The removal of the current Sandygate Road white lines and the painting of a white line in the original position on the road is scheduled for Tuesday 2 February. Wednesday 3 and Thursday 4 February have been allocated as additional work days in case of weather problems.
The off-centre markings on Sandygate Road will be repainted and put back to their previous location following a review by Sheffield city council’s road safety auditors.
The lines were positioned on the newly-resurfaced road with the intention of improving the safety of cyclists being overtaken going up the hill and to slow traffic coming down the hill.
Crookes Councillor Geoff Smith took this up and has now confirmed that the lines will be put back back to where they were before. He said: “The auditor has recommended that the centre white line should be put back where it was and this has been accepted by the council and Amey.
“As yet I do not know when the work will be carried out but I have urged that it should be done as soon as possible. Thank you to the residents who pursued this issue.”
The off-centre markings on Sandygate Road will be reviewed by Sheffield city council’s road safety auditors early next year.
The lines were positioned on the newly-resurfaced road with the intention of improving the safety of cyclists being overtaken going up the hill and to slow traffic coming down the hill.
Since then Crookes Councillor Geoff Smith has been following it up. He explains: “Transport Planning in the council suggested the marking change as part of Cycle PFI Opportunities and Transport Planning provided the brief for Amey designers. Amey then designed the changes and Amey Road Safety auditors audited the design changes before they were implemented.
“After the Open Meeting I raised this again with the council’s traffic engineers. They informed me that after zone works are complete a zone audit is carried out by Amey’s road safety audit team. They are qualified road safety auditors. The audits comply with national guidance and are specified in the contract between Sheffield city council and Amey.
“This particular zone may not be fully completed until May of next year. So I have requested that, given the public concern, an audit of the Sandygate Road marking change is carried out on its own as quickly as possible, and that the outcome is made public.
“In this instance, as Amey have carried out the first audit, then there is an element of them doing the same thing twice, so this audit will be carried out instead by the council’s road safety auditors who have not had any involvement in the process. This provides more independence.”
Concerned Crosspool residents are collecting signatures for a petition regarding the position of the painted white lines on Sandygate Road.
The road markings were repainted following resurfacing work and have divided the road into a wider uphill lane and a narrower downhill lane.
Resident Marie Biggs explained: “My main concern is that vehicles are travelling far too fast up the road and hogging the white lines. This doesn’t leave any space for vehicles and cyclists travelling downhill towards Crosspool, which have to cross the white lines to pass parked vehicles.
“Amey/Streets Ahead told me that the reason the lines are as they are is to allow for the safe overtaking of cyclists coming uphill – but what ablout the cyclists travelling downhill?
“And, if there was to be a collision, would drivers travelling down the road always be deemed to be at fault, purely because they are straddling the white lines?”
The petition can be signed in GT News and the Post Office.
What do you think of the position of the Sandygate Road markings?
