Agenda and minutes

RESOLVED: That all items be considered in public.

Councillors Jonathan Bianco, John Morgan and Andrew Retter attended the meeting as Ward Councillors. Councillor Jonathan Bianco spoke on behalf of the Ward Councillors.

For this item there were three petitions submitted, together with another petition signed by children. All the petitions had a range of views on what was thought acceptable to improve road safety and reduce traffic volumes on Gatehill Estate.

Concerns and suggestions raised at the meeting included the following:

Petition from households in every road on the estate with the exception of Ravenswood Park and Woodside Road:

• Any solution to “rat-running” must be estate-wide and must avoid the potential to divert traffic to the other parts of the estate and worsen traffic conditions on other parts of the estate where the roads are without pavements or normal street lighting
• The no-left turn at the junction of Watford Road and Elgood Avenue restricts the movement of the morning rush hour traffic, meets road safety requirements and would produce an acceptable level of convenience
• The pair of no right turns at the junctions of Gatehill Road and Elgood Avenue was initially an acceptable solution but because of the level of objections this could no longer be supported
• Consideration should be given to traffic calming measures in Upper Elgood Avenue to slow the traffic down

Petition from the majority of residents in Ravenswood Parks, but also signed by residents of other roads:

·        To defer the proposal to install no right turns in Elgood Avenue until a full and proper consultation exercise has been carried out involving all residents in the Gatehill Estate and Ravenswood Park

·        The installation of no right turns would inconvenience around 90 residents

·        There were around 137 households who would not be particularly affected

·        That the results of the traffic survey take into consideration the public utility works which were carried out on the road and which may distort the traffic data

Petition from 17 out of 18 households in Woodside Road

• That the original proposal for the scheme to prohibit vehicles from entering Woodside Road from Elgood Avenue be introduced to stop vehicles “rat-running” on Woodside Road
• Drivers were driving aggressively and dangerously which is putting residents, ad particularly children’s safety at risk
• There would only be a minor inconvenience to residents if a “No Entry” sign was erected at the Woodside Road entrance from Elgood Avenue. For residents of Ravenswood Park the proposal would only add 150 metres onto journeys onto Watford Road
• On Elgood Avenue there had been an incident of intimidation from a “rat running” motorist and tailgating had taken place

One of the children who had signed the petition on behalf of children of Elgood Avenue attended the meeting and informed the Cabinet Member that “rat running” motorists made the roads dangerous for the many children who crossed the roads around Ravenswood Park.

Councillor Keith Burrows listened to the concerns of all the petitioners and the comments made by the Ward Councillor. He informed the petitioners that in  ...  view the full minutes text for item 3.

As neither the petition organiser nor any of the petitioners were present at the meeting, the Cabinet Member considered the petition and the report in their absence.

Councillor John Hensley attended the meeting and spoke as a Ward Councillor.

Resolved:

1. That the Cabinet Member notes the concerns of the petitioners contained in the report and their request for limited waiting restrictions to be introduced.

2. That officers be asked to conduct an informal consultation on proposed waiting restrictions operational from Monday to Friday, 8.30am to 10.30am and 3.30pm to 4.30pm in Halford Road, between the junction of The Grove and Swakeleys Drive as resources permit.

REASONS FOR RECOMMENDATION

The proposed consultation will ascertain the level of support for the residents’ request of limited time waiting restrictions.

ALTERNATIVE OPTIONS CONSIDERED

None as petitioners have made a specific request for waiting restrictions.

Councillors Beulah East, Neil Fyfe and Mary O’Connor attended the meeting and spoke as Ward Councillors.

Concerns and suggestions raised at the meeting included the following:

• A pedestrian crossing on Uxbridge Road would enable pedestrians to safely cross this busy road from both Park Road bus stops
• A pedestrian crossing would help drivers keep within the 40mph speed limit of the road
• Both the elderly and children cross this road and a crossing would make crossing the road safer
• That consideration be given to locating speed cameras at this location.

The Cabinet Member listened to the concerns of the petitioner and responded to the points made. Regarding the introduction of speed cameras, these were the responsibility of Transport for London, and not the Council.  

The Cabinet Member stated that on an annual basis, the Council endeavoured to install as many formal pedestrian crossings as resources permitted. Officers would be asked to carry out a feasibility study with the results reported back to the Cabinet Member for further consideration, and referred to Ward Councillors for information.

Resolved:

1.      That the Cabinet Member discussed with the lead petitioner the details of the request.

2.      That officers be asked to investigate the feasibility of a scheme to install a pedestrian crossing on Uxbridge Road as requested by the petitioners and report back to the Cabinet Member with the estimated cost.

REASONS FOR RECOMMENDATION

The Council carries out an annual programme for the provision of pedestrian crossings and if the Cabinet Member considered it was appropriate, the petitioners request could be added to the programme for subsequent investigation.

ALTERNATIVE OPTIONS CONSIDERED

The petitioners have made a specific request for a pedestrian crossing in a particular section of Uxbridge Road. Depending on the outcome of discussions with the Cabinet Member there may be options with regard to the location.