Issue - meetings

The Monitoring Officer submits a report which explains that a petition has been received which asks the council to review and resolve the traffic chaos / congestion. The committee is recommended to consider the petition and representation and make any recommendations to the Executive in accordance with the Petition Scheme.

The Monitoring Officer submitted a report explaining that a petition had been received asking the Council to review and resolve the traffic chaos / congestion caused by the various improvements made to the city centre and surrounding roads.

At the invitation of the Chair, the lead petitioner, Mr Radynski, addressed the Committee, noting that, unfortunately, the petition did not contain enough signatures for a Council debate to be held on this matter, as many signatories had used their home postcodes, which were outside the city, rather than work ones which were in the city, when signing the petition. 

Mr Radynski reminded the Committee that, under the Traffic Management Act 1984, the Council was responsible for ensuring the smooth flow of traffic.  However, if people did not take up alternative methods of travel, such as cycling, walking or using buses, congestion remained.  The resulting pollution had an impact on public health, which was contrary to the Council’s stated policies.

The Council had not acknowledged that congestion had increased, stating instead that it was unchanged.  Mr Radynski therefore questioned how things could improve if the Council refused to accept the situation.  People were still signing the petition, so the Council was asked to listen to their concerns and act accordingly.

On behalf of the Committee, the Chair thanked Mr Radynski for presenting the petition and his comments.

The Committee noted that this was a matter of considerable public interest, as could be seen, for example, from comments in local media.  However, Leicester was an ancient city, with a road pattern dominated by that laid out in the Roman and Medieval periods.  After the Second World War there had been considerable reconstruction of the city for the benefit of motorists, but this had been at a cost to historic elements of the city.

It was stressed that, as well as considering the issues raised through the petition, ways needed to be found for the city to continue to prosper.  For example, pedestrianisation of areas of the city centre initially had been very controversial, but the city centre continued to thrive.  However, a balance had to be maintained between the needs of motorists, cyclists, pedestrians, traders and the wider city, which it was recognised was not easy to achieve.

The Committee suggested that it would be helpful if the City Mayor could set out all of the plans for change over the next three to four years.  This would enable people to see how they worked together and they could then comment in the full knowledge of what was trying to be achieved.  It also could mean that situations were avoided where plans had to be changed as people were not aware of the context of individual proposals.  The City Mayor welcomed this suggestion.

Members noted that views had been expressed that some of the new facilities, such as bus lanes, were well used, but no figures had been produced to substantiate these.  In addition, some of the changes appeared to oppose each  ...  view the full minutes text for item 101