A City Council Traffic Management Officer will be at the meeting to provide an update on traffic management issues in St Andrews.
Minutes:
Councillor Senior left the meeting for the agenda item.
Councillor Kitterick informed the meeting that representatives from Leicester Royal Infirmary Interserve and University Hospitals Leicester had been invited to attend the Community Meeting, to try and answer residents questions and issues regarding car parking and Leicester Royal Infirmary staff.
Ruth Ward, Travelwise Manager for University Hospitals Leicester (UHL), was present and informed the meeting that part of her role was to encourage people not to use their cars to and from work. She said she covered all three hospital sites, at which there were issues with parking. Ruth said she managed the ‘Hopper’ bus between the three hospitals, and 12,000 people used the service weekly.
Jeff Garland, Leicester Royal Infirmary (LRI) informed those present the hospital had, from March 2013, a new facilities service provider, Interserve, who also dealt with car parking. He said meetings had been held with Leicester City Council regarding traffic issues and parking. Jeff said there were plans being developed around the LRI, which included a possible multi-storey car park, which would reduce congestion on Havelock Street, and provide better ingress and egress. He said the hospital was also looking at the timings of clinics to avoid peaks. He added most hospital staff parked in off-site car parks.
Jeff said the litter on Grisedale Close had been addressed, and a meeting was held with City Wardens to tackle the issue. He added staff visitors would be encouraged to use Nelson Mandella Park, and Interserve were working with City Wardens to identify repeat offenders, for example, at Gate 8. The installation of bins in the area had also been discussed.
Ruth said there was a new Chief Executive at University Hospitals Leicester who would not tolerate the issues that were presented at the meeting by residents and the Tenants and Residents Association (TARA) members, and that the LRI would work with Interserve and Leicester City Council to resolve issues. In the short term, alternative locations would be suggested to staff, and the hospital would work with City Wardens to see who was breaking the law and help identify culprits.
The Chair asked that direct communication be made by Interserve and UHL Managers with the St Andrews TARA, to liaise to identify issues in the area.
Jayesh Parmer, and Ed Kocik, Traffic Management, Leicester City Council, were also present at the meeting, and produced a map of the area, which was referred to during discussion.
Jayesh informed the meeting that Interserve Estates Management were responsible for the operation of LRI’s car park on Havelock Street, which had queuing problems. He said a third workshop had been held between Leicester City Council and Interserve on 25th June 2013. Jayesh said there were also issues with the football and rugby grounds which were being addressed as part of the whole project and Leicester City Council would meet with the sports grounds to help establish a match-day strategy.
Ed said the implementation of Traffic Regulation Orders (TROs) in the area would need to balance Blue Badge holders’ need to park. He said in addition to existing parking restrictions it was proposed to introduce no parking at any time to other areas. He added a legal process, followed by a planning process would take place, and he believed there would be objections to the proposal. He said the whole procedure would take approximately six months, but would hopefully solve problems for residents and the emergency services. He acknowledged there would have to be provision made for delivery vehicles in the area.
Residents said issues included Blue Badge holders parking on double yellow lines, and other drivers using visitors parking bays, and that more should be done to enforce the existing restrictions. Ed said Blue Badge holders could park on double yellow lines for up to three hours, and the police dealt with obstructions when necessary. He added the area would be looked at again to incorporate the additional issues raised. Councillor Kitterick suggested the residents meet with the police and officers to go through the issues in the area.
Jayesh said that with regards to the queuing problems, officers were undertaking a survey of the site. He informed the meeting of the proposal to make Jarrom Street one-way, and install road humps to stop speeding traffic. He added proper consultation would take place regarding the proposal, as it was important the changes did not create other ‘rat runs’ in the area. Residents said it was a huge mistake to close Mill Lane, which had since created the problems on Jarrom Street. The additional traffic had resulted in the re-routing of buses away from Havelock Street due to the queuing traffic waiting to gain access to the car park, and made it difficult for residents who lived in the area to get to work. Canon Naylor, St Andrews Church, said he had hoped speed restrictions would have had an effect on Jarrom Street, but they had not. He added the area required more traffic calming measures, but did not know if the ambulance service would agree.
Jayesh concluded that officers were working with the Rugby and Football Grounds to create a match day strategy. Leicester City Council and Ruth Ward were working together to develop a short-term plan to address issues, and would continue to work with Leicester Royal Infirmary, Interserve and the sports grounds to develop a long-term plan.
The Chair thanked officers for the update.
Councillor Senior returned to the meeting.
AGREED:
1) That the points raised above be noted.