Penistone Road and Shalesmoor: £22m to improve Sheffield roads for motorists, cyclists, pedestrians, buses and Supertram

Shalesmoor, Penistone Road and Rutland Road will be altered and Shalesmoor Supertram stop could be renamed, possibly as the Kelham Island stop.

Sheffield Council is bidding for funding from the Department for Transport and hopes to begin work in 2024 with a completion date of 2025.

The aim is to alter road layouts to make the area easier to navigate, keep traffic flowing and be safer and more pleasant for pedestrians and cyclists.

Why is this particular area?

Matthew Reynolds, transport planning manager at Sheffield Council, said the changes were needed because of a housing surge in Kelham Island, St Vincents, West Bar and Castlegate.

He said: “We want to make sure connectivity is right at the very heart of where this growth is happening, with good links across all modes of transport within the area.

“We’re looking to reduce congestion, which in turn enhances safety and improves the general experience of travelling around the city, whether by car, bus or tram.

“We don’t want all these amazing developments to happen then everyone says, where’s my car parking space?

“We want to emphasise that people don’t need one as everything is within easy walking distance or you can get on the bus, Supertram or a bike. This is absolutely paramount to how we want to see this area developed.

“These are major road networks connecting the Parkway, A61 and M1 and also the Northern General Hospital, which has a massive amount of staff, patients and taxi movements.

“We have the Clean Air charging zone going in which is key, as we want to design it so it doesn’t force people in and allows people to turn back.”

What’s planned?

Matt describes Shalesmoor roundabout as an “absolute nightmare”. Motorists are stopped by a series of traffic lights, the signals cannot detect buses so they don’t get priority and it’s unpleasant for pedestrians trying to cross between the Supertram stop and Kelham Island.

The roundabout will be removed and replaced with traffic lights, to allow free flowing left turns, improving journey times and creating more space for buses.

Matt said: “What we find with the ring road is that one car breaks down and within minutes everything else is at a standstill.

“With schemes like this, we are building resilience so if something does happen it’s not as catastrophic.”

All the crossing will be reduced to just one point to make it easier for pedestrians and discourage them from jumping over the railings.

There will be segregated cycle tracks and Toucan crossings which prioritise both cyclists and pedestrians.

Shalesmoor will be made more pleasant with greenery and drainage to prevent flooding. And there will be a new right turn at Rutland Road traffic lights so vehicles no longer have to detour around Shalesmoor if they want to head north along Penistone Road.

Full details are available here