Final day to comment on £5.6m 'Knowledge Gateway' proposal
The city council has outlined plans to upgrade the route running along the Lower Sheaf and Porter Valley between the railway station and Sidney Street - known as the 'Knowledge Gateway'.
A key aim is to improve accessibility and safety for all road users, and to improve the environment along the route to 'encourage new investment and create jobs'.
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Hide AdThe council has already announced plans to redevelop Fitzalan Square, by closing one of the bus routes and creating a new pedestrian area, and improve Esperanto Place by demolishing two shops in Arundel Gate to reopen a link to Norfolk Street.
The project also includes a proposal to 're-naturalise' Porter Brook and create a new taxi queuing and waiting area at Sheaf Square, next to the station.
Of the estimated £5.6 million cost, £3.8 million comes from Sheffield City Region while the rest will come from the private sector, including Sheffield Hallam University.
Drop-in events were held earlier this month and the council has been asking for views online.
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Hide AdA spokesman said: "Fitzalan Square, Sheffield’s main public space in Edwardian times, has become a less-celebrated location in recent years, cut off from the rest of the city centre and dominated by traffic.
"Paternoster Row is the main street of the Cultural Industries Quarter, home to the Showroom, Workstation, Site Gallery, Yorkshire Artspace and Sheffield Hallam’s Student Union building, but it is also dominated by fast-moving buses and taxis with little pedestrian space. Esperanto Place, once part of Norfolk Street, has become an uninviting back street.
"The Sheaf Square site is one of the most important development sites in the city centre, but development has been held back by traffic congestion problems around the station and the poor state of Porter Brook which runs along one side of it.
"Meanwhile, Pond Street is a poor pedestrian environment dominated by bus stops and service entrances, but has now become a key access through Sheffield Hallam University’s campus.
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Hide Ad"The Knowledge Gateway project will address each of these areas as part of a comprehensive ‘corridor’ approach.
"Subject to consultations, work should start late this year with a one-year build programme."
For more on the consultation visit www.welcometosheffield.co.uk, and to have your say e-mail [email protected] or call 0114 273 5570.
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