Lord Adonis and the Station Bridge
The following press release has just been sent out by Residents Against Station Closure
Station Bridge Sense at Last
At a meeting in Sheffield, (Monday 12th April), with representatives of RASC, Government Transport Secretary, Lord Adonis announced that he had agreed with East Midlands Trains, (EMT) that there would be no further consideration of installing ticket barriers at Sheffield station, until a new public footbridge across the station had been constructed.
Responding to this important development, RASC chair, Keith Hayman said,
“We are very pleased that Lord Adonis has fully recognised the significant role that the existing bridge plays in the daily life of our city. This decision is a vindication of all the hard work by the campaign over the last two years. It is also a massive endorsement of active, local democracy. We are pleased that the voice of Sheffield citizens, in their overwhelming support for a fully accessible public footbridge has been heard.”
Vice Chair, Geraldine Roberts added,
“The Campaign supports the right of train operators to collect all the fares that are due. We have always been against fare dodging. However we hope that in the spirit of this new agreement that EMT have welcomed they will use the opportunity to take a fresh look at user friendly and acceptable ways of checking tickets. We look forward to seeing a new public bridge built to the same high standards as the existing one and for the agreement to be honoured by whoever forms the next government.”
Statement ends.
Personally I am not at all enthusiastic about the prospect of a new bridge. It would be a massive waste of public money, when we already have a perfectly serviceable bridge. The Department of Transport has taken 2 years to get round to acting on this despite the pleas from all parties on the City Council, and Lord Adonis now makes the announcement 3 weeks before the election. However I am very pleased that EMT seem to have made a complete U turn and are now “looking forward to working with the community”. Their strong arm tactics in preventing people walking over the bridge have outraged the citizens of Sheffield-they now need to build bridges with the local community!