Agenda and minutes

Petition Hearing - Cabinet Member for Public Safety & Transport - Wednesday, 3rd November, 2021 7.00 pm

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

Contact: Jack Roberts  01895 250833 or Email: jroberts2@hillingdon.gov.uk

Items
No. Item

33.

Declarations of Interest in matters coming before this meeting

Minutes:

There were no declarations of interest.

34.

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

Minutes:

It was confirmed that the business of the meeting would take place in public.

35.

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

36.

CHENEY STREET, EASTCOTE - PETITION REQUESTING A REVIEW OF TRAFFIC CALMING pdf icon PDF 1 MB

Minutes:

The Cabinet Member considered a petition from residents requesting traffic calming measures on Cheney Street, Eastcote.  A representative from the petition was in attendance and made the following points:

 

  • Despite the Traffic Calming Measures already in place, speeding traffic was still a big issue on Cheney Street. Concerns were raised about the effectiveness of the traffic cushions, with many vehicles able to cross them at speed. The noise created when the undersides of cars scraped the cushions has added noise pollution to a peaceful neighbourhood. 

 

  • The petitioner emphasised that in his opinion the road was unsafe for pedestrians. With significant stretches of the road not having a pavement for pedestrians to use, and a blind corner towards the north end of the road, pedestrians were acutely vulnerable to the speeding traffic. 

 

  • It was also stated that there had been an increase in the number of heavy goods vehicles (HGVs) travelling through Cheney Street. Given that Cheney Street was a residential street, and that the road was narrow in many areas, this was an area of real concern for the petitioners. The noise pollution created by HGVs was also noted.

 

Councillor Nick Denys attended the meeting as Ward Councillor and supported the petition and comments made by the petitioners. It was noted that the issue on Cheney Street could be understood as a balance between the desire to improve the safety of the road for residents and the desire to maintain the rural quality of the area. Councillor Denys agreed with the petitioners that the problem was worsening and suggested that HS2 and an increase in home deliveries following the pandemic was a root cause. It was requested that any actions taken to improve the situation on Cheney Street involved thorough resident engagement, including residents from Barnhill. 

 

Councillor Riley listened to the concerns of the petitioners and responded to the points raised. Comments from the Ward Councillor were highlighted, and it was agreed that the issue must consider the semi-rurality of the road. It was noted that previous traffic surveys suggested that the current traffic calming measures, including the traffic cushions, had reduced speed on the road. It was also noted that the number of recorded road traffic collisions had significantly reduced on the road since the measures were installed. However, it was acknowledged that the feedback from residents gave a fuller picture of the situation of the road, and that a further package of traffic calming measures would be useful, potentially ideas such as the use of dot matrix signs for example.

 

It was suggested that further traffic surveys may be useful, not only to gather more evidence on the speed of cars on the road, but to identify whether the HGVs were using the road as a cut through or whether they were delivering goods for residents on the road. If the road was being used predominantly as a cut through for HGVs, then the Council could consider installing signs advising that the road was unsuitable for HGVs or  ...  view the full minutes text for item 36.

37.

HALLOWELL ROAD, NORTHWOOD - PETITION REQUESTING TRAFFIC CALMING MEASURES. pdf icon PDF 529 KB

Minutes:

The Cabinet Member considered a petition from residents requesting traffic calming measures on Hallowell Road, Northwood.  A representative from the petition was in attendance and made the following points:

 

  • Speeding traffic was a big problem on Hallowell Road. Given that it was a narrow road with cars parked on both sides, there was a considerable possibility of a collision, particularly when cars were reversing from driveways. This problem was particularly pronounced on the bends in the road.

 

  • Roadworks on neighbouring roads had led to Hallowell Road becoming a rat run for traffic, particularly from the High Street. Although the road works had gone, the tendency of traffic using Hallowell Road as a cut through had remained.

 

  • There had been a recent increase in the number of HGVs on the road, adding an extra dimension to the problem of speeding traffic.

 

  • As a potential traffic calming measure, traffic cushions were not felt to be desirable. The noise produced from cars going over them would be detrimental to the residential street. A 20mph speed limit would be preferable for residents.

 

Councillor Riley listened to the concerns of the petitioners and responded to the points raised. Regarding the request for a 20mph limit on the road, it was responded that the Police had advised that 20mph limits were in practice unenforceable, and therefore unlikely to help with the speed of traffic on the road. It was suggested instead that a wider package of mitigation measures would be useful, including dot matrix signs (‘Vehicle Activated Signs’) and public campaigns to make speeding more unacceptable. The petitioners supported dot matrix signs being used on the road, and it was also suggested that some “SLOW” markings would be useful before bends and junctions. 

 

Traffic surveys were noted as an excellent way of gathering evidence to inform the measures which could be taken on Hallowell Road. Petitioners agreed suitable locations for the surveys to be placed on the road with the Head of Transportation and Town Projects.

 

In considering the matters, Councillor Riley made the following decisions.  

 

RESOLVED: 

 

Meeting with the Petitioners, the Cabinet Member for Public Safety and Transport:

 

  1. Listened to their road safety concerns on Hallowell Road, Northwood;

 

  1. Asked officers to undertake 24/7 traffic and speed surveys on Hallowell Road at locations agreed with petitioners; and

 

  1. Instructed officers to consider any mitigation measures which could be implemented to address residents’ concerns, and report these back to the Cabinet Member and Ward Councillors.

 

38.

DERWENT DRIVE, HAYES - PETITION REQUESTING TRAFFIC CALMING MEASURES TO REDUCE VEHICLE SPEEDS. pdf icon PDF 534 KB

Minutes:

The Cabinet Member considered a petition from residents requesting traffic calming measures on Derwent Drive, Hayes. A representative from the petition was in attendance and made the following points:

 

  • There had been a vast increase in the speed of cars travelling along the road in recent times. A neighbouring road, Park Lane, had recently had traffic calming measured installed, resulting in speeding traffic diverting through Derwent Drive. This had led to a sense amongst the petitioners that Derwent Drive had, in their opinion, been forgotten by the Council. 

 

  • Concerns were raised about the two bends in the road. It was emphasised that one of the bends was blind, making it dangerous when cars sped around it. This problem was compounded by vans parking on the bends, as well as on the junction with Welwyn Way. 

 

  • A rise in the number of HGVs travelling along the road was noted. Given that the road was narrow, this was an area of concern for the petitioners. 

 

  • It was emphasised that speed was the main issue that the petition was raising, and as such, it was requested that speed cushions were installed on the road. Double yellow lines on the bends and the junction by Welwyn Way were also requested to mitigate dangerous parking on the bends and by the junctions.

 

Councillor Darran Davies attended the meeting as Ward Councillor and supported the petition and comments made by the petitioners. It was added that Park Lane had had traffic surveys undertaken before its traffic calming measures were installed, and that these surveys showed that 80% of vehicles at the time travelled along Park Lane at speeds between 30 and 35mph. Given the claim that traffic had now diverted from Park Lane to Derwent Drive, it was suggested that similar levels of speeding took place on Derwent Drive. Since Derwent Drive was a main walking route to and from the shops and a nearby green space, it was emphasised that the speeding problem had to be tackled quickly.

 

Councillor Riley listened to the concerns of the petitioners and responded to the points raised. Regarding the request for double yellow lines by the junction with Welwyn Way, Councillor Riley cited a general policy of implementing double yellow lines by junctions. Following the concerns raised regarding HGVs, it was suggested that traffic surveys would be useful to measure the movement of HGVs on the road, with the possibility of tailoring any future traffic calming measures to combat this problem. The petitioners emphasised that the speed of vehicles was the main issue of the petition. They were concerned that efforts to tackle speeding might be diluted by efforts to reduce HGV driving on the road. It was noted by the Head of Transportation and Town Centre Projects that speed surveys were an important step in the process leading towards the possibility of installing traffic calming measures like traffic cushions, because the evidence gathered, which it was stressed would provide data on all types and sizes of vehicles, could  ...  view the full minutes text for item 38.