Interview with Paul Thorp
“We deserve a say on our own roads” — my interview with Councillor Paul Thorp
Something big is happening on Rotherham’s roads, and a lot of us aren’t sure what, why, or at what cost.
So I sat down with Councillor Paul Thorp — Conservative councillor for Sitwell ward — at Rotherham Town Hall on 22 June to get some straight answers. Paul has spent a long time trying to get the Council to properly look at the road improvement scheme: what it’s costing us, how long it’s taking, and what it means for residents, drivers, cyclists and people on foot.
We covered a lot of ground. Among the questions I put to him:
- How did he get pulled into all of this in the first place?
- What’s the real background to it?
- How much money has been spent so far — and how much more is due to be spent?
- What benefits have actually been delivered?
- How much have residents genuinely been asked what they think?
- What on earth is a “Dutch road”, and why does it matter here?
- What does he actually want to see happen — and how is it different from the current plan?
- And the big one: can we, as residents, still make a real difference?
Paul’s answers are honest, and in places they’ll surprise you.
Watch the full interview below — grab a cuppa, it’s worth your time.
Things you can do right now:
1. Sign the petition — “Review and Rebalance Rotherham’s C.R.T.S. Active Travel Schemes”:
👉 https://moderngov.rotherham.gov.uk/mgEPetitionDisplay.aspx?ID=116&RPID=46787488&HPID=46787488
2. Leave a comment — tell us what you make of all this. What’s your experience of the changes? What are your worries? These are our roads, and your voice counts.
3. Share this and help spread the word — send it to as many people as you can across Rotherham. The more of us who speak up, the harder our voices are to ignore.
Great interview. Learned loads about what’s going on. We must all pull together as residents and make sure our voices are heard!
Has there been any survey of the use of the cycle tracks on East Bawtry Road? They have been there since the 1930s. If they had been a roaring success more would have been built when West Bawtry Road was widened, or when Brecks to M18 was dualled in 1973. Clearly not.
Have not some of the proposed routes already had money thrown at them during the last 20 years or so? Do they not work satisfactorily? If not, why not? Are we trying tick boxes by using available government funding even if it is not appropriate here? This strikes me as another piece of town-centred vanity, disregarding roads in the “outer” districts of the Borough which need attention.
I can think of four particular safety concerns, sites of accidents, which have been brought to RMBC’s attention but some have received the reply that the solution must come out of a ward budget. People, including cyclists, have to navigate these roads before they ever reach the ones being discussed here. Two thirds of the Borough’s population lives outside the town – but they are invisible from the Town Hall. This is the kind of poorly considered plan which deters people from bothering to come to the town at all. They go elsewhere, and it shows.
1. Complete the FOOTpath from Laughton Common to Thurcroft, B6060. There is no path from Common Lane to Thurcroft Cemetery, including a blind bend. It is also dangerous trying to turn right out of Common Lane because the view to the left is very short. Buses are usually trying to make up time on this stretch and their speed is frightening.
2. Roundabout or lights at the north end of Aughton, A618. It becomes impossible to cross the junction so lengthy rush-hour queues from the Treeton direction cause people to take risks.
3. Traffic light control on Todwick roundabout, A57. Traffic struggles to join the A57 to travel the short distance to the M1. Commercial traffic from industrial estates at North Anston and Dinnington cannot begin their journeys, which is incredibly wasteful of the business activity which is located there.
4. Two dangerous junctions at Upper Haugh, B6089 Stubbin Road/Wentworth Road which have caused someone else to launch a petition recently.
Are there any plans/consultations about any of these? If not, why not?
I agree completely. The true problems with our roads are being overlooked. I suspect this is just box ticking in the name of greener measures…..ridiculous waste of taxpayers money.
In order to construct proposed cycle lanes on Wickersley road the council is suggesting mass tree felling, which would be ludicrous considering trees are our greatest defence against pollution.
A 24 hour bus lane is also hugely unnecessary as it not only creates standing traffic on Wickersley road, but is not warranted by the relatively small number of buses v cars on that route.
After speaking to one of our Green Party councillors recently, we agreed that a grass roots approach is needed; improved bus services, subsidised fares etc. My observations on Broom Lane, the proposed Dutch road, is the illegal parking on double yellow line’s on a daily basis; simply start issuing parking tickets. Similarly, the number one issue in my immediate neighbourhood is dangerous driving, mainly by young people. When will we see safety measures put in place, reducing speed limits, cameras etc.
Please stop wasting our money on futile schemes and start making our roads safe for everyone, especially our elderly and our children.
Hi Amanda,
Thank you for your comments. The word that comes to mind is ‘enforcement’. Sometimes I think that some part of the reasoning for these ill conceived plans is more to do with cost savings related to traffic and road enforcement i.e. with lanes so tight and with single lane traffic no one can ‘mid-behave’. The side effect of all this worse safety and poor resident and road user experience.