Tesco plan road peril

It’s a difficult junction for traffic and for pedestrians.

It’s a key school route, both en route to Westways, where many very young local children attend school and pre-school and their families may be negotiating the walk to school with up to three children under five, as one of my friends does daily.

Of course there will be increased road traffic. That will increase the difficulty, anxiety and danger of what should be a pleasant walk.

In turn, this may increase road traffic and the dangerous road use around the primary school even further as more parents might opt to use the car to take their children to school.

That will increase traffic further, with short journeys, which are the most polluting, stress and accident probability.

That Tesco will be right by the secondary school bus stop. Young teenagers in groups easily lose concentration on road safety and I can imagine all sorts of unpleasantness about alleged shoplifting, as well as a further increase in children buying junk food .

None of this is what our council says that it wants for the city and none fits with larger government policies of cleaner, greener living and healthier lifestyles for our young people.

There is a vast Tesco at Infirmary Road. The local community is well-served by popular and responsive small shops, many locally owned. The experience of other regions suggests that these are likely to suffer if Tesco moves in .

What about deliveries?

It is already a difficult and busy road. When will the large lorries make their frequent deliveries and how will that affect road use, noise and pollution?

Daytime deliveries are a hazard. Night deliveries disturb local residents. Traffic noise has increased markedly in the last 10 years, and this would not help.

The experience of other regions also suggests that Tesco frequently break initial planning permission agreements and delivery regulations, by building larger than the agreed size and having deliveries outside the agreed times.

We need the city planners and council to protect our community and children by refusing this application.

Georgia Litherland, Sheffield 6