Agenda and minutes

Petition Hearing - Cabinet Member for Public Safety & Transport - Wednesday, 8th September, 2021 7.00 pm

Venue: Committee Room 3 - Civic Centre, High Street, Uxbridge UB8 1UW. View directions

Contact: Steve Clarke  01895250693

Items
Note No. Item

21.

Declarations of Interest in matters coming before this meeting

Minutes:

None.

22.

To confirm that the business of the meeting will take place in public

Minutes:

It was confirmed that all items were in Part I and would be considered in public.

23.

To consider the report of the officers on the following petitions received:

19:00

24.

EXMOUTH ROAD, RUISLIP - PETITION REQUESTING TRAFFIC CALMING AND A SPEED REDUCTION pdf icon PDF 3 MB

Minutes:

The Cabinet Member considered a petition from residents requesting the introduction of traffic calming measures and a speed reduction on Exmouth Road, Ruislip. The Lead Petitioner was in attendance and made the following points: 

 

·         The petitioner had lived in Exmouth Road for around 40 years and had noticed more instances of dangerous driving speeds in the last few years, specifically as vehicles approached the bend in Exmouth Road;

 

·         There had been a number of smaller incidents including crashes and bumps, the type of collisions that were not reported to police but were common on Exmouth Road;

 

·         Petitioners also highlighted the existing double yellow lines on the inside of the bend in Exmouth Road, noting that many drivers parked on the outside of the bend where there were no double yellow lines; this added to the potential driving hazards in the vicinity.

Ward Councillor for Cavendish, Councillor Teji Barnes, was in attendance and spoke in support of the petitioners making the following points:

 

·         It was noted that Exmouth Road was often difficult to navigate for drivers and it was common for drivers to speed up as they approached what was a blind bend in the road;

 

·         The number of junctions along Exmouth Road, specifically the crossroads with Barnstaple Road added to the risk of road traffic accidents and there had been many near misses;

 

·         Traffic issues along Exmouth Road and the immediate vicinity were regularly raised as resident enquiries in Cavendish Ward;

 

·         The Ward Councillor fully supported the petitioners as residents were worried about potential serious injury as a result of the traffic situation.

 

The Cabinet Member thanked petitioners for submitting their petition and discussed a number of potential tools at the Council’s disposal to address the issues raised. It was noted that it was no longer commonplace for traditional speed bumps to be introduced but similar speed cushions or a vehicle activated speed sign could be options. However, it was highlighted that any implementation of traffic calming measures, and funding thereof, would need to be justified with data collected by a 24/7 automated traffic survey. Petitioners were informed that the survey would stay in place for one week and collect a range of data to help inform the next steps.

 

With regard to double yellow lines and the vehicles regularly parked on the outside of the bend in Exmouth Road, the Cabinet Member noted that although parked cars on the bend were a hazard, they could act as a warning sign to drivers encouraging them to slow down for the bend. The Cabinet Member concluded by instructing officers to explore whether additional double yellow lines may be appropriate at the bend of, and at the junctions along Exmouth Road.

 

The exact locations of the automated traffic count were then agreed by the petitioners and officers.

RESOLVED: That the Cabinet Member for Public Safety and Transport:

 

1)    Met with petitioners and listened to their concerns with regard to speeding and road safety at the bend of Exmouth Road, Ruislip;

 

2)    Asked  ...  view the full minutes text for item 24.

19:20

25.

DAWSON CLOSE, HAYES - PETITION REQUESTING THE INTRODUCTION OF A RESIDENTS' PERMIT PARKING SCHEME pdf icon PDF 89 KB

Additional documents:

Minutes:

The Cabinet Member considered a petition from residents requesting the introduction of a residents’ permit parking scheme in Dawson Close, Hayes. The lead petitioner was in attendance and made the following points:

 

·         They had lived in Dawson Close for six years and they had always experienced parking pressures;

 

·         There were households on the road with up to four cars and there had been instances of caravans and vans parked abandoned for upwards of a year which exacerbated the parking pressures;

 

·         The parking issues were more prevalent in the evenings when people returned from work but there were also issues around people parking on Dawson Close and using the walk through to use public transport from the Uxbridge Road;

 

·         Some neighbours regularly had many visitors, further adding to the parking pressures and often leading to residents being unable to park outside their own property.

 

Councillor Janet Gardner, Ward Councillor for Botwell, had submitted a statement which was read out by the Democratic Services Officer. Key points included:

 

·         The Botwell Ward Councillors were fully supportive of the residents’ petition;

 

·         Dawson Close was commonly used as a parking area for people who actually use the walk through to the Uxbridge Road, as well as those who live in adjacent roads;

 

·         The Ward Councillor was also mindful that there were elderly and disabled residents in Dawson Close who need to have access to their vehicles close to their properties, not several streets away.

 

The Cabinet Member commended the lead petitioner for the work they had done in putting together the petition and also read out a number of comments received by other petitioners who could not be present which supported the concerns that had already been raised. By way of clarification, the lead petitioner confirmed that the issue was more prevalent in the evenings and night than during the day.

 

The Cabinet Member noted that the next steps would include an informal consultation with the residents of Dawson Close. Officers explained the process of the informal consultation and encouraged residents to ensure that they return their consultation form as without a sufficient response from residents, it would be difficult for the Council to justify the implementation of any particular scheme. Further to this, it was also noted that schemes of this type were funded by Transport for London who were known to be struggling financially in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic; petitioners were informed that this could delay the implementation of a potential scheme.

 

RESOLVED: That the Cabinet Member for Public Safety and Transport:

 

1)    Met with petitioners and listened to their concerns over non-residential parking in Dawson Close; and

 

2)    Asked officers to add the request to the Council’s extensive Parking Management Scheme Programme for a possible informal consultation.

Reasons for decisions

 

The petition hearing provided a valuable opportunity to hear directly from the petitioners on their concerns and suggestions.

 

Alternative options considered / risk management

 

None at this stage.

19:40

26.

CHURCH ROAD, COWLEY - PETITION REQUESTING TRAFFIC CALMING MEASURES ON ALL APPROACHES TO THE MINI ROUNDABOUT pdf icon PDF 86 KB

Additional documents:

Minutes:

The Cabinet Member considered a petition from residents requesting traffic calming measures on all approaches to the mini roundabout at the junction of Church Road and Peachey Lane, Cowley. The Lead Petitioner was in attendance and made the following points: 

 

·         Church Road was a busy thoroughfare, especially at the junction with Peachey Lane where drivers went over the mini roundabout at speeds deemed excessive;

 

·         Petitioners showed footage and photographs of separate road traffic accidents in the vicinity of the mini roundabout which had occurred in 2021 to support their concerns;

 

·         There was no suitable crossing point for pedestrians near the roundabout and during school drop off and pick up times, the area was busy with children walking to school. The petitioners would welcome some form of safe crossing;

 

·         The petitioners highlighted a need for traffic calming measures suggesting a 20 miles per hour speed limit and a zebra crossing but also welcomed any suggestions that the Cabinet Member or officers had.

 

Ward Councillor for Brunel, Councillor Roy Chamdal, was in attendance and spoke in support of the petitioners making the following points:

 

·         This was a busy junction and drivers regularly did not slow down over the mini roundabout, including drivers exiting Peachey Lane onto Church Road;

 

·         Pedestrians found it difficult to safely cross the road in the vicinity and a safe crossing point was needed;

 

·         Councillors had struggled to have speed bumps installed as these would have hindered emergency vehicles leaving Hillingdon Hospital;

 

·         The vicinity to Brunel meant the area was utilised by students and both Councillors and petitioners did not want to wait for a fatality for measures to be introduced.

 

The Cabinet Member thanked petitioners for submitting their petition and highlighted that, in order to implement any traffic calming measures, the Council would need the data collected by a 24/7 automated traffic survey to justify it. Petitioners were informed that the survey would stay in place for one week and collect a range of data to help inform the next steps. A number of potential traffic calming options were discussed and petitioners were notified that the survey data would also help to identify what measures may be appropriate.

 

With regard to the request for a 20 miles per hour limit to be introduced, the Cabinet Member noted that other London Boroughs had introduced similar measures but they were not enforced by the police. In Hillingdon, 20 mph zones were typically only utilised in the immediate vicinity of schools but not elsewhere in the Borough. Officers highlighted that the option for a designated crossing point could be further investigated.

 

The petitioners and Ward Councillor agreed six desired locations along Church Road and Peachey Lane for the automated traffic surveys and also denoted their desired location for any prospective crossing point.

 

RESOLVED: That the Cabinet Member for Public Safety and Transport:

1)    Met with petitioners and listened to their road safety concerns regarding the mini roundabout at the junction of Church Road and Peachey Lane, Cowley;

 

2)    Asked officers to  ...  view the full minutes text for item 26.