Thursday, October 21, 2021

News: New Rotherham cycle scheme will cause delays in a roundabout way

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A roundabout on a key route to Rotherham town centre is set to be reduced to one lane in order to accommodate cyclists, and proponents of the scheme expect it will make queueing here longer.

Funding is being sought via the South Yorkshire Mayoral Combined Authority (SYMCA) for improvements on Wellgate, Broom Road and Broom Valley Road to provide better conditions for cyclists, and pedestrian, travelling between the south east of the town and central Rotherham (including its onward rail and bus services).

The first phase centres on creating dedicated cycle tracks on Wellgate and Broom Road, between Hollowgate and Boswell Street. A potential second phase would, subject to community support, improve conditions for pedestrians and cyclists on Broom Valley Road and address local concerns about traffic volumes and speeds.

Alhtough funding is tight, new one-way cycle tracks will be provided on each side of Wellgate between Hollowgate and Clifton Roundabout and some parking spaces and a redundant loading bay would be removed. Bus passengers will need to cross the narrow cycle track to reach the bus stop.

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Clifton Roundabout, along with its approaches, will be narrowed to a single lane to control vehicle speeds, provide space for cycle tracks, separate from traffic and pedestrians, all the way around, and improve the refuge areas for pedestrians and cyclists crossing each arm of the roundabout.

The proposals mean that the current bus lane on Broom Road would end before the roundabout where two lanes will merge into one (at around Broom Terrace), with the cycle track alongside. The existing westbound bus lane will be kept, and goods vehicles will be newly allowed to use the bus lane.

A consultation document from Rotherham Council, states: "These changes will reduce the capacity of the roundabout. Assessing the exact impact of this on traffic has been difficult as it has not been possible to collect current representative traffic data due to reduced traffic levels during COVID-19 restrictions. Historical data suggests the roundabout will operate near to its capacity in the morning peak travel period, with potential for queues to form on Broom Road for about half an hour. The average delays for motorised traffic at this roundabout during the morning peak, under these proposals, is forecast to be 17 seconds (though this may vary from day to day)."

Another scheme being assessed is one to provide a cycle route between Wath town centre and the A633 Manvers Way – with its existing cycle tracks and connections to cycle routes through the Dearne Valley. This will allow direct access between the employment sites and facilities of Manvers and Wath-upon-Dearne.

Cllr. Dominic Beck, Cabinet Member for Transport and the Environment at Rotherham Council, said: “Cycling and walking provide low-cost travel, improve health and wellbeing and help protect the environment - so investing in active travel creates lasting benefits for everyone. But we need people’s feedback to ensure we are doing this in the best way for local residents, businesses and road users – so I urge people to look at the proposals and take part in the consultations."

Images: Google Maps

6 comments:

Anonymous,  October 21, 2021 at 2:40 PM  

Going ahead with a project where there is insufficient data for a proper evaluation is not usually a recipe for success.
The existing cycle lanes on busy routes into/out of the town centre seem under-used - perhaps because ultimately cyclists have to mix with the other traffic and have no wish to become organ donors. It seems doubtful, therefore, that this new scheme will encourage cycling. It seems, however, likely to cause congestion and thus increased pollution from exhaust fumes.

Graldhunter October 21, 2021 at 2:48 PM  

More expensive RMBC "Save The Whale" nonsense which will not work as dreamed up Rovrum Laybah. Car users will not suddenly abandon their cars and take to push bikes if they visit the remains of the Town Centre. I wonder how the Rovrum Councillors will journey to Town Hall Towers in winter, rain, cold etc. Of course they will cycle or queue for t'bus - NOT. Yet more Laybah "do as I say, not as I do" ������������

Anonymous,  October 21, 2021 at 10:59 PM  

The comment about organ doners made me laugh - but I agree waste of money and pollution from traffic jams 👆🤮

Mr me October 22, 2021 at 2:32 PM  

What planet you on.Ome of the climate change not happening brigade.Dangerous and deluded fool.

Anonymous,  October 23, 2021 at 10:08 AM  

A cycle lane down Wellgate, will most likely be blocked by the same cars that are happy to park on double yellow lines as highlighted by the Advertiser recently. Good luck with Broom Valley rd, what would happen to all the cars parked on the road, kerb, grass verges and even doubled parked? Then there are the cars that regularly race up and down...

Anonymous,  October 27, 2021 at 2:45 PM  

Wouldn't the most sensible thing be to widen the pathway in front of the vets, enabling cyclists wishing to ride into town to bypass the roundabout altogether? I can't see much point in doing anything the other way, given that a) Broom Road is a ruddy great hill and b) a cycle route could be quite easily sited through the playing fields, again, bypassing traffic altogether.

For the 2-3 cyclists likely to use it every year, I agree it does seem like a complete waste of time, money and resources.

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