Oliver Coppard reacts to bus gate announcement in Sheffield city centre
A new bus gate will go live in September
South Yorkshire Mayor Oliver Coppard has reacted to an announcement that a new bus gate is to go live in Sheffield city centre.
And an exisiting bus lane which had been temporarily out of action is to be brought back into use again.
Sheffield City Council announced yesterday that a new bus gate will be introduced on Furnival Gate near the top of Matilda Way, while an existing bus gate, on the opposite side of Furnival Gate, at the bottom of Pinstone Street will be brought back into operation.
Both bus gates are due to become operational on September 19.
The council said the changes are designed to prioritise buses on key routes through the city centre, helping public transport move more efficiently and providing quicker, more direct access to important destinations.
Mayor Mr Coppard is set to take control of Shefield’s buses in 2027.
Speaking to The Star at an event where Prime Minister Andy Burnham announced a devolution deal which will see regional mayors receive a share of income tax to spend locally, Mr Coppard said: “The broader principle that I come back to time and again is that my frustration is when people complain to me and say 'I'm annoyed about something' and I have to turn around to them and say 'I'm sorry, there's nothing I can do about that, despite the fact that I'm the mayor'.
“What I think devolution has to do and I think what today is, is a step towards, is people like me actually having not just the responsibility or the visibility, but actually the ability to be able to deliver on solutions to problems.
“That has to come with a requisite challenge to people like me that we listen to people when they say this is a problem, right?
"So that is the benefit of devolution. Me being able to say actually this has caused a problem, this isn't working well enough, there is something going wrong over there, and now I have the power, the money, and the responsibility to be able to deal with it.
"At the moment that isn't the case.
“Certainly on things like bus gates, there is a responsibility there shared between councils and me and we have to work through those problems.
“I think over time it has to be about more power being invested in places like South Yorkshire so we can actually respond to the problems that people face."