A fun family-friendly protest to demand pedestrian lights at this crossing and Safe Streets everywhere! See https://safestreetsnow.co.uk/ for more details.
The video includes the Zebra bravely crossing the roads (but doesn’t include the Mission Impossible soundtrack she did this to for copyright reasons!) Speeches from Cllr Brian Holmshaw (Green Party), Elle Dodd (Labour Party Candidate for Manor Castle) and Ruth Flagg Abbey (Green Party Candidate for Manor Castle) are included. We also held a minute’s silence for everyone killed by road violence this year.
I didn’t get a video of my speech, so here it is.
I’m Graham Wroe. a local resident, blogger for TelltheTruthSheffield.org and writer for the Star and Telegraph.
Here we are at the most dangerous crossing for pedestrians in Sheffield!
Give me a shout if you have had a near miss at this junction.
I have been campaigning for over 20 years for pedestrian lights here. I am quite certain that if this junction was in a more prosperous part of the city it would have been improved long ago. This junction is extremely dangerous to cross as there are no pedestrian lights and drivers don’t expect to encounter pedestrians when they have a green light. It is impossible to see all oncoming traffic when you are crossing. The Council think it is a low priority due to accident data, but the reality is pedestrians avoid the junction rather than putting their lives at risk.
What do we want? Safe crossing!
When do we want it? Now!
But it is not just this junction we want to improve.
Across the UK, someone is killed or seriously injured on our roads every 16 minutes. These sudden and unexpected tragedies leave in their wake ruined lives, grieving families and whole communities torn apart by what they have witnessed. They create a climate of fear which limits children’s play and makes the acts of walking, wheeling and scooting a source of anxiety rather than joy.
In 2022 1711 people were killed on our roads. That’s more than 4 people every day, or nearly 18 Hillsborough disasters every year. We can’t go on like this.
Recently in our Norfolk Park neighbourhood, on two separate occasions, cars have ended up on their side in crashes that fortunately didn’t involve others. But also as a pedestrian I have recently experienced unattentive drivers failing to stop at pedestrian crossings when the green man was showing and I had already started crossing. Both made me recall the horrific crash when my daughter’s friend’s child was killed crossing a pedestrian crossing.
Safe Streets Now has a clear list of demands for action from our Government, Council, Police and Prosecuting Services. Shout YES if you agree with them!
We campaign to minimise road danger through improved driver and vehicle regulation in conjunction with people-centred design of our public spaces.
We demand that within the next parliament, the government:
Makes 20mph the default speed limit in built-up areas
Implements a nationwide ban on pavement parking
Allocates 10% of highway spending to high-quality infrastructure for walking, wheeling and cycling.
We demand that the sentencing council
Review its recommendations on driving bans for driving offences such that
Lifetime bans are the automatic dispensation for the worst offences
Longer bans are mandatory for less serious offences or near misses
We demand that the CPS/police services
Impose interim driving bans as bail conditions for people arrested for or charged with causing death or serious injury by dangerous, intoxicated or careless driving.
We demand that every local authority
Establishes ‘school streets’ outside every viable primary school by 2030
Focus their Local Cycling and Walking Infrastructure Plans (LCWIP) and delivery on safe pedestrian and cycle routes to all primary and secondary schools
Use existing road pricing powers (with exceptions for disabled people, low-income workers etc) to reduce excess driving and raise money for local street improvements
For more details see tellthetruthsheffield.org