Arundel Gate Sheffield: Bus gate row after thousands of motorists miss warning signs
The council says it has responded to complaints - but questions remain
A new £70 bus gate in Sheffield is under the spotlight after the city council erected ‘highly-visible’ warnings - and drivers continue to pass through.
In the last week, the authority put four large red signs along Arundel Gate stating ‘Bus Gate ahead enforcement NOW STARTED’.
It came after complaints that earlier warnings were inadequate and too many drivers were being fined. Some 1,026 were snared over 27 days in June, an average of 38-a-day, raking in £36,000.
But when The Star visited the site on Wednesday, October 12, eight cars entered the bus gate in just 22 minutes, between 1.06pm and 1:28pm, despite the new signs being in place.
Some were seen to slow, as if the driver was aware, but did not know what to do. One did a U-turn after crossing the bus gate line. Another did an illegal one just before it, defying a no U-turns sign - but avoiding a £70 penalty charge.
The official way to go back involves a left into a mini roundabout just before the Novotel Hotel and a right across Arundel Gate.
The bus gate bans all traffic except buses, taxis and private hire cars from driving northbound towards High Street beyond the Novotel at 50 Arundel Gate.
It was introduced on March 20 to cut air pollution, speed up buses and create ‘high-quality public space’ to ‘drive investment and redevelopment’.
The council took action this week following complaints from drivers including Mark and Adele Fleming from Chesterfield who were caught in July.
Mr Fleming said: "If the signs are adequate, why have thousands of drivers apparently misunderstood, misread or ignored them? Does the council believe they are stupid or blind?"
He called for large ‘no entry’ signs that would provide "meaningful and impactful warnings."
Councillor Ben Miskell, chair of the transport, regeneration and climate policy committee, said analysis showed a ‘significant proportion’ of fines were issued to motorists from outside Sheffield who "may not have prior knowledge about the road change."
He added: "To address this issue, to make the bus gate as clear as possible to motorists and to reduce the number of possible PCNS, we have recently installed more additional signage.
"Additionally, we wanted to ensure we listened and responded to concerns. The new highly-visible signage highlights how to avoid inadvertently passing through the bus gate, including ensuring that road users can turn around in the Novotel Hotel entrance if necessary.
"Whilst we are satisfied the previous signage met all the legal requirements, we have acted swiftly to make improvements and respond to feedback.
"The bus gate was introduced to speed up journey times for bus passengers and lower harmful emissions in what was identified as a highly polluted area. Sheffield is a city on the up and our city centre is transforming, we want people to come and enjoy it."