Sheffield traffic: Back to school traffic causes gridlock on some city routes

While some city schools started back last week, today (Monday, September 5) is the first day that all schools have been open since before the summer holidays.

Some sections of Sheffield Parkway are already experiencing gridlock, with delays reported near to South Quay Drive; on the turn off from Derek Dooley Way and in the opposite direction at the section as the road joins Derek Dooley Way.

There is also congestion on a number of other major routes taking motorists in and out of Sheffield: including Cricket Inn Road, heading towards Park Square; in both directions on Lumley Street; on the A61 heading towards Corporation Street and on Corporation Street itself.

Some Sheffield school bus services have had a shake-up over the summer, including a service which took Notre Dame pupils to school but has now been axed.

A number of other school bus services are also facing the axe, as the region prepares to lose around one-third of its bus network when government funding to help operators get through the pandemic comes to an end in October.

South Yorkshire mayor Oliver Coppard and the region’s council leaders approved a £5.1 million proposal to reverse commercial route cuts which affect children getting to and from school in July.

When bus companies withdraw services – as they are expected to do in October – the SYMCA can pay other companies to run the route. However, in the most recent tender process, a number of routes received no bids from operators.