[Fiend]

Haven't been here that long but even to a n00b it looks like the city is turning itself inside out...

 - Trendy new blocks of flats going up everywhere.

 - Trendy bars and exotic restaurants (no complaint from me) going up everywhere.

 - Road system getting fucked up the arse everywhere, turning into a nightmare maze of one-way blocked-off roads, crazy restriction systems and generally totally stupid shit specifically designed to encourage gridlock.

So where is the city going with all of this?? Turning from Steel City into a subsection of London with all the tedious trend and terrible traffic?? What do Sheff veterans think of it? I guess the city is reinventing itself quite radically, is it doing so in a good way or not?

[Bubba]

It's all good imho - I got to Sheff in '85 and then it was a grim, impoverished place where the only choices of eating out were curry, pizza or an occasional Greek restaurant.

Way better now - yeah, the roads are fucked but that's the same everywhere innit? Number of cars on the roads have doubled approx every 10 years - our cities just can't cope with it. I was in London this weekend and it took an hour and a half to drive from Enfield to Richmond...apparantly that was quite good going too - walking pace most of the way.

At least the city centre isn't a shithole anymore, there's some cool bars and restaurants, and it's still not as violent as many other big places.

The old public transport system was magic and a great loss when that was removed. 15p to Fox House was sweet. If that was still running then car use would be much less imho.

The place has still got a way to go though - the few nice bars are always rammed - not a patch on Manchester's bar scene and the licensing hours are still a bit backward.

[Yossarian]

I was in London this weekend and it took an hour and a half to drive from Enfield to Richmond...apparantly that was quite good going too - walking pace most of the way.

I'd have gone round the M25  

[SA Chris]

Sounds like what has been happening to Leeds over the last few years. Maybe now Leeds is getting too crowded and expensive, the suburb is now getting an upgrade  :wink:

[Paz]

First Meadowhall and Don valley in september 1990, then the student games gives the arena don valley stadium and ponds forge 1991, then the super tram.   Somewhere along the lines that speed camera on the park way showed up, then they stuck that new junction just after it so the posh business folk don't have to go all the way round the learner driver's roundabout from hell.  
Then they go and a take a perfectly useable car park and stick some pop music museum there (I believe the leadmill didn't lose much business to it).  They're even doing up city hall now aren't they?

Fuck me I nearly forgot - in the 80s they closed Redgates (the best toy shop in the world) and when they built the tram they filled in the Hole-in-the-Road?  It stank of piss but where were the fish supposed to live?!

Shame they haven't bothered to finish sorting out the train station and bus station.  

They can take redgates but they'll never take away: http://www.hendersonsrelish.com/

As someone who used to think The Moor was great (compared to Worksop and Rotherham) I find it all amusing. These days all I care about is the fastest way through to Fox House, Owler Bar, or up onto the Ringinglow road for when I'm at home.  It is a bit testing getting up to Crookes and Walkley.

[Fiend]

Interesting view Bubba - you sound pretty happy with it after 20 years of being here. I guess that the city is a constant building site is a price worth paying??

I'm definitely keen on the more restaurants idea although I wonder just how many of them the city can support....but having more STUFF available in general is good.

I do wonder though, whether Sheffield is turning into a distant suburb of London, and losing the northern flava that made it what it was? Maybe that would be a good thing but maybe true Sheffield born'n'breds wouldn't like it?? (Personally I don't feel entirely comfortable with either - Londoness or Northerness).

[Ru]

Redgates!! You've just opened up a whole raft of happy forgotten memories. I don't often go in for smilies, but, well here goes... :D  :D  :D  :D  :D  :D  :D  :D  :D  :D  :D  :D  :D  :D  :D  :D

[Bubba]

Interesting view Bubba - you sound pretty happy with it after 20 years of being here. I guess that the city is a constant building site is a price worth paying??

I am happy with it - all that building means jobs and prosperity for the area, and is surely (finally) a sign of economic regrowth after the loss of the mining and steel industries. Ironically, I'm probably skinter than ever, but hey

I do wonder though, whether Sheffield is turning into a distant suburb of London, and losing the northern flava that made it what it was? Maybe that would be a good thing but maybe true Sheffield born'n'breds wouldn't like it?? (Personally I don't feel entirely comfortable with either - Londoness or Northerness).

Sheffield will never be a suburb of London - the people are completely different and I think most locals would be outraged by the suggestion
Just because a city is on the up and has nice restaurants and bars doesn't make it London - look at Dublin, Glasgow, Manchester, etc - they're all further down the path Sheff is going down but they all have their own vibe and people.

And yes, Redgates was great for wandering around as an impoverished doley on wet November days.

[Ru]

And yes, Redgates was great for wandering around as an impoverished doley on wet November days.

I was about 10 when Redgates shut.

[Bubba]

It shut in '88 which would have made me 21!

[Fiend]

Anyone else have any thoughts?

Dave? Cofe? Bonjoy? Dobbin? Scouse? etc?

[Bonjoy]

Bar the hideous traffic caused by the incessant roadworks I think it's all good.
 On the downside though, I hear the Kashmir on Spital Hill has been served with a compulsory possesion order, as the block is due to be demolished as part of the urban regeneration gubins . Doesn't bother me too much cos I always prefer the Mangla anyway, but I know quite a few who will be sad to see it go.

[Falling Down]

Anyone else have any thoughts?

I lived there for ten years from '87 until '97 and its definately changed for the better since I first moved there to go to Poly and then did a stint in the Steel industry.

It was interesting going back to work in Sheffield the year before last after working in London, Aberdeen, Birmingham etc.  I don't know whether it was just nostalgia but it was a warmer more hospitable feel than many other places.

I only live about twenty miles away and I tend to visit Sheffield more than Manchester which is where I grew up and is technically closer to where I live now.

[Fiend]

I hear the Kashmir on Spital Hill has been served with a compulsory possesion order

Booo hisssss  :evil: I like the Mangla too (tho neither are local), but the Kashmir is cool and "characterful". Hope they reappear somewhere.



Seems people like the way the city is going. But is it a pity for it to lose it's proper Yorkshire grim northern character??  :wink:



I reckon by 2010, 75% of the surface area of inner Sheffield will consist of trendy blocks of flats, chinese restaurants, and permantently stationary traffic as the city is gridlocked 24/7 due to a hideously complex and incomprehensible mostly-pedestrianised one-way system with almost no ways in or out. Still at least the stranded motorists will never be too far from a takeaway  

[saltbeef]

traffic is getting mutant.

[Bubba]

The traffic is taking the piss - the other night the whole city was gridlocked for hours because a bus had broken down. Fuck knows what the emergency services would do if there was a big callout.

It's obviously time to build a futuristic system of cable cars across the city to provide public transport.

[saltbeef]

i agree, or should get that guy over who sold springfield the monorail system...

[dave]

i agree, or should get that guy over who sold springfield the monorail system...

lyle lanley?

Problem with traffic in city centre seems to be caused to a certain degree by fat lazy people who could quite easily walk/bike/bus/tram into work but dont because they're either too lazy, already clinically obese and have a back problem, or they object to pissing more money into First mainline's £96mil profits, or they think they're above using the bus, or claim that they need to bring the car to pick little britney up from school, despite the fact they only live 2mins walk from said school.

For example my bird's boss lives at lodge moor and drives in. When it snows she claims a day off cos they can't get the car out of the drive, even though she lives within 100m of a busstop and the busses are still running. If all the people like this who consider themselves too good to use a bus/tram/bike/legs left their cars at home one day i recon the number of cars on the road at rush hour would half. same goes for people in 4x4s driving fat spoilt kids 100yards to school.

OK forgive me for exagerating or overgeneralising, but you get the drift - i work with load of people like this, always amazes me. I know i complained about the busses the other week which is why i am now walking in weather permitting. however there are loads of people who live on bus routes that could be using it (would this lead to a better service and lower prices if everyone used it?) yet dont then complain about the traffic which they are part of. Its the old "if you're not part of the solution you're part of the problem" thing.

The real losers in this situation are the poor sods/businesses who genuinley have to drive to work or otherwise drive through the city centre at rushhour, they have no way out of driving, but loads of others do and don't take that option. The council must know what a state the traffic is in, should they not be promoting publis transport and stuff like that, instead of letting bus users get taxed through the ass by first?

At the end of the day there just isn't enough road space available in most cities for the number of people wanting to drive cars around at busy times. unless the general public have a change of heart it aint going to get any better neither, and building more or bigger roads only delays the problem temporarily.

[cofe]

this thread is a bit sheffcentric.

should we be asking 'what's happened to Leeds?'

shabba.

[andy_e]

no

[cowboyhat]

I'm not involved in it really at the moment but I'm losing sleep over the traffic being worse now than when they spent five years putting the 'super'tram in.

Dave is right about fat lazies not being able to use transport that doesn't start two feet from there front door.  Slap a big stealth tax on driving into the city centre - problem solved.

[saltbeef]

i agree, stealth tax sounds good. i had to drive to worksop yesterday, took me 45 fucking minutes to get to the parkway. last time i drove that it took 10. traffic sucks me dry.

[cofe]

no

are you still here?

[Yossarian]

i agree, stealth tax sounds good. i had to drive to worksop yesterday, took me 45 fucking minutes to get to the parkway. last time i drove that it took 10. traffic sucks me dry.

surely if it's a stealth tax they won't notice it?

[dave]

stealth tax probably wouldn't make much money as most people I know drive conventional cars that are visible to radar. However it could hit hard on 5:10 wearers. I may switch back to boreal.