Every week in the Sheffield Telegraph it’s a sure bet that there will be various stories about car crashes. Each crash means misery for the people involved, more expense for the NHS, delays for other travellers and at its worst life-changing injuries or death. Across the UK, someone is killed or seriously injured on our roads every 16 minutes. These sudden and unexpected tragedies leave in their wake ruined lives, grieving families and whole communities torn apart by what they have witnessed. They create a climate of fear which limits children’s play and makes the acts of walking, wheeling and scooting a source of anxiety rather than joy.
Recently in my Norfolk Park neighbourhood, on two separate occasions, cars have ended up on their side in crashes that fortunately didn’t involve others. But also as a pedestrian I have recently experienced unattentive drivers failing to stop at pedestrian crossings when the green man was showing and I had already started crossing. Both made me recall the horrific crash when my daughter’s friend’s child was killed crossing a pedestrian crossing.
Drunk and drugged drivers are a massive concern for which the police appear not to have the necessary resources to deal with. I recently rang 101 to report a motorcyclist who was illegally riding on the pavement at night without lights. It took 40 minutes before I was able to speak to someone by which time, of course, the culprit was long gone. The system is not currently fit for purpose.
Our Council manages road systems which enable and encourage traffic and speed at the expense of people’s lives and freedom to enjoy our city streets in safety. This puts us in harm’s way whether inside or outside a vehicle.
I welcome Sheffield Council’s aim for zero road deaths and serious injuries. To put this successfully into practice it’s essential to identify where much of the responsibility lies for the problem of road violence: the authority deciding how our streets are designed. That is Sheffield City Council.
Embarrassingly the new council road safety strategy focuses mainly on educating people, including children, rather than removing the dangerous situations they place us in. If it was not clear enough the strategy lays bare the grim abdication by stating “individuals have a responsibility… [to] be aware of their surroundings”. Our council appears to want to blame us and our children for getting hurt and killed on our streets. I believe the focus should be more on how unsafe roads can be redesigned to prevent collisions and help us all feel safer on the roads. Extremely wide junctions for instance should be narrowed so that they are easier to cross. Cyclists are far safer when cycle lanes are separated from the road.
On Saturday, April 20th at 11 am, there will be two simultaneous Safe Streets Now actions in Sheffield. Please bring a homemade placard or banner.
Walkley will gather at the junction of Walkley Road and Walkley Lane. The focus will be on unsafe roads in Walkley including Walkley Road and crossing Walkley Lane for children getting to school.
Park Hill will focus on the Duke Street/Bernard Street/Talbot Street Traffic Lights which have no pedestrian lights. Locals have been campaigning for lights here for over 20 years.
Local resident Sam Gregory said “This junction is one of the most dangerous in Sheffield, if not all of South Yorkshire. There are no pedestrian lights at all, and the roads are wide, meaning that every time you want to cross you have to step into moving traffic, which often includes double-decker buses. I’ve lived nearby for a decade and each time you have to cross this junction you’re taking your life into your hands. It’s only a matter of time before somebody gets killed”.
These photos were taken during rush hour on 15th April 2024.
It is hard to convey how dangerous this junction is with still photos, but this video made last year conveys it well.
Safe Streets Now say
“As a society, we have for decades prioritised the convenience of car travel at the expense of our safety. More and more of our space has been given over to motor vehicles, only to see it clogged up with traffic. Our peace has been shattered by the ever-growing number of dangerous machines that fill our roads. And the victims of this constant threat rarely see justice served, with perpetrators left to drive for months or even years before their cases come to trial, and rarely subject to lifetime bans – even when they have killed someone.”
The Government could help by making 20mph the default speed limit for built-up areas, Banning pavement parking and allocating 10% of highway spending to high-quality infrastructure for walking, wheeling and cycling would make roads far safer.
The Sentencing Council should make lifetime bans automatic for the worst offences. The Crown Prosecution Service should impose interim driving bans as bail conditions for people arrested for or charged with causing death or serious injury by dangerous, intoxicated or careless driving.
In cities, reducing traffic speeds and providing more protection for pedestrians and cyclists will prevent collisions, minimise serious injuries and save lives. It will bring peace to our streets, for motorists and non-motorists alike, and help us move towards substantial cuts in CO2 emissions which we need to protect our climate.
Please join us on Saturday.
Tell the Truth Sheffield 