Agenda item

Concerns, comments and suggestions raised by petitioners at the meeting included the following:

• Mr Terrance Holmes spoke on behalf of the petition submitted to the Council. He had been a resident on Perth Avenue for over 40 years.
• That the residents of Perth Avenue had been asking for traffic calming measures to be put in place outside of Brookside School for over 40 years.
• That a large proportion of schools in the Borough had traffic calming measures and that this should be extended to Brookside School as the current situation with traffic was extremely dangerous for children from the school.
• That the road outside of Brookside School was used as a “rat run” by those avoiding traffic on the A312 during busy periods.
• That there was a lot of high speed traffic on Perth Avenue during the evenings.
• Mr Holmes suggested that there were no “School” signs on the road warning motorists of the danger of children crossing ahead.
• The school had recently grown significantly and an even higher number of children were running across Perth Avenue from parks on either side of the road.
• The Council not implementing traffic calming measures was indefensible given the risk to children from the school.
• Residents of the area were not satisfied with the Council’s response to this issue to this point.

Councillor Keith Burrows advised that Councillor David Allam and Councillor Janet Duncan were unable to attend this petition hearing but had submitted their support for the implementation of traffic calming measures via email.

Councillor Keith Burrows listened to the concerns of the petitioners and responded to the points raised:

• Not all schools in the London Borough of Hillingdon had traffic calming measures in place.
• The implementation of traffic calming measures on Perth Avenue has been moved to the top of the Council’s Road Safety Programme.
• The proposed traffic calming measures in question were already in an advanced stage of implementation and draft designs had been drawn up.
• That the 7 day, 24 hour classified traffic speed and volume survey would be undertaken prior to and after the implementation of the traffic calming measures to help assess how successful the scheme had been. It was noted that this would not delay implementation.
• The implementation process involved sending proposed schemes to Ward Councillors for comment, a period of statutory consultation and a final approval by the Cabinet Member for Planning, Transportation & Recycling.

Officers advised that:

• Funding for the project had been sought from Transport for London (TfL) and there was a possibility of a match funding.
• Funding would be available from the Council through S106 funding.
• If results of the classified traffic speed and volume survey indicated that there were regular problems with speeding at specific times of the day, the Police could be informed and asked to investigate.
• It was likely that the consultation period would start in January 2013.
• The issue of enhanced signage for the school would be investigated by Officers and that better signs were being proposed in the new scheme.

It was agreed with petitioners that the 7 day, 24 hour classified traffic speed and volume surveys would be placed just south side of the school where traffic was estimated to be at its fastest.

Resolved - That the Cabinet Member:

1.            Met and discussed with petitioners their concerns regarding road safety in Perth Avenue and listened to their request for security enhancements in the new parking areas. 

2.            Asked officers to place this request on the Council’s Road Safety Programme for subsequent investigation and the development of possible options. It was noted that this was already in advanced stages.

3.            Asked officers to undertake a new 7 day, 24 hour classified traffic speed and volume survey at a location in Perth Avenue, which was agreed with petitioners.

4.            Asked the Cabinet Member for Finance, Property & Business Services to instruct that the car parking area to the rear of the development be subject to physical improvements, secure fencing and CCTV in line with the recommendations of the Metropolitan Police Crime Prevention Officer. It was noted that designs were already in advanced stages.

Reasons for recommendation

The petition hearing provided a valuable opportunity to hear directly from the petitioners of their concerns and suggestions. It was considered that due regard be given to the views of the Metropolitan Police Crime Prevention Officer.

Alternative options considered

These were discussed in detail with petitioners.