Families have slammed Sheffield Council for failing to protect their children from a hazardous junction in Manor Castle.
To mark Safe Streets Now national day of action, residents protested on the busy junction which connects the B6070 and B6071 near to Grace Owen Nursery school and Parkhill pharmacy.
The junction has frequently been criticised for its lack of a pedestrian crossing or safety precautions.
Sam Gregory, 32, a resident, said: “It’s an absolute death trap and it is incredible that no one has been killed on this junction, I have almost been run over dozens of times here.
“You feel like if this was in one of the wealthier areas of Sheffield it would have been sorted years ago. It’s time the council does something before somebody gets killed.”
Every 16 minutes someone is killed or seriously injured on UK roads, according to the road safety charity, Brake*.
The organiser of this year’s event in Sheffield, Graham Wroe, has been campaigning for safer streets in Sheffield for 20 years. The 65-year-old said: “It really is taking your life in your hands every time you cross the road.
“We had a really awful thing happen to a friend of ours, their little girl died while she was crossing, the driver just slammed straight into her without looking. That really brought it home to me and made me feel that this is vital.”
The protests included demonstrations by a resident dressed as a zebra safely leading the children and other residents across the busy streets.
Amongst the concerned parents was Ewan Page, a teacher, who said: “You can’t even cross the road to get to the protest, the irony.”
Also among the protestors were eight year old Orlaith O’Bentley, five year old Gordon O’Bentley and four year old Aleena Faisal (pictured above).
Councillor Brian Holmshaw, a Broomhill and Sharrow Vale representative, said : “This city has the highest child pedestrian killed and seriously injured rate of all core UK cities by a significant margin. The council is taking our children’s lives in its hands.
“We took a petition to the council in 2021 and we were told the accident rate reported here was not high enough, that is awful.”
Saturday 20th April marks the national day of action for the Safe Streets Now organisation who campaign throughout the UK to reduce road traffic related deaths and injuries as well as antisocial driving.
Safe Streets Now have been campaigning for a national ban on pavement parking, 20 mph speed limits in all suburban areas and for the government to allocate 10% of its road budget on improving pedestrian cycle routes.
Cllr Holmshaw, 61, said: “Make them aware that your lives matter. Let’s get our streets into being living ones, safe for us to walk and to cycle to school or to work without any fear.”
A spokesperson for Sheffield City Council said that due to budget constraints, they cannot respond to every request and will continue to target the areas of Sheffield with the highest number of serious incidents which have led to people being killed or seriously injured.
* figure reflects a 10-year average from 2013 to 2022
