cycleSheffield

Ecclesall Rd smartroutes consultation

See http://www.smartroutes.co.uk/ecclesallroad/index.html

These are my thoughts on the problems that cyclists face using Ecclesall Rd - Feel free to comment/add.

When it is clear of congestion, speeds are too high - make it a 20mph zone.
Perhaps a Kensington High St ‘Naked Streets’ approach would work?

The Moore St subways are too narrow and should be widened. Visibility should be improved here as well.

Negotiating crossings, particularly Collegiate Crescent and the Groves.

Abuse of Bus Lanes by motorists and poor enforcement . Motorists frequently enter the bus lane to turn left further up without checking
whether there are cyclists in the lane. The Bus Lanes themselves are too narrow and buses cannot get past cyclists.

At Hunters Bars the slip from Junction Rd into Sharrow Vale Rd is welcome but is poorly designed and collects road debris. It should be raised to prevent this from happening.

All the pedestrian crossings along Ecclesall Rd, but particularly H. Bar should be turned into Toucan crossings.

Cyclists face the same problems as motorists at Ecclesall Rd South, Banner Cross to Ringinglow Rd but are far more at risk.

An additional toucan crossing is needed between Bannerdale Rd and Gisborne Rd.

A crossing at Banner Cross from Psalter Lane to Glenalmond Rd could be introduced with right turn lane at Psalter Lane that nudges up to the traffic island at the outbound junction with Ecclesall Rd South.
Ideally one would have a toucan crossing here, but for the moment, do nothing. We could even tolerate “cyclists dismount” signs for the interim.

Then, you just need a little shared use area where the new cycle stands have been put in, a slip lane onto Glenalmond Rd (which ought to be 2-way for cyclists anyway) and away you go.

The pavement between Banner Cross and Whirlow is wide enough to allow shared use (this being for children and inexperienced cyclists, more experienced cyclists will want to stay on the road)

Quiet Routes could be introduced :-

Around the back of Berkeley Precinct, connecting Stalker Lees with Bruce Rd/Hickmott Rd - without prejudice to making Ecclesall Rd itself safer for cyclists of course.

Collegiate Crescent to the Groves, through SHU is another potentiality.

Frog Walk from Napier St to Sharrow Vale Rd via Porter Brook View could be made a viable cycle route.

A signed alternative cycle route from Hunters Bar, through Endcliffe Park as far as Rustlings Rd, then using the quieter back streets up to Banner Cross & Greystones. This could act as a stub for a future route along the side of Endcliffe Park to Bingham Park.

Mark said:-

My comments for the Ecclesall Road area:

I used to commute Walkley -> Sharrowvale road and back, so I have quite
a lot of experience of Eccleshall Road at various times of day.

Coming out of town is a pain. Especially the stretch from the old Wards
brewery to Tesco/Pizza hut. The available carriageway is narrow, the
traffic is often very slow moving - with lots of kerbisde parking
maneuvers, somtimes even lorries unloading in the carriageway. You have
to keep your eyes peeled. Drivers get frustrated and make mistakes. -
I find that it’s often much more pleasant to just get off and walk for
that stretch. I don’t know what the solution is - taking away the
on-road parking would make it more pleasant and safe, but there’s a
compromise to be made - that parking obviously benefits local shops and
businesses.

Cycle route crossing the entrance of the Waitrose car park is badly
positioned on a blind bend. Cars can come very fast around the corner -
could do with a better layout - again I don’t know what the solution is.

Uphil from Hunters bar to the Gilders Volkswagen garage is badly in need
of an uphill cycle lane, or a signed back-street route.

My route for avoiding Hunters Bar roundabout and Brooco bank is to go up
Botanical Road. It’s a very nice back-street route that is much more
pleasant than chugging up Brocco bank with the cars. The only thing
that spoils it is that there is no actual cycle route across the bit of
pavement at the top of Botanical Road where it joins Brocco bank. There
is a dropped kerb on the pavement which suggests to me that cyclists are
tolerated, but it would be nice to have this made legitimate.

Ak:

I have used Ecclesall Rd for many years and here are my comments:
I have never used the bit between Summerfield St and the roundabout exept inbound when it is possible, at some risk to get under the roundabout.
The crossing at Summerfield St is OK going towards the University but it is best avoided at peak times in the opposite direction as few motorist leave the dotted cycle route clear.
The stretch past the Nursery Tavern is awful and I usually avoid it by using Pomona St. sometimes climbing up to Cemetery Rd.
Crossing from Collegiate Crescent is difficult and is largely dependent on the operation of the pedestrian crossing by the SHU campus; if there are no pedestrians you can starve to death while waiting
Care is needed to avoid being cut up around the Berkley Precinct but then one can escape to the L via Bruce or Hickmott Rd.
The contraflow by Boots on Neil Rd is very useful except when some people use it as an off-road parking slot while they pick up their drugs.
The R filter into Rustlings Rd is scary and Rustlings has a 3rd world surface when you get there.
From Rustlings to Somerfields is bad especially if someone is waiting to turn R into Greystones Rd. this can be avoided by taking the back route into the Somerfields car park - turn L after the Concrete Reform Church. It is very steep and a bit rough but it is safe enough. If I am approaching from S10 via Rustlings I usually miss out the whole of Ecclesall Rd by using Ranby Rd. - Greystones School and then Tullibardine to Glenalmond which really needs a contraflow where it joins Ecclesall Rd at Banner Cross.
The bit from Somerfields to Banner Cross is OK especially at peak times as the bus lane is clear - usually.
The pedestrian crossing by the Banner Cross pub appears to be invisible to some inbound motorists; the one at Tullibardine is much safer.
Guerilla parking is routine in the Banner Cross area and once I saw a police car parked on the zig-zags!
The Brincliffe Edge -Ecclesall Rd. S. junction is dangerous unless one is turning L also the surface is very bad near the bus stop. This juction is used by many motorists to do a U-turn around the bollards.
Many cars turn R. into Gisborne Rd. which can be scary for cyclists in the nearside lane as the Clarksons try to squeeze past.
At the Cartknowle lights there is a real danger of being cut up by L turning motorists and the cycle lane past the shops is a joke as cars are parked all over it; even if it is free there is a danger of being doored. The road narrows considerably past the library and performing a R turn into Knowle Lane can be very difficult. I sometimes go on to the pedesrtian crossing, press the button and get across that way.
From Knowle Lane to Parkhead the surface is good and, in spite of the 40mph limit, I find no problem until I want to filter R to continue towards Whirlow.
Inbound it seems much easier but then I usually filter R at Banner Cross to get into Psalter Lane; this can be tricky if there are cars waiting to turn R into Brincliffe Edge Rd.
I rarely use the rest of Ecclesall road when inbound.
The main changes I would like to see are a complete redesign of the Banner Cross area to deal with the Brincliffe Edge problem, a contraflow at the start of Glenalmond and, most of all, a serious attempt to deal with the guerilla parking problem in the whole area.