Arundel Gate: Sheffield bus gate set to stay after year of controversy

The Arundel Gate bus gate went live on March 20 and has been catching hundreds of drivers a week ever since.

The restriction bans all vehicles except buses, taxis and private hire cars from driving north towards High Street beyond the Novotel hotel 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'.

But for some reason, droves of motorists continue to cross the line every day, incurring a £70 fine.

Some say they aren’t observant enough. Others claim the signs are inadequate.

The council didn’t collect charges for the first two months and instead sent warning notices. Then the grace period ended and the penalties started piling up.

In the 27 days between June 3 and June 30, some 1,026 motorists were caught - an average of 38-a-day - raising £36,000.

By September 18 some 39,234 fines had been issued, a staggering 366 every day.

But as well as cash, the authority was receiving complaints about the signs. In October it erected four large red warnings stating ‘Bus Gate ahead enforcement ‘NOW STARTED’.

Officials claimed they were ‘highly visible’ and it did lead to a drop. But drivers continued to pass through.

When The Star visited on Wednesday October 12, eight cars entered the bus gate in just 22 minutes.

A month later about 216 drivers were still falling foul of the rules each day. If they all paid the £70 penalty the council would rake in more than £5m-a-year.

After the new signs were brought in some drivers claimed it showed the originals were inadequate and all 39,000 tickets from that period should be refunded.

But the council insisted it had followed all the rules.

The bus gate was introduced on an 18-month trial which ends in September 2024. The council says 'all feedback will be considered' before a decision is made on whether to make it permanent.

But having endured the teething troubles it's hard to see it being scrapped.