Little London Road: Reaction as Sheffield road on Sheaf Valley cycle route is closed to cars at railway bridge

Little London Road has been closed to motor vehicles at the railway bridge near Rydal Road, with bollards now in place either side of the bridge, though the road remains open to cyclists and pedestrians.

The closure, which was put in place on Thursday, July 7, is part of a major upgrade to the Sheaf Valley Cycle Route, linking Woodseats with Pond Hill in Sheffield city centre, via Shoreham Street, where parking bays are due to be removed to create a new three-metre-wide two-way cycle track.

It is the latest in a series of ‘Active Travel’ roadblocks which have been put in place in an attempt to reduce air pollution and encourage more people to walk and cycle.

Like the others in Crookes and Nether Edge, it is has been introduced on a six-month trial basis, using what is known as an experimental traffic regulation order – and it has proved predictably controversial.

Many people have welcomed the closure, saying it will make life much safer for cyclists and pedestrians travelling under the bridge, where the road narrows and there is no footpath.

But others have criticised the change, calling it unnecessary and saying it will push more traffic onto Abbeydale Road and Chesterfield Road, which are both already congested.

More: Angry Crookes and Walkley residents call for end to controversial pilot scheme

Feelings are running high, based on the huge volume of comments online, and it has not escaped the vandalism which has afflicted similar schemes, with one person reporting how the orange barriers in front of the bollards had been thrown into the river running alongside the road.

When The Star visited on Friday afternoon, the road was relatively quiet, though a couple of drivers were clearly speeding, and there was a steady trickle of cyclists using the route.

We spoke to residents in the apartment block closest to the bridge.

One, who did not wish to be named, branded the closure ‘ridiculous’ and said he was particularly concerned about where people would park if plans to introduce double yellow lines along the route go ahead.

Another, who also asked to remain anonymous, said: “It’s quite a useful shortcut and this will just mean drivers have to go further and use more petrol, which will make pollution worse, not better.”

He added: “I think it’s an unnecessary closure. It’s like they have a budget they need to blow.”

One businessperson has previously spoken out against the closure, which he described as a ‘totally pointless exercise’ and said would ‘finish about 40 businesses’.

But council transport officer Matthew Reynolds last year told The Star it was ‘one of Sheffield’s biggest rat runs’ and there were complaints from cyclists saying they were ‘constantly squeezed out’ both under the bridge and due to cars parked on Little London Road.

And Sheffield Green Party leader Douglas Johnson has also defended the £3.4 million upgrade to the popular cycle route.

“Our successful future will depend on investment in a safe, high-quality network for walking and cycling,” he said.