The film shows street scenes in Sheffield and concentrates on congestion at various junctions in the city centre. It includes trams, buses and other vehicles and people in the streets. There are some views which include shops and other buildings. Title: Traffic problems The film begins with views of the junctions of Fargate, Leopold Street, Barkers Pool and Surrey Street in front of the Town Hall. It concentrates on the pedestrian crossings, which are marked with studs in the road and are...

The film shows street scenes in Sheffield and concentrates on congestion at various junctions in the city centre. It includes trams, buses and other vehicles and people in the streets. There are some views which include shops and other buildings. Title: Traffic problems The film begins with views of the junctions of Fargate, Leopold Street, Barkers Pool and Surrey Street in front of the Town Hall. It concentrates on the pedestrian crossings, which are marked with studs in the road and are controlled by policemen. Vehicles are also shown passing the traffic island, which is now designed as a rockery, and the absence of any road markings is noticeable. Some of the adjacent shops and business premises can be seen. A policeman is then seen directing a horse and cart. The scene moves to the bottom of Fargate with a view of Kelmsley House. At the junction with High Street and Church Street policemen are controlling the crossings although there are Belisha beacons in place. Outside Boots a white-coated policeman is directing traffic from a raised refuge. The crossings are then shown from a high angle and there are also more views of the junctions and Cole Brothers Corner. Looking down High Street from a high position, some of the effects of wartime bombing can still be seen. At Market Place a policeman is controlling the pedestrian crossing and the ruins of C&As can be seen in the background. Another policeman is on duty at the top of Haymarket and there are glimpses of the News Theatre cinema in Fitzalan Square, Congestion is very heavy in Commercial Street where there are queues of trams and in Haymarket where the pedestrians have difficulty crossing the road between the vehicles. This is followed by a brief view of Flat Street, the bus station in Pond Street and more scenes in Flat Street. The film then returns to Fargate which is lined with cars and the pavements are crowded with pedestrians. Zebra crossings are now marked on the roads outside the Town Hall. Finally, more scenes in Fargate are followed by views of Pinstone Street and Barkers Pool with the Regent cinema in sight, Church Street and the Cathedral gates, High Street and Fargate. Background The label on the film can is dated 1-2 and 8-9 June 1951 and 1 March 1952. The film is believed to have been made for traffic survey purposes and appears to concentrate on the junctions in the city centre where there is heavy traffic and pedestrian flow. At this time new types of pedestrian crossings were being introduced, including the 'zebra' crossings. Provenance Transferred to Sheffield Libraries from the City Council's Publicity Department in 1985.