Ickles Roundabout on the edge of Rotherham town centre could be changed to give priority to pedestrians and cyclists as part of a proposed multi-million pound upgrade
Rotherham Council is exploring potential modifications to the Ickles roundabout in Templeborough, a key junction linking the town centre to Meadowhall and the M1 Motorway.
Dutch roundabouts feature an outer ring designated for cyclists and pedestrians, who are given priority over motor vehicles.
In documents released for ‘Dutch Roundabout Design Consultancy’ state: “Rotherham Council is seeking to explore available skills and experience in the market place to consider if RMBC can subsequently engage a specialist transport consultant to determine whether a Dutch style signalised crossroads with at-grade pedestrian and cycle crossings can be accommodated at the Ickles roundabout (S60 post code) with an acceptable impact on traffic.
The junction should also include bus priority. This exercise will be completed before letting a design and build contract as it may allow one of two options to be ruled out, providing much greater certainty.
In September £1.05m of development funding had been released by the South Yorkshire Mayoral Combined Authority (SYMCA) to Rotherham Council to develop an improvement scheme at Ickles roundabout at Templeborough.
The funding is being provided through the City Region Sustainable Transport Settlements (CRSTS), a government funding stream, starting in 2022 and renewing every five years.
It consolidates several existing funding streams, including Transforming Cities Fund, Integrated Transport Block and the Pothole Fund. For 2022-2027, South Yorkshire has been awarded £570m.
Earlier this week, Sheffield City Council unveiled a Dutch-style roundabout at West Bar, making it the second of its kind in the country, following the first in Cambridge.
