Angry road safety campaigners say council has ignored consultations

Angry road safety campaigners have accused Sheffield Council of ignoring residents and pushing through its own plan despite promising to listen to them.
Angry road safety campaigners say council has ignored consultations at OughtibridgeAngry road safety campaigners say council has ignored consultations at Oughtibridge
Angry road safety campaigners say council has ignored consultations at Oughtibridge

The Oughtibridge Road Safety Action Group (ORSAG) says Coun Bob Johnson, cabinet member for transport, and officers have decided not to take on board the results of two consultations in the village – one of them done by the council itself.

Both consultations gave a firm thumbs-down to the council’s traffic plan, which would see the closure of Bridge Hill to through traffic.

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But a Traffic Regulation Order has now been drawn up by the council to close the top of Bridge Hill to through traffic and leave the bottom of Bridge Hill open to two-way traffic.

ORSAG says it doesn’t properly addressing the accidents at the scene. Paul Humphries, on behalf of the group, said: “Earlier this year the council asked local residents for their views on what it could do to make the roads in Oughtibridge safer but says this was ‘informal’.

“It now states that its plan has been given the go-ahead – not following consultation with residents and their action group but with councillors and Coun Johnson.”

Mr Humphries says Coun Johnson promised to listen to residents when a traffic regulation order upset people in his own Hillsborough ward. Campaigners now want him to do the same in Oughtibridge.

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“We are appealing to Coun Johnson to stand by what he said when plans for traffic regulation in his own ward of Hillsborough were revealed.

“He claimed the views of residents were his top priority, saying: “I will not sign off a traffic regulation order against the wishes of residents.” ORSAG wants to hold him to this in Oughtibridge.”

Sheffield Council said no one was available to comment but as part of legal requirements, the traffic regulation order was open for comments until December 14.

Details are at https://www.sheffield.gov.uk/home/roads-pavements/road-improvement-requests