A recent survey has indicated that the volume of traffic travelling through Nether Edge to get between Ecclesall road South and Abbeydale road South has increased by 50% in ten years. At the same time traffic calming measures have not been able to stop the increased traffic. The hot spots include Brincliffe Edge, Archer road, Union road and Sheldon road. The Nether Edge Neighbourhood Group has said that the driving behaviour outside Psalter Lane Infants School has to be seen to be believed.

The chairman of the Nether Edge Neighbourhood Group, Richard Ward, has said that the aim is to work towards holistic solutions; they do not want their actions to lead to more problems for Sharrow. “We have got a problem. We acknowledge we are not unique. We are just nibbling away with limited resources to try to improve things.” “There is a lot of traffic calming in Nether Edge, but the background traffic is growing and growing and we are asking how we can tackle that.”

The solutions are relatively simple to implement and have been done elsewhere; they include a better bus service to and from the hospitals and the university campus in Broomhill. More pedestrian crossings, cycling facilities and walking schools will also help.

The root cause has been new retail developments and the 300 new flats that have been built in Nether Edge in four years.

The Community activists are already working with the Sharrow Forum and the national living streets initiative.

www.livingstreets.org.uk