Ambitious plans for future of city travel following funding bid

Sheffield City Council is launching a new project, Connecting Sheffield, which will focus on encouraging active travel and supporting the shift towards sustainable transport.

Connecting Sheffield will encompass a range of transport schemes intended to deliver change for the city’s walking, cycling and public transport infrastructure.

The scheme follows a successful bid made by Sheffield City Region, supported by Sheffield City Council, for funding from the Department for Transport’s Transforming Cities Fund.

Sheffield will receive £50m which will be used to improve public transport, walking and cycling links to encourage people to leave their car at home.

The first phase will focus on key areas that have been identified as locations where people are making short car journeys from home to work in the city centre and Lower Don Valley, including Neepsend, Kelham and Nether Edge.

The Transforming Cities Fund will focus on improving travel links through the following schemes:

  • Across the city centre
  • Neepsend & Kelham to the city centre
  • Nether Edge to the city centre
  • Magna to Tinsley
  • The city centre to Attercliffe and Darnall
  • On Abbeydale Road and Ecclesall Road

All the proposed schemes will be subject to public consultation. Under the current terms of the funding from the Department for Transport, all work must be completed by March 2023.

Councillor Bob Johnson, cabinet member for transport and development at Sheffield City Council, said: “Connecting Sheffield is a major first step in overhauling our transport network to put walking, cycling and public transport at the forefront of travel choices available in our city.

“We know that for lots of people, travelling by car is sometimes the only feasible way of getting from A to B, but we want to make sure that walking, cycling and public transport  are realistic options, especially for getting to work and for shorter journeys.

“It is disappointing that we did not receive our full bid for funding from the Government. Equally, we could never deliver everything we want to in this first phase. Other schemes will come in later phases.

“However, these projects still represent a major first step in developing our plans to create a more inclusive and diverse travel network that over time will transform how people move around Sheffield.”

Dame Sarah Storey, Sheffield City Region active travel commissioner, said: “We have been working closely with Sheffield City Council to enable their ambitions for walking and cycling to become a reality.

“Back in July our new infrastructure standards were adopted at the MCA and since then there has been some impressive work going on to deliver suitable schemes that will offer active travel alternatives for short journeys within Sheffield.”

Dan Jarvis, Mayor of the Sheffield City Region, said: “The Transforming Cities Fund will help to achieve our ambition of a transport system for South Yorkshire that is fit for the 21st century.

“By enabling walking and cycling, and improving public transport, these Connecting Sheffield schemes will reduce congestion, improve air quality and allow people to live more active lives, which will improve their mental and physical health.”

Martin McKervey, chair of the Sheffield Property Association, said: “Our cities are evolving. Both investors and people living and working in cities are increasingly looking for quality of life, a city that’s easier to get around and people friendly, with a cleaner environment.

“Sheffield is ideally placed to deliver on this but it needs the right infrastructure in place. That’s why we wholeheartedly support this new vision for Connecting Sheffield.”

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