Faster buses, safer walking and cycling and flood prevention part of South Yorkshire £11.14m spending package

Money for bus priority traffic signals, two sets of active travel measures, a tech business support programme and a flood risk management plan were all approved by a meeting of the South Yorkshire Mayoral Combined Authority board in Sheffield yesterday (June 4).

A package of measures being created by Sheffield City Council will facilitate walking, cycling and wheeling in the Magna, Tinsley and Meadowhall areas between Sheffield and Rotherham.

This will include new separated cycle tracks on Sheffield Road between the Sheffield-Rotherham district boundary and Blackburn Meadows Way, plus improvements to the footways.

On Blackburn Meadows Way, the shared footway/cycleway will be upgraded to provide a traffic-free, safe and separated route for pedestrians and cyclists.

Seven new toucan crossings will provide safe crossing points on Sheffield Road from Tinsley to the canal towpath. This will also allow for a traffic-free route to Meadowhall and the Meadowhall South tram stop.

Congestion

Some of the toucan crossings will help walkers and cyclists negotiate six lanes of traffic on Meadowhall Road/Meadowhall Way and improve access to Meadowhall Interchange.

In Tinsley, traffic will be allowed to turn right from Sheffield Road to help stop drivers making U-turns.

That scheme is costing £4,590,000 in total.

The report to the board said: “This will help to reduce congestion in the Magna, Tinsley and Meadowhall area and encourage trips to be undertaken actively, helping create a more healthy and productive population.”

A grant of £390,000 to Barnsley Borough Council will pay for real-time traffic signals using GPS technology that can detect and give priority to buses at 97 road junctions by giving them a green light. This should enable a 25 per cent reduction in late-running buses and help encourage more users, a report to the board said.

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Barnsley Council will also get £850,000 to fund a two-year programme to help scale up the tech and digital economy across South Yorkshire. In total, 45 local enterprises will receive grant support and 110 enterprises will get non-financial support from a new team being set up.

An e-cycle pilot fund, backed by £500,000 from Active Travel England, will enable all four local authorities to run a two-year scheme to encourage more people to use electric-powered bikes.

Flooded

Doncaster Council has been granted £100,000 towards the £180,000 cost of a flood risk management scheme for the village of Fishlake. This will allow for temporary pumps to move water out of the nearby floodplain of Woodhouse Ings.

Despite barriers being in place to protect Fishlake, the Ings has flooded several times over the past five years, a report to the board said. This has resulted in road closures and measures including the use of sandbags and water pumps.

The board also approved acceptance of grant funding totalling £4.82 million from Active Travel England. This will help fund a variety of projects up to 2026.

These include active travel links for Bolton upon Dearne and Athersley in Barnsley, a segregated cycle track on Bawtry Road between the Racecourse Roundabout to the north and Cantley Lane to the south in Doncaster and walking improvements in Burngreave in Sheffield to help encourage more residents to take exercise and improve their well-being.

Mayor Oliver Coppard welcomed the proposals: “There’s some really great projects and it’s really nice to see they’re progressing. We’re spending money effectively and getting things done.”