Parking Restrictions

Some residents have expressed concerns about notices in the area near Castle College about a planning application by the Council to impose prohibition of waiting and loading on many of the local streets.What is happening is that restrictions are being planned to stop cars parking near the junctions of these roads to improve road safety and disabled access.

As a member of staff at Castle College I recently received this email.

A residents story.......

"I live locally and have to travel down Granville Road in my wheelchair in order to get to town/the station/bus terminus etc.

Prior to leaving my home I start to develop butterflies because I dread that my path will be blocked by the way cars are parked on the local roads.

Three times in recent weeks as I have tried to squeeze between the cars and have fallen, the last time I fell on to the offending car hurting my knee.

The dropped kerbs on the corner of the roads that link Granville also get blocked which means that wheelchair-users cannot get past and sometimes I have to go back home!

I gave up again this week and have decided that apart from my voluntary work which I do on Fridays, I intend to stay at home because the challenge of the journeys is making me unhappy"

Clearly it is very important that something is done to improve this situation.

The Highway Code says
DO NOT stop or park

* near a school entrance
* anywhere you would prevent access for Emergency Services
* at or near a bus or tram stop or taxi rank
* on the approach to a level crossing/tramway crossing
* opposite or within 10 metres (32 feet) of a junction, except in an authorised parking space
* near the brow of a hill or hump bridge
* opposite a traffic island or (if this would cause an obstruction) another parked vehicle
* where you would force other traffic to enter a tram lane
* where the kerb has been lowered to help wheelchair users and powered mobility vehicles
* in front of an entrance to a property
* on a bend
* where you would obstruct cyclists’ use of cycle facilities except when forced to do so by stationary traffic

So many vehicles are already regularly breaking the code. My particular nightmare when driving at the moment is turning right into Granville Road from Fitzwalter Road. There is often a big white van parked right on the corner, obscuring the view of traffic coming up Granville Road. By the time you can see what's coming you are in the middle of the road! It's an accident waiting to happen.

The roads affected by the new plans are Claywood Drive, Donnington Road, Essex Rd,Farm Bank Rd,Fitzwalter Rd,Granville Rd,Glencoe Rd, Holdings Rd, Ingram Rd, Norfolk Park Dr, Norfolk Rd, Park Grange Rd, Seabrook Rd, Park Grange Croft, Stafford Rd, Stafford Lane and Tylney Rd.

You can view the plans at the Central Library. Objections must be in by 31st October.

Although I am generally supportive of the plans there may be some problems in the detail- do let me know if you notice anything. One thing that has concerned me is the lack of consultation. Why wasn't this mentioned at the recent Area Panel meeting? Why are there so few notices? (The only ones I have seen have been on Stafford Road).When it all seems to be so secretive it is no wonder residents get suspicious.

Station Barriers battle continues.

Today the Star reports on the recent meeting between Tim Shoveller of East Midlands trains and John Mothersole, the Chief Exec of the Council. See the story here.
http://www.thestar.co.uk/news/Station-footbridge-row-concessions.4600223.jp
East Midlands trains seem to think they are offering "concessions", but they haven't budged an inch on our main objection to installing barriers to the station. They are proposing a system of passes, whereby local residents would still be able to walk through the station. However they don't say who will qualify as a local resident- but it is quite clear that this will not include everyone who currently uses the footbridge as a pedestrian route. For instance my children no longer live at home, but when they visit they always use that route to get to town.

The plans to improve Sheaf Valley Park,the green space immediately behind the station, and make this a part of the city centre regeneration will also be completely undermined by this scheme. The city centre sadly lacks green space. There are currently plans to improve the footpaths, making them disabled access friendly, install lighting and plant a great variety of new trees and bulbs. Workers in the city centre could escape here for a pleasant lunch break- but not if they can't get through the station to get there.

It is not clear how this pass system will work. Hard core fare dodgers will undoubtedly gain access to such passes and continue to dodge fares. Frustrated passengers who board a train at an unstaffed station, never see the conductor on the train and then can't be bothered to wait to pay for a journey they have already made, may be stopped by the barriers causing further delays to their journey. Surely it would be more efficient for both train passengers and fare collection to have enough conductors on the trains?

Elderly, disabled and parents with young children are still to be allowed through the barriers. How are these categories going to be defined? Surely this is discrimination against the fit and healthy? Will someone who is disabled (say with ME) have to prove they have this disability to get through? How old is old? And how young is young?

East Midlands trains have still not managed to offer us any statistics on how much revenue they are losing from fare dodging or how much will be saved from the barriers. The new pass scheme will obviously be expensive, as will the installation of the barriers. No one is saying we should go easy on fare dodgers- but I don't believe this is the best system to catch them. It will be less expensive, more productive in catching fare dodgers and far more popular with the many people that use this pedestrian route to employ more conductors and keep the station barrier free.

New website

Residents Against Station Closure have launched a new website at http://www.rasc-sheffield.com/

Sheaf Valley Park consultation dates

Here are the dates for the Sheaf Valley Park Consultations. Please go and see the plans and give your feedback. Share your views by commenting on this blog.

Mon 13 October Park Library 10.00 - 12.30 and 3pm - 6pm


Tues 14th October Train Station 8.30 - 10.00 and 4.00 - 6.00


Wed 15th October Train Station 8.30 - 10.00 and 4.00 - 6.00


Thurs 16th October Winter Gardens 11.00 - 3.00



Fri 17th October Winter Gardens 11.00 - 3.00



Mon 20th October Victoria Methodist Church 4.00 - 7.00



Tues 21st October Bard Street Community Centre 2.00 - 4.00

Sheaf Valley Park

I went to a meeting this evening about the development of Sheaf Valley Park. I was quite encouraged, as it seems we are close to finding the money to create a well lit disabled access path from the tram stop to the new events arena, which will be carved out of the top of the hill, near Norfolk Road.There will be consultations on these plans, with a stall in the railway station and Winter Gardens soon. The main problem with the plans at present is they include chopping down about 40 trees (chestnuts and maples)to make way for the path. But these will be replaced with a great variety of trees, bringing much more colour and interest to the park.There is also a plan to invest in a spectacular display of bulbs, bringing a blaze of colour to the hillside.

I can't yet find the latest plans on the Council website, but will add a link here when I have it. Do have a look at the plans and tell the Council what you think.

One interesting talking point was the cobbles. Some people love this original feature, but they make the paths inaccessible for wheelchair users and difficult for buggies etc. The consensus of the meeting was to make a tarmac path wide enough for a wheelchair user at the side of the cobbles.

I was hoping the lighting might be powered from renewable sources such as solar or small wind turbines as you often now see on motorways. The budget does not stretch to that, but the lighting will be white light, not yellow, which will make the park look much more attractive.

The team are still hopeful that they may win further grants, but at the moment the money originally planned to build the terraces for the events arena is what is paying for the path and lighting. If more grants are forthcoming the terracing may be able to go ahead too. Work is expected to start on the scheme next spring. I certainly think the path and lighting should take priority.