Rother Valley Connect 2 Scheme

The next letter I've opened states that my objection/representation (translates as "letter of support") for the Connect 2 scheme will be made available for the Public Enquiry, which has come about as a result of the dispute between a landowner and the Council, and it looks as though I will be called to give evidence at the enquiry. Exciting times!

TRO - Shiregreen 20mph Zone

Now this is more like it  - a TRO introducing a 20mph zone for the whole of the Shiregreen Area (excluding Bellhouse Rd) I'll be writing to support this as I believe it will make the whole area safer, increase levels of walking and cycling and improve air quality as well as having a positive effect on social cohesion.

Ref is TR/37/071

TRO Children's Hospital & George St

- Voucher Parking Bay outside children's hospital
- no loading or waiting on Clarkson St & parts of Durham Rd
 - A loading only bay on George St.

No problems with any of that - anything that creates a bit more order out of the chaos in this area has to be a good thing. 

TROs

We have the following comments on TRO's received recently:- 

TR/16/6017 Psalter Lane & Sandbeck Place

We SUPPORT this scheme but are concerned to ensure that sufficient space is left between the new parking bays and the carriageway. Traffic is regularly backed up between Cemetery Rd and Cowlishaw Rd, so cyclists have to either squeeze between parked cars and slow-moving traffic, risking having a car door opened on them, or overtake on the off-side against oncoming traffic, also not ideal. I trust this point can be taken into account in the final design. 

TR/18/01 - School Keep Clear & Waiting Restrictions

We SUPPORT these proposals. 

TR/16/6015, 6017, TR/17/CA, TR/20/10, TR/39/1009

We support the majority of these proposals. Ordinarily we would object to the provision of additional parking bays on Botanical Road & Bruce Rd but as these are part of the overall review of parking provision we will not be doing so on this occasion. We would however question whether providing additional parking spaces conform to the council Vision For Excellent Transport"  "a culture where the car is not always the first choice." 

Norfolk Park Rd - Traffic Calming and One-Way Arrangement

This scheme appears to be over-engineered and it seems  to us that the simple imposition of a 20mph limit on this area, enforced by mobile cameras would meet most of the objectives of the scheme. There does not appear to be any provision for cyclists in this scheme  - in particular there is no contra-flow arrangement for cyclists in the one-way section and in this respect we OBJECT to the scheme. 

Whilst Speed Cushions are effective in controlling traffic speeds they make for a very uncomfortable ride for cyclists.