Agenda and minutes

There were no disclosable pecuniary interests.

(a)  To agree the minutes of the meeting held on 13^th September 2023

(b)  Matters Arising

The minutes of the meeting held on 13^th September 2023 were agreed and signed as a true record. There were no matters arising.

Report of the Director of Transportation, Highways and Sustainability.

To consider the above petition bearing 45 signatures. The petition has been submitted by Councillor J O’Boyle, a St. Michael’s Ward Councillor and the Petition Sponsor, who has been invited to the meeting for the consideration of this item along with the Petition Organiser.

The Cabinet Member for City Services considered a report of the Director of Transportation, Highways and Sustainability, which responded to a petition requesting the changes to the waiting restrictions imposed in November 2022, be reversed.  The petition was supported by Councillor J O’Boyle, a St. Michael’s Ward Councillor who, together with the Petition Organiser, attended the meeting and spoke on behalf of the petitioners.

The petition submitted contained 45 signatures and in accordance with the City Council’s procedure for dealing with petitions, those related to road safety and parking issues were heard by the Cabinet Member for City Services. Councillor O’Boyle requested that a report be submitted in respect of this matter.

A report advised that on 4 November 2022, following consultation, Phase 1 of a traffic management scheme was introduced to try to improve safety and traffic flows through the Far Gosford Street Area.  The scheme changed access arrangements, making some roads one-way and making changes to the places where drivers could park and/or undertake loading/unloading.  The scheme also introduced a red route along Far Gosford Street, linking into the existing red route corridor which connects the city centre to the M6.

As the proposed changes were significant, to be able to monitor the impact of the changes, the traffic regulation orders (TRO) required to make the changes were implemented as Experimental TROs.  This was to provide the opportunity for continued responses from the public to be taken into consideration, and monitoring whilst the scheme was operating.

The objection period was due to close on 3^rd November 2023.  A petition of 45 signatures had been received ‘on behalf of the shop owners and traders of Far Gosford Street’ requesting that the changes were ‘reversed’, details of which had been circulated with the report at Appendix C.

In accordance with the City Council's procedure for dealing with objections to TROs, including Experimental TROs, they are reported to the Cabinet Member for City Services for a decision as to how to proceed.

The cost of introducing and amending TROs, including Experimental TROs, if approved, will be funded from the Highways Maintenance and Investment Capital Programme budget through the Local Transport Plan.

Councillor J O’Boyle and the Petition Organiser spoke in support of the petition, explaining the reasons why the changes should be reversed and raised the following concerns and queries:

• The bus stop on Far Gosford Steet was lengthy and it would be beneficial to shorten it to create more space.
• Were there proposals for any more CCTV cameras on Far Gosford Street and what were the monitoring arrangements?
• Full engagement was required with the traders to keep them up to date with proposals.

Officers responded, advising if the bus stop was shortened and parking allowed, there would be issues with difficulty for the bus getting into the bus stop and for passengers alighting and disembarking; the bus stop could not be shorted from the front as high kerbs have been used to help people getting on and off  ...  view the full minutes text for item 24.

Report of the Director of Transportation, Highways and Sustainability.

To consider the above petition bearing 111 and 72 signatures respectively. The petition has been submitted by Councillor P Male, a Woodlands Ward Councillor and the Petition Organiser, who has been invited to the meeting for the consideration of this item.

The Cabinet Member for City Services considered a report of the Director of Transportation, Highways and Sustainability, which responded to petitions requesting traffic calming measures to be implemented on Alderminster Road. The petitions were organised by Councillor P Male, a Woodlands Ward Councillor who attended the meeting and spoke in support of the petitions.

The two petitions submitted contained 183 signatures and, in accordance with the City Council’s procedure for dealing with petitions, those related to road safety and parking issues were heard by the Cabinet Member for City Services. The Cabinet Member had considered the petitions in advance of the meeting and requested that they be dealt with by Determination Letter rather than a formal report being submitted to the meeting.

The determination letter advised that a review of the personal injury collision history for Alderminster Road showed that there were no personal injury collisions reported to the Police on Alderminster Road in the last three years, and therefore that?it did?not meet the safety scheme criteria.  However, the road would continue to be monitored as part of annual citywide review of personal injury collisions.

Upon receipt of the Determination Letter, Councillor Male advised he wanted the issue to be considered at a Cabinet Member for City Services meeting.

The cost of introducing road safety measures is funded from the Highways Maintenance and Investment Capital Programme budget through the Local Transport Plan.

Councillor P Male spoke in support of the petitioners, explaining that there had been a large number of accidents on this road despite the personal injury records not showing this and requested the following:

• Extraction of data from the Vehicle Activated Sign (VAS) on Alderminster Road
• Speed test data collected from the vicinity of the junction with the Ladbrook Road.
• The possible implementation of a mini roundabout situated at the junction with Beausale Croft to break the speed of the traffic.

RESOLVED that the Cabinet Member for City Services having considered the petition agreed to defer the petition pending further investigations; including further speed surveys and investigating the possibility (subject to funding) of installing a mini roundabout and providing analysis of the VAS data to Ward Councillors.

There are no outstanding issues

There were no outstanding issues.

Any other items of public business which the Cabinet Member decides to take as matters of urgency because of the special circumstances involved

There were no other items of public business.