FUMING residents facing a lengthy detour to drive to their homes because of the Hillsborough tram gates are to be granted an exemption from the restrictions.
The move is being proposed less than a month after people living in Rudyard Road and Treswell Crescent handed in a petition signed by 88 people at a full meeting of Sheffield Council.
Currently all traffic, except taxis, the Supertram and buses, is banned from using the gate on Middlewood Road at Hillsborough Corner, between 7am and 7pm daily in a bid to cut congestion.
But residents said the ban, which means they can drive within sight of their homes but are then forced to drive in a circle of up to a mile before they can access their streets, was "nonsensical".
What do you think? post your comment below.They asked if they could be granted exemption.
Coun Bryan Lodge, Sheffield Council cabinet member for transport, said: "We have since been trying to find a common sense approach to this problem. We have now found a way to operate a scheme allowing residents access."
The proposal involves people living in the two streets registering number plates of their cars with Sheffield Council, which would add them to its list of permitted vehicles, allowing them unrestricted access through the tram gates.
The change must be approved by the city's West and North Planning and Highways Area Board at a meeting on December 11 before it can be implemented - but residents have already been informed of the plan by letter this week.
Coun Lodge said council officers had been asked to work as quickly as possible to find a solution to the problem because the situation was "urgent" - particularly because CCTV enforcement of the tram gates is now in operation, meaning motorists flouting the ban can be fined up to £60.
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