One broken-down bus brings Sheffield to a standstill - Lib Dems demand answers from Council planners

2.09.59pm GMT Tue 22nd Nov 2005

Commuters in Sheffield were left fuming last night after a broken down bus in the City centre caused gridlock chaos. Traffic in the city centre was brought to a standstill for a staggering four hours. The Liberal Democrats in Sheffield are demanding a review into Sheffield's road network.

Liberal Democrat leader Paul Scriven said the city's transport network was in "crisis" and has demanded an urgent review. He said: -

"What city of European significance comes to a standstill when a bus breaks down? If one bus breaks down in the city centre and creates chaos then something has to be done"

"We need a root and branch review of how traffic can move through the city more smoothly. The council needs to understand the seriousness of the transport situation in Sheffield. This is a crisis and it has to be addressed - the council can no longer say there isn't a problem."

Cllr Sylvia Dunkley, Liberal Democrat Shadow Cabinet member for Transport, said: -

"The gridlock in and around Sheffield on Monday night reminded us of just how susceptible our road network is to one or two accidents in the wrong places. In the past our calls for Town Hall planners to look into how we can alleviate the traffic bottlenecks around Sheffield have fallen on deaf ears, perhaps they will start to listen after this"

"Transport in Sheffield is getting worse with more and more people turning away from public transport, the simple fact is that there are more cars on the road. This was only one incident, but unless our civic leaders in the Town Hall start to take transport seriously then the gridlock misery on Monday night will turn into a regular occurrence"