The decision to pedestrianise the section of Surrey Street from
Fargate to the top of Norfolk Street has not been fully thought
through and the possible consequences for the city centre could be
damaging to existing businesses and the future of the city
centre.
1. What arrangements have been made for the necessary turning of
large lorries which need to access Norfolk Street for deliveries
but which cannot turn around within Norfolk Street in order to exit
the city centre? Currently, these vehicles include coaches to the
Crucible. Media, vans for the Crucible Snooker tournament, delivery
vehicles for the Crucible, pubs and bars in the area, deliveries to
the florists on Surrey Street, and last but not least, delivery
vehicles for Marks & Spencers. We make life difficult for
M&S at our peril. These vehicles used to exit the area via
Pinstone Street but since that option has been removed, they now
drive onto the section of Surrey Street in question, reverse back
in front of the Millenium Galleries, and then turn back down
Norfolk Street. This is not ideal and on occasions, there is more
than one vehicle waiting to complete the manoeuvre.
2. What arrangements will be put in place for refuse collection from the shops on Surrey Street? Independent business staff cannot be expected to turn up hours earlier than normal to facilitate this and I cannot see refuse collection staff hauling black bags etc to wherever they might be able to park. At the moment, because they stop outside the shops, the waste transfer takes less than 5 minutes.
3. The creation of the new pedestrianisation area will cut off, for good, any chance of access to the city centre via the Connect bus. This will have a negative impact on disabled people - including those with mobility and visual issues - by making access to the centre of town more difficult. This will cut off access to essential services such as banks to people with limited mobility.
4. A significant number of parking places will be lost including
the three designated disabled parking areas. Disabled parking bays
have already been lost on other parts of Surrey Street by the
library. It will also reduce the number of loading bays in the area
putting pressure on existing loading and disabled parking bays.
Deliveries are already being delayed due to current restrictions.
Delivery drivers & postmen are already complaining The proposed
disabled parking bays on Leopold Street ( how many?) take no
account of the eligibility criteria necessary to have a Blue Badge.
You need to be unable to walk 50 yards without pain or breathing
difficulties etc. Therefore these bays need to be well distributed
around the city centre and reasonably numerous to accommodate the
number of people with such disabilities.
Started by: Elaine Bird (Bird Opticians)
This ePetition ran from 09/07/2024 to 20/08/2024 and has now finished.
29 people signed this ePetition.