Injured Sheffield councillor calls for safer streets

Coun Richard Shaw said the irony of his injury wasn’t lost on him as he asked the full council to make the city more friendly and safer for cyclists and pedestrians.

Liberal Democrat councillor Shaw called on the council to improve Active Travel.

He said: “The targets that Sheffield sets for cycling is only a third of the rest of South Yorkshire.

“It is not surprising that so few people cycle in Sheffield given that so little investment has gone into cycle infrastructure over many years.

“This has made many people unwilling to cycle as they feel unsafe. If the council has any ambition to meet its self-declared climate emergency goals, the council has to make Sheffield an active travel city.”

He said almost a third of journeys less than 500m in South Yorkshire were by car - rising to almost three-quarters of journeys by car if the distance was less than 5km.

Coun Bob Johnson, cabinet member for transport, said the council had bid for funding through the Transforming Cities Fund from the Department of Transport.

He said: “That could see £85 million invested in sustainable travel in Sheffield over three years - paying for a mix of cycling, walking and mass transport bus corridors running throughout the city where we know they are most needed.”

The Greens support a Workplace Parking Levy, where employers pay an annual levy to the council for every parking space they provide for employees. Employers could then choose whether to pass on the cost to their staff.

Coun Martin Phipps said: “A Workplace Parking Levy, such as the one implemented in Nottingham, could raise millions of pounds for infrastructure improvements for buses, cycling, walking routes and trams, as well as disincentivising private car commuting. Proceeds could also pay for effective enforcement of parking infringements.”