Work starts to improve walking and cycling routes

Work has started on the first phase of a project to improve routes between Sheffield city centre and the south of the city.

The council said the first phase of the Connecting Sheffield improvements - at Charter Row and Moore Street - would mean more choice for people in how they got around the city.

Safer routes for walking, wheeling and cycling would improve people's health by encouraging them to be more active while also boosting air quality, the council said.

Chair of Transport, Regeneration and Climate Policy, Councillor Alexi Dimond, said the improvements meant it would be "easier and, crucially, safer" for pedestrians and cyclists.

The first phase is to upgrade pavements and add new planting and landscaping for "a more welcoming environment" and improved accessibility for everyone, the council said.

South Yorkshire's Active Lives Commissioner Ed Clancy said "feeling unsafe" was a major obstacle to choosing to walk, wheel and cycle.

"This will create a safer and easier-to-use route," he said, "while improving links to buses, trams and the places people need to get to."

More sustainable drainage would also be added, with signal-controlled pedestrian and cycle crossings at Fitzwilliam Gate, one of the city's busiest junctions, to improve safety.

It said the improvements - funded by the council and South Yorkshire Mayoral Combined Authority (SYMCA) would connect with the city's existing networks, making it easier for residents, workers, students and visitors to move between the city centre and Nether Edge, Broomhall, the West End, the University of Sheffield and hospitals.

Future phases will see the work continue up London Road and Cemetery Road towards Nether Edge.

Listen to highlights from South Yorkshire on BBC Sounds, catch up with the latest episode of Look North