Agenda item

Report of the Director of Transportation, Highways and Sustainability.

To consider the above petition bearing 94 signatures (paper petition 12/23 - 93 signatures, e-petition - 1 signature). The petition has been submitted by Councillor R Simpson, a Sherbourne 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 in response to a petition that had been received, bearing 93 signatures, requesting that all the pavements on Albany Road be improved. The petition organiser, Councillor R Simpson, attended the meeting to speak on behalf of the petitioners.

In accordance with the City Council's procedure for dealing with petitions, those relating to highways maintenance were heard by the Cabinet Member for City Services. The Cabinet Member had considered the petition prior to this meeting and requested that the petition was dealt with by letter rather than a formal report being submitted to a meeting, to be able to deal with the matter more efficiently.

The determination letter advised that the Council would continue to monitor and repair intervention level defects with reactive maintenance until such time as Albany Road was included in the yearly capital programme. The letter stated that the Authority was unable to advise if Albany Road would be in the 2024/25 programme. On receipt of the determination letter, the Petition Organiser requested that the issue be considered by at a meeting of Cabinet Member for City Services.

Albany Road Footways were 1.7km in length, based on current rates for footway reconstruction it would cost £500k to replace the entire length, around half of the 2023/24 annual budget.

The Overall Condition Index (OCI) for the various sections of Albany Rd scored between 12 and 39, for context highest scoring OCI was 90. The higher the score the poorer the condition. There were 314 worse footways in Coventry within the asset management system. The Council currently reconstructed around 0.25% of the entire footway length each year.

The Albany Road footways had a Detailed Visual Inspection in 2021 and 2022, they would be due again in 2025 and 2026. An officer of the City Council had assessed the construction and overall condition of the footways, and it was noted that it was a mixture of flagged footways with a tarmac strip adjacent to the kerb and fully tarmac footway, all were in safe condition overall with some minor defects that would be carried out with reactive maintenance. The Highways Inspector also carried out an annual inspection and Albany Road was not listed in the annual inspection report in the 10 worst footways for each ward during the annual review of Highway Inspectors Highway Condition data and top ten in December 2023.

Councillor Simpson spoke on behalf of the petitioners highlighting:

·  The condition of footways in Earlsdon was one of the most reported issues at his Councillor Surgeries.

·  The extremely poor and dangerous condition of the footways.

·  The strength of feeling from local residents was evident in the number of petitioners that were in attendance at the Cabinet Member meeting, for consideration of the matter.

·  The need to recognise that part of Albany Road was directly outside the Earlsdon Retirement Village where there were residents with mobility issues and wheelchair and mobility scooter users.

·  There had been an incident involving a wheelchair user who had tipped over due to the condition of the footway, resulting in them needing hospital treatment.

·  The aim to get more people walking and away from using vehicles was not being supported due to the unsafe condition of footways.

·  That the current condition of footways did not fit with the Liveable Neighbourhoods Programme.

·  That although the Council’s resources would not enable the entire length of Albany Road pavements to be improved, the spirit of the petition should be considered.

The Cabinet Member for City Services thanked Councillor Simpson and the petitioners for attending the meeting and outlining their concerns and gave them assurance that the matter would be taken seriously, particularly as she was aware that a number of residents in the areas used walking aids, mobility scooters and wheelchairs. She confirmed that repair intervention level defects with reactive maintenance would be carried out and that the worst defects would be prioritised for repair first.

RESOLVED that the Cabinet Member for City Services:

1)  Notes the petitioners’ concerns.

2)  Endorses the actions confirmed by determination letter to the petition organiser as set out in paragraphs 2.1 and 2.2 of the report.