OPINION: Extending traffic ban on Division Street in Sheffield city centre could help businesses boom

It can’t just be me who loves the freedom of walking down the middle of the road on Division Street and seeing people enjoy their food and drink outdoors.

You will be walking down, chatting to your friends and before you know it, you get the culture shock of having cars fly by you and you have to remember your road manners once again.

Businesses like Copper Pot, Moonco and Lucky Fox have all benefitted from the boom in customers and you can’t help but go back again and again.

The planned extension could take the traffic ban from The Forum all the way up to Sainsbury’s which means more businesses could benefit from the extension.

For me, since Covid forced us to sit outside in all kinds of weather, I have grown to enjoy the relaxed nature of having my food and coffee outside.

Especially if it is sunny.

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And I don’t know about you but the thought of having my Pieminister pie in the blazing sunshine sounds like a dream come true.

But this idea doesn’t come without its flaws.

This extension would go past the crossroads that takes you up towards Wetherspoons, which is a lively destination, especially on a Saturday night.

That would mean that every car, bus, taxi and cyclist would have to change their routes to different destinations which doesn’t sound awful.

Then you have to remember where those cars have to go, onto the busy surrounding roads that people already get frustrated with.

You will have Ubers and taxis having to find new places to drop off and pick up the drunks.

This means more staggering zombies walking through the streets to get to their next boozy bonanza.

Plus you have to remember the bus routes that would have to change, like the 120 which goes down Division Street.

The entire route would have to be adapted to accommodate this extension meaning that all the times would also have to change which will affect people’s travels.

But not all of it is bad.

This traffic ban is environmentally friendly, reducing the pollution in the area by stopping cars from driving up and down it.

Plus if someone who lives locally has to travel, they may be encouraged to walk rather than take a scenic route in the car to get to where they want to go.

It’s also great for the local residents as it reduces the amount of pollution they are exposed to so they get to breathe cleaner air.

And it might just be a mental thing but the air up Division Street just always smells and feels better than anywhere else in Sheffield.

With this extension, more businesses can benefit from this and have their business boom with customers.

The most exciting part for me is the thought of seeing the streets full of locals and people visiting Sheffield all together as one.

Smiling faces and contagious laughter will fill Division Street and will go against its name and bring the people of Sheffield closer together.