Jeff Miller, Service Director, Regeneration, Highways & Transportation, will give a presentation on highways work in the area.
Minutes:
Jeff Miller, Service Director, Regeneration, Highways and Transportation attended the meeting and gave a brief presentation, stating that the City Council spent approximately £2m per year in maintaining it’s highway assets.
Parking – area of concern with inconsiderate/illegal parking and people being ticketed. Many Council estates were not designed for mass car ownership and now the Council’s Environment Budget was being utilised to provide verge hardening/laybys, subject to priority. Should lack of parking be an issue then consideration could be given to providing residents parking schemes, enforced by the City Council.
Speeding Traffic – can undertake traffic surveys and, if necessary, take action to reduce the problem, the Police were also able to take action. Vehicle activated signs were one method being used to reduce traffic speeds but traffic cameras were not always a popular choice and more traffic calming measures were being followed up such as pedestrian crossings linked with 20 mph zones.
Buses – better bus patronage across the City was being sought. A step change in public transport was being planned with a new Bus Station to be built in the City Centre and there was a possibility that a tram route would be built to link the City Centre with the proposed Pennbury development. It was stressed that the City Council did not have control over the bus companies regarding route provision but did subsidise certain services that were not deemed to be commercially viable.
A member of the public stated that he was aware that since the implementation of the Transport Act 1968 Councils had little control over bus companies but wishe to state that the buses in this particular area were felt to be of poor standard. The officers stated that the Council were working with the 2 major bus companies as part of a Quality Bus Partnership. Arriva had recently invested heavily in new vehicles for the City and it was suggested that a representative from Arriva could be invited to attend a future meeting, this was agreed.
Potholes – the condition of roads in the City was deemed to be fair, with unclassified roads satisfactory. Limited funding was available to repair roads but that if potholes were reported and found to be dangerous then a Rapid Response Team would act within 3 days to repair them. Regular Highway Inspections took place to assess the condition of the City’s roads. Following the bad weather last winter it had been apparent that the gritting programme had been felt by some people to be lacking in outer areas, this was due to the fact that principal routes and the City Centre were prioritised for gritting.
A member of the public questioned why the top part of Gipsy Lane was badly potholed as nothing seemed to be done. The officers stated that they would take details and respond.
Tesco - A member of the public stated that it seemed as if Tesco at Hamilton were seeking to consolidate their land holding in the area by purchasing some land from the City Council. The officers stated that unless there were planning or safety issues around the Tesco site then it would be difficult for the Council to act.
20 mph zones – Councillor Mugglestone stated that he had been informed that the Police would not enforce 20 mph zones introduced within the City.The Police present agreed to check the position regarding 20 mph zones.
Roads in Netherhall – Councillor Potter stated that a number of roads in the Netherhall area were in a very poor state and she supported the claim regarding the comment made earlier regarding Gipsy Lane. Councillor Potter further stated that she would like to see a 20 mph zone in the vicinity of all 9 schools in the Netherhall, Humberstone and Hamilton areas and questioned at what point of the traffic calming priority list Netherhall stood. Officers stated that the priority list was set out on one of the leaflets on the Information stand and set out those schemes for which funding was available. A ‘wish’ list of those schemes that the City Council would like to carry out, should funding be identified, was also set out.
The officers stated that they would report back to this Community Meeting with a detailed costed programme of roadworks in this area, that would identify the work required and the anticipated costs.
Car Parking outside schools – it was stated that there was a problem of parents parking their cars outside schools, in particular Kestrels Field Primary School on Maidenwell Avenue where the road was narrow, and this was deemed dangerous. The officers stated that they would look into this and report back to the next meeting. It was further stated that arrangements would be made to enforce parking restrictions in this area, particularly around schools. Councillor Joshi who was present at the meeting stated that a Civil Enforcement Officer had been present outside Kestrels Field Primary School that afternoon and it was clear that liaison with parents was necessary to encourage them to park their cars further away from the school. The Police stated that they had tried telling parents at Kestrels Field and had also liaised with the school who had indicated that they would like to see a pedestrian crossing outside the school, together with a school crossing patrol. The officers stated that a programme of work funded by Central Government was in place and it was possible that a crossing near to Kestrels Field Primary School was scheduled for later in 2009. It was further stated that the Council were working with a number of schools to help them develop travel plans to encourage other means of travel to/from school.
Speeding Traffic – it was stated that there was an issue of speeding traffic on Laburnum Road and that some form of traffic calming or signs were required. Councillor Potter stated that a number of roads in the Netherhall area were similarly affected. The officers stated that they were currently running a campaign targeted at young people to show them the effects of dangerous driving although funding to undertake calming measures was limited. Councillor Potter suggested that some funding currently targeted at the City Centre should be re-directed to outer estates. A member of the public referred to speeding issues on Sandhills Avenue but the officers stated that they were not able to address this as the road in particular was not an adopted street and the Council needed to know when the developer intended to transfer the street, although there were a number of issues involved. Officers would report back on the outcomes.
Barratt development, Humberstone Road – it was stated that there was a large pothole at the junction of this new development and Humberstone Road, and it was not clear who had priority. The officers stated that they would check to ascertain who was responsible for this junction and get the work carried out. A response would be made to the Ward Councillors prior to the next meeting.
Cycling/Park and Ride – a member of the public questioned the Council’s commitment to cycling and park and ride in the area. The officers stated that the Council supported a number of cycling routes across the Cityand, if appropriate would include a cycle path to link this area. It was stated that Park and Ride might not be appropriate in this area of the City although the Council were looking to provide a site on the east of the City to alleviate traffic on Humberstone Road.
RESOLVED:
that the information and actions be noted.