Agenda and minutes

None.

RESOLVED: That all items be considered in public.

Councillors Janet Duncan and Dominic Gilham attended the meeting and spoke as Ward Councillors.

The lead petitioner was invited to attend the petition hearing but failed to attend or send a representative to the meeting.

Cllr Burrows explained that the petition hearing had already been deferred from 18 February 2015 meeting at the request of the petitioner and as a considerable amount of correspondence had ensued between the petitioner and the Council, he had decided to consider the petition at the meeting.

Councillor Burrows exercised his discretion and allowed both the Ward Councillors in attendance to each speak well in excess of their allotted 3 minutes.

Councillor Duncan supported the petitioners' views and summarised their concerns as follows:

• The petitioner had chosen not to attend because they had raised 10 points of concern regarding Swan Road and sent these into the Council in December 2014 which had not been included in the officer report.
• The petitioner considered that the report was inaccurate as paragraph 15 of the report stated that in relation to finding a productive and practicalway forward "none has been found which meets with the support of the lead petitioner" . However, in the petitioner's view, no ways forward were suggested to him to signal his support to.
• The petitioner also stated through their Ward Councillor, that it appeared as though the local Police, whom petitioners had spoken to, would favour a reduction in speed and measures to make the road safer but that the Council had not contacted the Police.

• The petition requested a reduction in the speed limit to 20mph.
• The traffic in Swan Road was exceeding the speed limit.
• A raised table installed at the top of Swan Road had exacerbated this problem.
• Excess speeding was particularly severe in the evenings, night mornings and weekends when there were fewer cars parked on the road.

As Councillor Jan Sweeting had a conflicting commitment and was unable to attend the meeting, she submitted a written statement in support of the petitioner for the Cabinet Member to consider. This was extensively referred to at the meeting and the main points were as follows:

• Swan Road, West Drayton was a road with many hazards.
• The road was winding and undulating, with narrow as well as wide stretches.
• The road was always very busy during the day. This included heavy lorries going to and from the car breakers yard in Donkey Lane and buses manoeuvring past stationary vehicles and oncoming traffic.
• Heavy vehicles would be used on Swan Road to access the Bardons work in Thorney Mill Road in Bucks, just along from Swan Road.  This site would soon be used for heavy industrial use again with the consequential effect on traffic profiles using Swan Road.
• The whole stretch of the road was an obstacle race.
• Where speeds did indeed slow, to the speeds shown by the surveys conducted on behalf of the Council, it was still a dangerous stretch of road.
• Residents which had parked on the road,  ...  view the full minutes text for item 10.

No Ward Councillors attended the meeting.

A nominated representative spoke on behalf of the lead petitioner. Concerns and suggestions from petitioner included the following:

·         Inconsiderate parking meant that sight lines were often obscured and driving along the road was dangerous.

·         Sight lines for pedestrians on Orwell Close were affected and meant that it was dangerous crossing the road. Especially for those residents living in the local sheltered housing scheme.

·         Motorists often parked locally on the grass verges

·         Motorists often drove at high speed along Botwell Common Road.

·         The petition sought the introduction of double yellow lines on Orwell Close to prohibit parking and improve road safety.

·         The petition also requested the introduction of road bumps along Botwell Common Road to stop drivers from speeding.

·         In addition, the petition sought the introduction of a zebra crossing by the bus stop adjacent to the scheme so that road safety was further enhanced.

·         It was noted there had been a vehicle activated sign (VAS) in operation, situated by the bus stop but this had disappeared or been withdrawn and residents were unsure why this had been removed.

An email submitted by Cllr Gardner on behalf of all three ward councillors was read out at the meeting. This made the following points:

·         Ward Councillors supported the petitioners' requests.

·         Botwell Common Road was a dangerous road and also a bus route.

·         These roads were used as rat runs in the evening/night by inconsiderate motorists.

·         Ward Councillors supported the idea of a formal crossing which was imperative to ensure that pedestrians could cross the road in safety.

·         Ward Councillors supported the inclusion of Botwell Common Road and Orwell Close in the next phase of the Council's Road Safety Programme.

The Cabinet Member, Cllr Keith Burrows, listened to the concerns and responded to the points raised.

Councillor Burrows explained that traffic volume and speed surveys were particularly sophisticated and could record a number of data sets including speed, average speed and vehicle type. Petitioners were shown a large scale area map and were asked to indicate several points on the road where they thought the rubber strips recording the data should be located. Councillor Burrows explained this data would be used to provide an accurate picture of the issues encountered on the stretch of road and inform future actions. Furthermore, it was noted that if high vehicle speeds were recorded, this information would be shared with the Police.

In relation to the petitioners' observations that the VAS had been removed from the road side, officers explained these were often used on a rotation basis. However, in this case, officers were unsure why the sign had been moved. Councillor Burrows requested officers to investigate what had happened and to report back to him.

Councillor Burrows noted that as well as the request for yellow lines, the petition had requested the installation of speed bumps and a zebra crossing. He confirmed the road safety investigation would explore all the options the petition had outlined and Ward Councillors would be  ...  view the full minutes text for item 11.

No Ward Councillors attended the meeting.

Concerns and suggestions from petitioners included the following:

• Motorists drove at excessive speed along the road on a daily basis.
• The petitioner had contacted the Police about speeding and within a half an hour period, six or seven motorist had been charged by the Police with speeding offences.
• Some speeds were thought to be over 50 miles per hour.
• Speed was a significant issue for road users and pedestrians; however, the proximity of Lady Banks School meant this was of added importance.
• The petitioner was aware officers had prepared a proposal for road calming measures some time ago and brought a copy of the proposal with them to the meeting.
• In addition to the suggestion of installing speed bumps, mention was made of traffic islands and the role these could play, as well as table humps for the road.
• Heavy goods vehicles, including articulated lorries, used the road a short cut to the A40.

The Cabinet Member, Cllr Keith Burrows, listened to the concerns and responded to the points raised.

Councillor Burrows referred to the accident data cited in the report and explained that only Killed or Seriously Injured Data (KSI) was included in Police reports. However, it was noted that one personal injury accident had been reported to the Police in the last 36 months and in addition, one other damage only accident had been reported by residents.

Officers highlighted that Traffic liaison meetings took place between the Council and Emergency Services on a regular basis and assured the petitioner that the Council was well aware of local road safety issues and actively took steps to improve road safety.

Speaking about historic consultations for the area which had already taken place, Councillor Burrows explained that two had been conducted in the recent past but on the basis of the feedback received, these had been split decisions and there had not been the mandate to take further action at that stage.

Moving forward, Councillor Burrows discussed the proposals associated with the recommendations in the report and duly moved recommendations 1 to 4. He explained that the Phase 1 work would be conducted during the Summer of 2015. In relation to recommendation 5 and the proposal to conduct a further traffic survey, he explained that the outcomes of the Phase 1 works would need to be assessed and a further decision would need to be taken as to whether this was justified.

That the Cabinet Member:

1.    Notes the previous consultations on various options and the nature of the concerns that were raised by residents.

2.    Notes that a scheme has been developed to introduce two traffic islands and one pedestrian refuge in Cornwall Road.

3.    Considers whether the scheme as currently proposed could form the first phase of traffic calming in Cornwall Road.

4.    Considers instructing officers to undertake a further traffic survey in the future should the currently proposed scheme be implemented, in order to allow an appraisal of a case for  ...  view the full minutes text for item 12.