AN INSTRUCTIVE TRAFFIC CENSUS.
Page 11
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Sheffield's city engineer has submitted a report concerning a traffic census which he has recently undertaken. In June a report was made to the works committee that a traffic count had recently been taken in 11 principal streets where the traffic was chiefly industrial. The figures showed that, since 1923, when a previous census was taken, there had been an increase of 25 per cent. in the weight carried.
The city engineer was then requested to take a censos of the traffic on certain main roads, at points as near as practicable to the city boundary, and to indicate how much of this traffic was local and how much was through traffic.
Accordingly, a count has been taken on 10 main roads, at or near the city boundary, with the result shown in the accompanying table.
It is difficult to arrive at any accurate division between local and .through traffic, because many locally owned vehicles bear registration numbers belonging to other districts than Sheffield. To divide commercial traffic is much easier, because most of the vans and lorries bear the owner's name. A careful analysis has been made of this traffic and it is found that 37 per cent. of the commercial tonnage included in the foregoing census originates outside the city, and may therefore be looked upon as through traffic rather than local traffic.
A further analysis had been made to show to what extent the traffic has increased since the previous census of 1923. There is a difficulty in making a simple comparison, because, since 1923, the Ministry of Transport has somewhat altered the average weights per vehicle included in their census form. Obviously, such alterations must be made periodi.eally, in order to keep pace with the development of motor vehicles, but this complicates comparisons between counts made at different dates.
The result of the analysis made is to show that, since June, 1923, the traffic on these main roads has increased on an average by 31 per cent., the greatest increase being 70 per cent. on City Road. At only one point was there any diminution of traffic, viz., in Penistone Road (near Wadsley Bridge Goods Station), and where a considerable part of the traffic is to or from railway goods stations.