Call to extend pavement widths in Sheffield to help with social distancing

That was the conclusion this week after local cycling groups CycleSheffield, Love to Ride and CycleBoost joined transport campaigners from across the UK, along with the city region’s Active Travel team to discuss how quiet roads and social distancing measures provide both opportunities and dangers.

“There’s a temptation for some drivers to travel that bit faster when the roads appear clear, but I’d urge all motorists to give all their consideration to other road users at this time, including small children who are out taking their daily exercise,” said Councillor Bob Johnson, Sheffield Council Cabinet Member for Transport and Development.

Towns and cities across the world are looking at ideas like extending pavement space for pedestrians (who may not have room to socially distance from others without stepping onto busy roads), creating active travel routes on roads with far less traffic than usual, clamping down on pavement parking and reducing speed limits to cut danger on residential streets.

"CycleSheffield support any measures that are introduced to make cycling and walking in Sheffield safer, easier and more attractive,” said Dexter Johnstone from CycleSheffield.

“Pedestrian crossings could be changed to show a default green for pedestrians and red for motorists, and then only change to green light motor vehicles after an appropriate amount of time, for example. We could also start trialling low traffic neighbourhoods, so people feel safe walking and cycling near where they live and can continue to enjoy the benefits of lower levels of motor traffic once the lockdown ends.”

A real danger identified nationally is the problem of narrow pavements outside food shops and pharmacies, where queues can cause passersby to step a metre or more into the road to stay two metres from anyone else. One suggested solution, where narrow pavements are a problem, is to widen them using cones with space taken from the road.

“I think social distancing will continue even when the full lockdown ends, and this is likely to have a dramatic effect on public transport use,” said Dexter Johnstone. “If people are unable or unwilling to use buses and the tram, they’ll need decent active travel options, otherwise car use will further increase with all the congestion and air pollution that brings.”

CycleSheffield are asking for ideas, which Cllr Johnson will be collating and assessing with council officers before setting out possible changes in the next week or so. People can also mark ideas they’d like to see on the Sheffield City Region’s active travel map at: https://cyclewalkscrmap.sheffieldcityregion.org.uk

“We want to encourage active travel and taking exercise safely, but we also want to be sure that government guidance about social distancing is followed,” said Councillor Johnson.

“I don’t think business as usual after all this, and going back to the traffic flows we had before, is what anyone wants. A whole lot of things could change, and I’d sooner see us lead by example rather than follow.”

A message from the Editor:

Thank you for reading this story on our website. While I have your attention, I also have an important request to make of you.

With the coronavirus lockdown having a major impact on many of our advertisers - and consequently the revenue we receive - we are more reliant than ever on you taking out a digital subscription.

Subscribe to The Star website and enjoy unlimited access to local news and information online and on our app. With a digital subscription, you can read more than 5 articles, see fewer ads, enjoy faster load times, and get access to exclusive newsletters and content.

Visit https://www.thestar.co.uk/subscriptions now to sign up.

Our journalism costs money and we rely on advertising, print and digital revenues to help to support them. By supporting us, we are able to support you in providing trusted, fact-checked content for this website.