Agenda and minutes

Cllr L Bigham thanked Cllr N Akhtar, the previous Chair of the Communities and Neighbourhoods Scrutiny Board, for his service to the Board.

There were no declarations of interest.

a)  To agree the Minutes of the meeting held on 5 November, 2020

b)  Any matters arising

The Minutes of the meeting held on 5 November, 2020 were agreed and signed as a true record. There were no matters arising.

Briefing Note of the Director of Transportation and Highways

The Scrutiny Board considered a Briefing Note about the Average Speed Enforcement (ASE) Update which indicated that speeding was an issue across the City. ASE was not a revenue raising scheme but had been implemented for the safety of the citizens of Coventry.

The Scrutiny Board received a presentation on Average Speed Enforcement (ASE). Key points raised included;

·  Coventry City Council received many requests for road safety measures from residents and Members across the city, concerned about inappropriate vehicular speed. 

·  Speeding vehicles continued to be a significant contributory factor in recorded personal injury collisions in Coventry.  Although the overall collision rates were declining on Coventry’s road network, the number of people killed or seriously injured (KSI) remained high on major routes that carry high volumes of traffic. 

·  Over the past 3-year period (30/10/2017 to 29/10/2020), a total of 1560 personal injury collisions occurred on Coventry’s roads, and this resulted in 2043 casualties. 

·  In-depth analysis has revealed a significant number of personal injury collisions are attributed to inappropriate vehicular speeds.

·  333 people were killed or seriously injured over the past 3 years – 27 fatalities and 306 seriously injured.

·  In March 2018, Cabinet approved the use of Average Speed Enforcement (ASE) on London Road and Ansty Road. 

·  Because of the early positive results, additional schemes were installed on Binley Road and Henley Road in January 2020. The London Road extension went live in April 2020. There were 5 live ASE sites in Coventry at the time of the meeting.

·  In June 2020, the Cabinet Member for City Services had approved four additional ASE schemes:

o  Longford Road and part of Foleshill Road and Bedworth Road (from its junction with A444 to Ibstock Road)

o  Bell Green Road (from its junction with A444 to its junction with Henley Road)

o  Burnaby Road and The Scotchill (from its junction with Lockhurst Lane to its junction with Keresley Green Road); and

o  Sky Blue Way (from its junction with Lower Ford Street to its junction with A444). – This project was delayed due to technical difficulties, and it would be replaced with Foleshill Road (A444 to Harnall Lane West).  

·  Figures for the existing ASE schemes showed a decline in initial personal injury collisions.

The Scrutiny Board questioned officers and the Cabinet Member and received responses on the following issues including:-

·  There were plans to install ASE along the full length of the London Road and the implement a consistent speed limit of 30mph by summer 2021.

·  The categorisation of accident was dependent on the level of harm to individuals as well as the impact on the vehicle/surrounding area.

·  ASE appeared to help ease congestion by enabling a constant, steady flow of traffic.

·  Fine monies received went to West Midlands Police to pay for the administration of the scheme. There was no revenue benefit to the Council.

·  Vehicle Activated Signs (VAS) were another road safety tool which could be used. The ones available in the City were rotated to areas which met the  ...  view the full minutes text for item 14.

Briefing Note of the Director of Transportation and Highways

The Scrutiny Board considered a Briefing Note which provided an overview of Highway Utility Companies in Coventry.

Cllr P Hetherton, Cabinet Member for City Services, introduced the item and indicated that there was an aspiration to do work with our partners to ensure the restoration was undertaken satisfactorily to improve access and aesthetics.

The Scrutiny Board received a presentation which provided an overview of Highway Utility Companies in Coventry. Key points raised included;

·  The legislation used to manage Highways Utility Companies was the ‘New Roads and Street Works Act 1991Code of Practice for the Co-ordination of Street Works and Works for Road Purposes and Related Matters’.

·  This code applied to prospectively maintainable highways.

·  Everyone working in the highway should take account of the needs of all road users, including those with disabilities – whether they are pedestrians, equestrians, cyclists or drivers – at all stages in the planning and execution of works in the street. This had implications for the timing, method and scheduling of works.

·  Works in the street would interfere with road users and nearby residential and business premises to some extent. The aim should be to avoid, where possible; serious traffic disruption; works on recently resurfaced or reconstructed streets; and planned works within a short time of earlier works.

·  Different types of traffic management which could be used included; Stop and Go Boards; Give and Take; Lane Closures; Footway Closures; Traffic Signals and Road Closures

·  Road closures required plans and diversion routes to be submitted to the Council.

·  Utilities had to display a permit board so that if a member of the public had any concerns and wishes to report the works they would know who the utility was and had a reference number.  This could also help residents check the works on line and find out how long the works would be on site.

·  If problems there were problems on sites being worked on are, which were in a poor state, then companies are issued with a one or two hour notice to remedy the issue.

·  Reinstatement works had a two year guarantee. Penalties could not be issued for aesthetic reasons. New surfaces were protected for three or five years unless there was an emergency repair required.

·  Surfaces had to be repaired like for like, unless the surface being worked on was already damaged in which case a compromise was reached with regards to reinstatement.

·  Sometimes temporary tarmac is installed whilst other scheduled work takes place. Consideration was being given to spraying the tarmac to say it was temporary to reduce the number of complaints received. 

The Scrutiny Board questioned officers and the Cabinet Member and received responses on the following issues including:-

·  There were ongoing discussions to prevent conflict between work to install fibre and the development of Very Light Rail (VLR)

·  An issue on Wyken Road was discussed and would be picked up outside of the meeting.

RESOLVED that the Communities and Neighbourhoods Scrutiny Board (4):-

1)  Note the impact  ...  view the full minutes text for item 15.

Report of the Director of Law and Governance

The Scrutiny Board noted that the following items would be added to the work programme;

1)  Bulky lift/ Spring Clean – February 2021

2)  Residents Parking Permits – Date to be determined

RESOLVED that the Communities and Neighbourhoods Scrutiny Board (4) note their Work Programme for 2020/21.

There were no other items of urgent public business.