Sheffield traffic: Fury as roads contractor Amey 'steals' Nether Edge residents' 20mph signs
Residents on a Sheffield rat run were left fuming when officials ‘stole’ 20mph signs they paid for themselves.
Householders on Nether Edge Road raised £300 and put up 12 signs after repeated calls to make the route safer were met with ‘inaction.’
At that point workers for roads contractor Amey swooped in and took them down.
Nether Edge Road is in a 20mph “child-safety zone” and has speed bumps. But locals say it is plagued by dangerous driving, speeding and road rage.
Resident Jane Linklater said they couldn’t see the harm in putting up ‘20’ signs in a 20mph zone - and they were sick of waiting.
The street “bore the brunt” of rat-running drivers - whose numbers have soared after nearby Archer Lane was reopened to traffic, she added.
“We researched all options and ultimately we bought the signs ourselves. It seems ‘Kafkaesque’ to come and take them down because we didn’t ask for ‘permission’.”
Resident Jonny Douglas said they had simply wanted to reduce “dangerous driving, speeding motorists and road rage.”
He added: “It calls into question how such a thing could possibly be a priority, given the current strain on public services.”
A spokesperson for Sheffield City Council said the council and Amey were alerted to 12 unauthorised 20mph signs on lighting columns on Nether Edge Road which had not been authorised by the Highways Authority or “correctly attached,” so were removed.
They would be handed back but “should not be re-installed on the public highway,” they added.
The spokesperson said: “Under rules from the Department for Transport highways authorities must legally follow strict rules and regulations when it comes to designing and signing traffic signs including speed limit signs.
“These rules and regulations cover issues such as the size, how reflective they are, the position and height of the signs and how they are securely attached.
“They need to be designed to a legal standard and installed correctly by an authorised contractor who also has the correct liability in place in case any fall and damage property or injure a person.”
Recent speed surveys, conducted in response to complaints from residents, showed the average speed on Nether Edge Road was 19mph, the spokesperson said.
They added: “The traffic calming measures in place in the Nether Edge 20mph Zone are to influence driver speeds with the aim to reduce speeds in line with the reduced limit.
“Whilst South Yorkshire Police have the responsibility for enforcing speed limits on the city's roads our recent speed survey indicates that average speeds are in line with the 20mph limit. Concerns about speeding vehicles should be reported to South Yorkshire Police.”
Archer Lane was closed to traffic in 2022 to get more people walking and cycling. But bollards were controversially removed last year after complaints it had led to increased congestion on Abbeydale Road.