Budget increases of £206k for Sheffield road safety schemes

A meeting of Sheffield City Council’s finance and performance policy committee next Monday (November 18) will be asked to approve the increases for projects on the A625, in Crookes Valley and on Heavygate Road, Crookes.

One request is for a £79,500 increase to the budget for the Safer Roads A625 project to cover “additional feasibility costs”. The Department for Transport, which is funding the scheme, has identified the A625 as one of the 27 urban roads with the highest rates of road traffic collisions in the UK.

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The project involves a 3.5-mile stretch of the route on Ecclesall Road and Ecclesall Road South. The two sections highlighted run from Pear Street near the inner ring road to Hunter’s Bar roundabout and between the roundabout and the junction with Whirlowdale Road in Whirlow.

A public consultation exercise set up by the council proposes measures including average speed cameras at key points, vehicle-activated speed signs, new and upgraded pedestrian crossings, remodelling of some road junctions, reduced speed limits along parts of the route, as well as improvements to signage and pedestrian footways.

On Crookes Valley Road, a budget increase of £57,000 is proposed to continue preliminary and detailed design works for a safety scheme to road reduce road collisions and deaths and serious injuries. The road has been prioritised as a priority site for works.

Crossing

The project budget would be increased to £81,400 to cover additional preliminary and detailed design works not included in the original cost calculation.

Extra project costs totalling £70,000 have also been identified for a scheme to install a signal-controlled crossing on Heavygate Road. Temporary crossings have already been installed and the decision to go ahead followed a pedestrian survey.

The extra spending relates to the omission of costs relating to the continuing hire of the temporary equipment and detailed design fees.

Both Crookes schemes are being fully funded by the Local and Neighbourhood Transport Complementary Programme, which is administered through the South Yorkshire Mayoral Combined Authority (SYMCA).

All the projects were put forward by the council’s transport, regeneration and climate policy committee.