up to eight on-street parking spaces.

Ange Joe, runs Unit 1 Hardware Shop, is part of the This is Woodseats committee which works to improve the area and said congestion was not the issue.

“The thing customers complain about daily is the parking.

“There is nowhere to park around here. Congestion doesn’t come up as much."

Karen Putland, managing director of Williams’s Electrical shop, said a better bus route was needed but said the road was not wide enough for "big bus and cycle lanes".

“I’m concerned that we are hitting the environmental issues and the safety issues at the detriment of the long standing businesses that have been for years."

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