Editor's comment: Sheffield must pick right road for better city centre

Anything that inconveniences drivers polarises opinion. Just stating that fact is enough to annoy some folk, which clearly does nothing other than prove my point. Most of us use both cars and bikes, certainly all of us want a city centre that is thriving and the jewel in our crown yet we don’t act that way.

History has a lot to teach us and, when it comes to this topic, there are learnings both good and bad. I have no recollection of parking in Tudor Square, as shown in this photo, but then my family didn’t have a car when I was young so it wouldn’t have really registered. Instead we got the bus – cheap and reliable – everywhere. Or walked. It wasn’t a huge problem, we just accepted it as we do the fact that cars can’t drive up The Moor or Fargate these days. What was the reaction when those two important streets were turned over to pedestrians? Was it seen as something that would make our city better for the future or was it viewed as just another attack on motorists? While I’ve been in this job I haven’t heard anybody argue that cars should be brought back there and the photo shows what an incredible improvement it was for Tudor Square.

Yet all drivers complain, correctly, how hard it is to access anywhere in town, how expensive parking is and that it honestly does put them off. That isn't what traders want to hear. We need to attract more people in, not put them off. So where do we go from here?

Everybody knows areas with more green and less petrol fumes are nicer places to spend your time. As the High Street funding is rolled out, the whole aim is to make Sheffield a destination. Not somewhere to head because you need to pop into the bank but a place to make wonderful memories for a whole day. Here are the lessons from history, with apologies if they are staggeringly obvious. Firstly, cheap, efficient, clean and reliable public transport gets people out of their cars like nothing else. We have gone backwards in that regard for decades. Secondly, change always prompts outrage. We just aren’t comfortable with it so it is really important to make it as easy as possible rather than waving a threatening stick and saying it is for the great good.