Business owners on Sheffield’s Ecclesall Road have welcomed a decision to overturn the city council’s red line plan following a petition launched by traders in the area.
The plans would have seen new road markings put in place on Abbeydale and Ecclesall Road, preventing vehicles from parking outside many businesses and allowing buses to pass through freely.
Twelve hour bus lanes, red line routes with camera surveillance and parking restrictions were all presented as possible ideas that could be implemented.
The rules of the double red lines allow no leeway for temporary parking or stopping. They operate 24 hours a day, 365 days a year and do not require a time plate or sign.
Paul Robinson, of Robinson’s Cobblers and Locksmith on Ecclesall Road, said: “We’ve been here 40 years and if that would have gone through… bye-bye.
“And quite a few other ones [business] would have had to go [too].”
The announcement to scrap the plans was made on Monday night following a meeting held with businesses, run by Councillor Mazher Iqbal.
Whilst discussing the U-turn on the decision, council leader Terry Fox said in an online statement: “We believe in bus lane segregation. Look at London – it works really well there.
“The issue we have locally, however, is that implementing them in the current climate is not right.”
However, in the last hour, Green Councillors have said the plans haven’t yet been scrapped, and a vote in the summer could still go ahead.
Mr Robinson added: “I’m all for making things a little bit better and stuff like that, but it would have closed a hell of a lot of businesses that have been here for years.“