5 Thoughts about Sheffield’s Dutch-Style Roundabout

I visited Sheffield to see one of the wonders of modern Yorkshire, the Dutch-style roundabout at West Bar.

Here are five thoughts about the roundabout and the surrounding streets.

1) The Roundabout is Good and it Works

The roundabout is good and it works.

Previously, according to a BBC report, people on foot just had to wait for a gap in the traffic to cross, and people on bikes had to ride in the general traffic.

Now, the parallel crossings give them priority.

My experience was that it felt safe. Of course, I kept a wary eye on approaching drivers as I crossed the roundabout arms, but all of them stopped.

There are decent cycle tracks on the approaches to the roundabout, even if some of them are only short.

All in all, it’s a good job well done. You can keep your Hanging Gardens of Babylon, I’m happy with the rain gardens around the roundabout.

Whenever infrastructure like this is proposed, if you read the comments in local newspapers you get the impression that it is controversial.

When I was actually on site, the roundabout didn’t seem controversial at all. Everyone just got on with their journeys calmly.

We need to get to the point where roundabouts like these don’t generate controversy, but are just accepted as the way things are done.

So the roundabout itself is good, but what about the surrounding streets?

2) Good Features on Nearby Streets

I did a little tour up to Castle Square and the Cathedral, pushing my bike when necessary. I came back via Trippet Lane, Bailey Street and West Bar Green.

On Pinfold Street/Trippet Lane, the centre line has been removed to make space for proper-width cycle lanes either side.

There was not much traffic here, and it was great.

I came down Bailey Street and turned right on Broad Lane. Soon, a bi-directional cycle track starts on the right hand side of the road. I joined it (with a little difficulty).

I then used a parallel crossing at the junction of Townhead Street and Broad Lane.

Broad Street becomes Tenter Street, and at the junction with Silver Street Head there’s a modal filter.

At the next side road, Queen Street, the junction treatment is a continuous footway and cycle track, with a raised table for motor vehicles to go over.

Near here, the bi-directional cycle track on one side of the road ends, and instead there are one-way cycle tracks either side of the road. A Toucan enables you to cross.

The road is now called West Bar Green as you approach the roundabout.

I was really impressed with those features, but are all the surrounding streets that good?

3) The Surrounding Area is a Mixed Picture

The rest of the surrounding area is a mixed picture.

At one point as I was cycling to get to the roundabout I found myself on a narrow painted cycle lane next to three lanes of general traffic – no protection on a triple carriageway.

4) The Legibility of the Network Could Be Improved

The legibility of the network could be improved.

I was new to the area, and I certainly didn’t find that the sections of cycle tracks flowed logically on from one to the next. If you were doing the same trip every day it would be different, and you’d work out the best itinerary.

The signage could probably be improved.

5) Road and Cycle Track Sweeping

There was a lot of debris at the edges of the roads, and some in the sections of cycle track.

My impression was that not much street sweeping goes on, and I got a puncture.

My analysis is that Sheffield has been so busy making knives and forks, and maybe a few spoons too, that it has forgotten to produce any brooms.

If I had to do a Rory Stewart-style explainer, that would be it.

Video

The video shows a tour of the roundabout, starting and finishing at the National Emergency Services Museum by West Bar Green.

Summary

Sheffield has made a really good start with the West Bar roundabout and the interventions on surrounding streets.

They haven’t cut any corners – they’ve used the right designs and executed well. The result is really good.

There’s still a long way to achieve a coherent network throughout this part of the city, but the indications are that there’s at least some commitment and competence at the council, which bodes well.

Now there needs to be ongoing determination to improve streets to the right standard over 10 years or more.

If there is, Sheffield can build a cycling culture and become a true cycling city.