Reopening Pinstone Street to traffic in Sheffield will “kill the city centre” say residents

Blockades were put along the major road last summer to enable social distancing but it meant 36 bus services had to be diverted prompting complaints from some passengers. Certain businesses were also unhappy at the loss of passing trade.

A scrutiny board will consider a report about whether the road should reopen but residents say they are appalled at the idea and warn it could ruin the city centre.

Peter Sephton, chairman of ChangingSheff, will speak at the meeting on Thursday, September 16.

He said: “We are appalled to know that the council is contemplating the return of traffic to Pinstone Street.

“Has the council asked the views of Dame Sarah Storey over this proposal and if so, what are these views?

“In her position as the Active Travel Commissioner for the Sheffield City Region and a person with disability, who has won a record 17 Paralympic gold medals, we might presume that she feels the same way as city centre residents, who realise that the future of our centre lies in a traffic free environment where people of all abilities and disabilities can move about without fear of dying prematurely from traffic fumes or being flattened by a ten ton bus.

“If the council votes to put traffic back into Pinstone Street it will be killing not just its residents, but the whole future of its expensive and potentially exciting new building project that aims to revitalise our struggling town centre.

“In 2019 the council took the brave step to pedestrianise the centre. Let’s know whether our Active Travel Commissioner supports a policy that will return us to the polluted 1980s.”

Mr Sephton says the bus issue could be fixed with a widespread public information campaign.

He added: “If public transport access is an issue, it’s a temporary one because you haven’t created the facilities or publicity to help its users. Please don’t ruin the city centre because you can’t fix the present, or visualise the future.”