Agenda item

Councillors Wayne Bridges, Alan Chapman and Pat Jackson attended the meeting and spoke as Ward Councillors.

Concerns and suggestions from petitioners included the following:

·         The petition requested the removal of the granite block safety hazards and was very similar to one which had been submitted several years earlier.

·         The amount of street furniture along Ryefield Avenue was distracting, and as result posed a danger to motorists.

·         When the 8 granite setts were covered by snow they posed a danger to two wheeled vehicles such as motor cycles and cyclists.

·         The blocks caused drivers to play "chicken" with oncoming vehicles, when vehicles were parked opposite the 8 granite setts.

·         The blocks were expensive as they required ongoing maintenance and repairs.

·         The blocks caused drainage problems.

·         The rumble strips were not moderate as stated in the officer report and were not easy to drive over.

Councillors Bridges, Chapman and Jackson all spoke in turn and agreed with the points the petitioner had raised. The Councillors noted that the granite blocks had been reported on a number of occasions and that it had been established the cost of tarmacing these over would be approximately £3000. Ward Councillors highlighted the ongoing maintenance costs and requested that they were removed.

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

Councillor Burrows summarised the rationale behind the design of the chicanes and highlighted the accident data provided in the report including the findings from the Metropolitan Police illustrated that the design had been effective.

Discussion took place on the merits of removing the granite blocks and a variety of other options, including maintaining the current scheme.

Moving forward, Cllr Burrows explained that Officers would take into account the list of possible solutions provided by the lead petitioner. Officers were requested to inspect the granite blocks and conduct repairs as soon as possible and then for Officers to explore all possible alternatives to the granite blocks and report back to the Cabinet Member. Cllr Burrows assured the petitioner that when the options had been explored, these would be discussed with Ward Councillors, Residents Associations and other interested parties so that the proposed solution worked.

RESOLVED: That the Cabinet Member:

1. Considered the petitioner’s request and discussed in detail their concerns in regards to the traffic calming measures.

2. Noted the receipt and consideration of a largely identical petition, which was heard by him, together with the various actions which followed that hearing; the level of support for the proposals at the time of the original public consultation prior to the scheme being built and of the level of support for the more recent measures in Windsor Avenue near Oak Farm School.

3. Noted the reduction of accident levels and traffic speeds since the scheme was introduced.

4. Subject to the concerns raised by the petitioners, asks officers to conduct a review of the street furniture in Ryefield Avenue under the Road Safety Programme.

5. Instructed Officers to instigate a detailed inspection of all the granite blocks and rectify all problems immediately where necessary and to report the outcomes to him as Cabinet Member.

6. Instructed Officers to look at a possible alternative run over to the granite blocks and to report back to him as Cabinet Member.