Agenda item

Officers will be on hand to present information on Highways and Transport related issues in the local area.

Jeff Miller, Service Director – Regeneration, Highways and Transportation, provided a brief presentation about the highways and transport department within Leicester City Council, and presented information on highways and transport related issues in the area. The following issues were covered:

·       Parking and parking related issues throughout the City and specifically in the Braunstone Park and Rowley Fields ward;

·       Speeding Traffic;

·       The condition of the roads and footways in the area;

·       Public Transport and the new city centre terminus, the Quality Bus Partnership between Leicester City Council and the Bus Companies, quality bus corridors and park and ride;

·       The Transport Plan; and

·       Verge Hardening.

The condition of the roads in Braunstone Park and Rowley Fields was explained as fair, as was the programme of roads and footways maintenance and the fact that it was a costly programme to manage and deliver. The Rapid Response Team was also explained to the meeting, and in particular it was stated that if a problem with the roads were reported to the Council they would be temporarily repaired within 3 days. The contact details of the Rapid Response Team were also provided. 

Residents raised the following points in relation to Highways and Transport:

·        What would the cost be to replace the grass with tarmac on Braunstone Lane;

·        There were no grit bins obviously available in the area;

·        The condition of pavements in the area was not good and there were not enough dropped curbs to enable disabled and mobility buggy users to mount the pavements;

·        Raised levels and ridges made it difficult and dangerous for disabled and mobility buggy users to mount curbs;

·        Flooding, due to the high water table, created problems on the highways and pavements in some parts of the area;

·        The roads in and around the new leisure centre flood whenever it rained heavily; and

·        No bus route existed that covered the Sheltered Housing Service.

Councillor Glover explained that the recent traffic calming measures implemented in Winstanley Drive previously had not worked as they had simply pushed the traffic onto Overpark Avenue and Caldicott Road, which had made the situation worse.  Councillor Glover also stated that the planned measures for Hallam Crescent would create more problems than they would solve.   

In response, it was explained that:

·        Resurfacing costs currently stood at approximately £7,000 to £13,000 per 100 metres of highway;

·        That, in relation to replacing the turfed area on Braunstone Lane with tarmac, Jeff Miller agreed to take up the matter with colleagues and report back to a future meeting;

·        The Council relied upon residents and users of highways and footpaths to inform of any problems;

·        That, in relation to ease of access to footpaths for disabled and mobility buggies, Jeff Miller explained that Officers have recently been conducting site visits of improvement areas with representative from the VISTA charity in an attempt to understand the issues from different perspectives, and that designers are asked to consider the issues of disabled users when designing new footpaths;

·        A disability access group existed in the City, and it may be that they be used to enable Officers to see the matter from a different perspective.

·        That, in response to concerns about road safety, Officers were required to consult on this when implementing road safety measures;

·        That, if money or additional funding for possible road safety measures was identified for specific areas then it was possible to ringfence the funding pending consultation on the suggested improvements;

·        That, in relation to flooding near the leisure centre, it may be that more intensive cleaning of the gulley be required and that tree roots were causing further problems; and that

·        In relation to the Winstanley Road bumps, it was explained that if it was safe to make improvements to the current measures then the Council will do so. Officers will check the matter and feedback to a future meeting.

Councillor Cooke commented that transport was a major concern in the City, and that flooding and disrepair of roads and pavements have been raised previously as matters for concern. Councillor Cooke also outlined that patch walks, future meetings, and residents surveys would be used to identify further issues that need to be addressed in the area.