Don’t miss your chance have your say on £500m City Region transport plan

Regardless of how you travel in the Sheffield City Region (SCR) you’re being urged to put over your views on a £500million transport strategy before April 1st.

An online questionnaire at https://bit.ly/2FTG1ge gives everyone in the region the chance to tell the SCR what it thinks about its ambitious draft Transport Strategy.

If you prefer a paper form write to SCR Transport Strategy, 11 Broad Street West, Sheffield, S1 2BQ, or email [email protected].

There has already been a strong response to the draft Strategy, and today Martin McKervey, transport lead for the SCR Local Enterprise Partnership and a partner at international law firm CMS, said: “We want to get as many more views as possible on our ambitious Strategy. It’s designed to make the region more prosperous by making it easier to get to access work and opportunities in the North, and improving the air quality through sustainable travel choices.”

The strategy aims to grow the regional economy by £500million, boosting economic growth by making it easier for people, particularly those in the most deprived areas, to get to work, school, college or University.

Looking ahead as far as 2040, the strategy plans to make the best use of the latest transport technologies.”

Mr McKervey added: “We have already achieved a great deal in terms of building a thriving, super-connected and successful economy, such as making multi-million-pound road improvements to unlock growth, introducing new tram-trains and contributing to the continuing growth of Doncaster Sheffield Airport. But we know there is more to be done, and we need to know what the region thinks.

“I urge everyone not to miss out on telling us what you think. What you say will shape our ambitions for transport across the region and have a powerful impact on the lives of us all for decades to come.”

The strategy has been produced with local authority partners and sets out the fundamental role that transport plays in enabling economic growth. It also demonstrates a commitment to national transport programmes that benefit Sheffield City Region.

Key aims are:

• to increase the numbers of people able to get to key employment sites and education by public transport in 30 minutes
• increase rail commuting between the SCR and both Greater Manchester and Leeds City Regions by several thousand journeys daily
• ensure 90 per cent of the region’s population can reach a long-haul airport by public transport within 90 minutes

Other aims include creating healthy, safe streets by increasing sustainable travel, cutting accident rates, improving air quality, having a zero-carbon public transport network by 2040 and boosting footfall in the main retail and leisure areas by 15 per cent.

There is also an aim to increase transport-focused R & D investment by £330million, and to increase productivity by £75million through reducing journey times and using technology-based efficiencies.

The public consultation has involved businesses, public transport operators, Peel Airports which runs Doncaster Sheffield Airport, special interest groups, and stakeholders such as MPs, local authorities and parish councils. Details of SCR’s Transport Strategy consultation have been on display in key transport and community points across the Region.