Sheffield bus lanes: Petition launched for residents’ only parking zones off Abbeydale Road

They want the council to create residents’ only parking permit zones for an area off Abbeydale Road in particular the roads from Grasmere Road to Arnside Road.

This would include: Grasmere Road, Thirlmere Road, Windermere Road, Langdale Road, Rydal Road, Coniston Road and Arnside Road.

In their petition statement, they said: “It has become increasingly difficult for residents to park on the side roads off Abbeydale Road and the proposed changes to the bus lanes are only going to make this worse.

“Other areas of Sheffield, for example around Ecclesall Road, have this in place and now residents around Abbeydale Road also deserve this.”

The petition will run until June 23 and can be found here: https://democracy.sheffield.gov.uk/mgEPetitionDisplay.aspx?ID=10249&RPID=7158208&HPID=7158208

What are Sheffield Council’s controversial bus lane plans?

The council is planning to extend bus lane operation times to 12 hours a day, remove parking and create a red route on Ecclesall Road and Abbeydale Road with the aim of improving bus services and encouraging people to ditch their cars.

But more than 7,500 people have opposed the plans in a petition that was presented to the authority at a recent full council meeting.

Nasar Raoof, a postmaster who presented the petition, described it as the “ludicrous butchering and murder of local businesses”.

He said: “We are really upset, stressed and angry. We are angry for a number of reasons…

“Businesses like mine, the post office that has been going for 20 or 30 years, will now have to close its doors because a Green councillor has proposed a 12 hour bus lane and red lines all the way along it which will prevent Royal Mail and courier vans and the most vulnerable people in our community from coming to our post office with packages and items to drop them off.”

MORE ON BUS LANES: Bus lane: Ecclesall and Abbeydale road plans in Sheffield ‘will butcher small businesses’ says postmaster

Councillor Douglas Johnson, co-operative executive member for climate change, environment and transport, said the council had not yet made a decision on this and it was only in the early stages of consultation, adding that it would weigh up all the factors before making any changes.