New Brooklyn bridge in Sheffield

14 11 2008

A bridge too far - for now

Last year a scheme was approved by councillors to build a replica of the world-famous Brooklyn bridge across the River Don in Sheffield. It was in recognition the city’s links with the Brooklyn bridge in New York, as apparently Sheffield steel manufacturer Andrews Toledo supplied the high-quality crucible steel used for its main hangers.

With most of the funding for the replica in place, all was progressing well until the catastrophic floods of June last year bought the project to a standstill.

I got in touch with Sheffield Industrial Museums Trust to find out the latest. Following the floods, the Environment Agency had to re-assess the river and has recently removed 8,000 tons of rubble and soil from around the weir and Kelham Island itself.

At the moment a new flood wall protection around Kelham is being designed and is scheduled to be built next year. This will affect the bridge design and so the two will have to be integrated, with the wall being built first.

We are reassured that there is is still strong support for the bridge, and in the meantime the funds set aside for the scheme have been invested in a high interest account with the council.

I really hope this project is realised before long. As the background story illustrates, the building of the New York Brooklyn bridge is a poignant and romantic tale, and you can’t help but think that the completion of the replica bridge - after the problems of its own - would be a fitting tribute to its inspirational and beautiful big sister over the pond.

Brooklyn bridge, New York

'Sunset on the Brooklyn Bridge'

Image by wenzday01 and used under Creative Commons license


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Categories : architecture, council, development, environment, planning, sheffield, walking

walkit.com Sheffield launches

22 09 2008

Stay healthy and be carbon-friendly too

The Sheffield version of an urban-routefinder/walking website has just launched, giving information for pedestrians wanting to find out the best way to walk between any two points in the city.

walkit.com plots the path between the two locations you specify and gives the profile, distance, time, calorie-burn and the carbon emissions saved by walking instead of using a vehicle. You can also choose a less-busy route.

Apparently it works best within a 5km radius of the city centre, as that’s where the creators put the most effort into adding pedestrian-specific pathways, for example through parks or along river walkways. You can use street names or post codes on the site and most points of interest should be recognised.

Google maps has a similar service, although it takes a bit longer to bring up your route. The advantage of the Google version is that once it has suggested a route, you can then drag it to modify it. At the moment, you can do this on walkit.com but only in a more basic way by specifying a ‘via’ location when you search.

The walkit.com route profile illustration is quite good, as it helps you work out the hills involved in your journey; it turns out that my route back home from work involves a climb of 100m. For comparison, I tested this route in both and they came out within 2 minutes of each other - 37 minutes for walkit.com and 39 minutes for Google maps.

So which would I use? For calculating walking routes, I’d go for walkit.com, as it is easier to get the information you need quickly, and in general I’d be more inclined to support a smaller company over Google.


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Categories : sheffield, walking, websites

Sign the station gates petition

2 09 2008

Keep Sheffield Midland station open access for all

The debate about East Midlands Trains (EMT) and their plan to block public access through the station rumbles on.

It seems ridiculous to me that they should consider this proposal considering that it is a key pedestrian route into the city centre from the Park Hill side. Not to mention the fact that it would also stop all Sheffielders greeting people all trains on the platform.

If you haven’t already, then it may help to sign this petition and give your view.

Image by pauldcocker and used under Creative Commons license


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Categories : council, sheffield, transport, walking

Is Sheffield really built on seven hills?

22 08 2008

It is one of the most-quoted facts about the city, but is it true?

One of the things I like most about Sheffield, and it is something that I have started to appreciate more now that I live up on one of the hills, is the topography of the city. Having also lived in London and Birmingham, it seems that comparatively, there are many more opportunities in Sheffield for looking down on the city from one of the many vantage points on the surrounding hills.

It may not be so good for cyclists, but once you are up there you are rewarded with some spectacular views. Whether it is the panorama back across town from Park Hill at dusk; the drive back into the city from Ringinglow; the view from Crookes and Crosspool; the city skyline from Meersbrook park or simply looking up at the hills through corner gaps at Hillsborough stadium; I could go on and on.

I still read some blogs about Birmingham, and one of these recently enquired how high the Midlands city was. A response from Ordnance Survey showed that in terms of single highest points, Sheffield is second only to Bradford.

This led me on to investigate the regularly-quoted fact about Sheffield that, like Rome, the city is built on seven hills. According to a study by J.G. Harston, Sheffield is in fact built on eight discernible hills, not seven.

In the end, it doesn’t matter how many hills the city is built on; while the days are long and the evenings are light, it is well worth getting out to making the most of the fantastic views on offer.

Does anyone else have any favourites?


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Categories : environment, photos, sheffield, walking

City of Sheffield walkabout - a photo tour (photos)

20 04 2008

A collection of images comparing 1970s Sheffield and the city centre in 2008

I previously wrote about the fascinating 1970s council publication that I got my hands on a few months ago. Produced by the Sheffield City Promotions Committee, it offered visitors a guided tour of the town centre featuring commentary, photos and a map, all for just 25p (around £2.50 at today’s prices).

Though all black and white, the photos give an insight into how the city used to look and I thought it would be an interesting exercise to take comparative shots in the present day and put them side by side.

The photos are below. I’ve tried to frame the 2008 shots as closely to the originals as possible, although I think a wide angle lens was used on some. The modern-day shots have also been converted to black and white.

The shot of the registry office, or “wedding cake” as it was nicknamed isn’t here, and due to the BBC outside broadcast units, the image of the Crucible isn’t really a fair comparison. I will revisit Tudor Square when the snooker is over and also when the theatre has been redeveloped.

Read the rest of this entry »


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Categories : architecture, development, history, photography, photos, planning, regeneration, sheffield, walking

City of Sheffield city centre walkabout (walkabout)

19 03 2008

Exploring the city centre, 1970s style

A few months ago I was given a fantastic item that had been found on eBay - a copy of the early-1970s City of Sheffield city centre walkabout walkabout book (I think the double walkabout in the title is actually a stylistic design feature on the cover).

This publication (rrp 25p) was produced by what I assume was the council marketing department in those days, the quaintly-named Sheffield City Promotions Committee. On the inside front cover, they write:

The aim of this publication is to act as a guide to visitors for a walking tour of the Central Area of Sheffield. The tour, which takes just over an hour at a leisurely walking pace, is intended to show both civic and other important buildings and landmarks, not only of yesteryear, but also some of the more modern counterparts of recent times. At the same time, it is hoped to show some of the Sheffield’s character in its local environment, brought about by the effects of ambitious building schemes and town planning since 1945 together with the clean air legislation in 1972 which led to Sheffield’s claim as being ‘the cleanest industrial city in Europe‘.

Reading the brochure I can’t help but think of the ‘City on the move’ film that opened The Full Monty, as the tone really lends itself to being read in a received pronunciation public service-style voice.

I’m sure copies of this publication from ‘yesteryear’ are quite scarce now, so I’ve pulled together my favourite quotes here:

City of Sheffield city centre walkaboutTown hall extension “This effect, together with leaded roofing are (sic) intended to blend two contrasting styles of building”

Crucible theatre “several television spectaculars have taken place here”

Shopping “Sheffield now has more departmental stores than any other city north of London”

Fargate “A quiet resting place for the weary visitor”

Chapel Walk “has more than a hint of a cosmopolitan atmosphere”

Dove and Rainbow pub “where you are more than likely to hear the chatter of journalists, reporters and other media people during weekday lunchbreaks”

Parkway “It is now possible to drive to either London or Newcastle in under three hours via the motorway network direct from that point”

Ramp near Castle Square “Castle Square’s function as a traffic roundabout can best be viewed from this point” - this view is obviously one not to miss!


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Categories : council, environment, history, promotions, pubs, sheffield, walking