Traffic officials reject gate changes hdyhdyhdy

The bus gate, equipped with CCTV cameras to catch motorists driving through it, was installed in 2007, shortly after Sheffield’s northern inner relief road, now known as Derek Dooley Way, opened.

It was immediately controversial, with traders on the Wicker, which had traditionally been busy with passing traffic, complaining that their takings were down and their livelihoods under threat.

Restrictions mean that traffic which once used the Wicker to get to and from Sheffield city centre is banned from the road, and directed onto the new ring road instead, Only buses and taxis are allowed.

Business owners have been campaigning for two years to have the operating hours of the gate changed from 7am to 7pm, which they argue will allow them to take advantage of evening traffic.

Their pleas had fallen on deaf ears until last month, when Sheffield Council’s new Labour administration told traders it would conduct an immediate review through its cabinet highways committee.

Its chairman Coun Leigh Bramall and his colleagues have now undertaken a site visit but officers are set to recommend at a meeting this week to maintain the status quo.

Head of highways at the council John Bann will tell Thursday’s meeting the number of people breaking the rules “continues to decline” due to better signage and traffic direction arrangements.

He adds: “Notwithstanding the continued recession, there appear to have been few material changes to local businesses over the last year.”

Drivers who contravene the restrictions are subject to a penalty charge notice, even if they drive through the bus gate by mistake or are not familiar with the city’s road layout.