Agenda item

Councillors Susan O'Brien and Douglas Mills attended the meeting and spoke as Ward Councillors.

Concerns and suggestions from petitioners included the following:

·         Petitioners thanked Councillors and staff for suspending the proposed works at such short notice to allow them to present their objections to the scheme.

·         A significant number of residents objected to the proposals and petitioners were prepared to assist the Council to help determine alternative measures.

·         Petitioners stated that they would like the status of the suspension to be permanent, not temporary.

·         It was suggested that the proposal would turn Cornwall Road from a residential road to a main road, here would be a negative impact on house prices and residents would lose parking spaces.  As such, residents did not want a Parking Management Scheme.

·         If petitioners had more time, more signatures would have been obtained supporting petitioners' request.

·         A report had been made by Mr T. Harvey for Southampton and Leeds Universities which suggested the design would result in increased traffic speeds.

·         It was noted that not all residents had been consulted.

·         Residents wanted the scheme to be permanently stopped.

Ward Councillors spoke in relation to petitioners’ request and raised a number of issues which included the following:

·         Ward Councillors thanked petitioners for attending the hearing.

·         It was noted that a Cabinet Member decision had been made in February/March 2015.

·         Although there were approximately 380 residents who were on the electoral roll that lived on Cornwall Road, less than half of these residents had signed the petition.

·         The Council had been trying to resolve the issues on Cornwall Road for a number of years.

·         The speed of vehicles travelling on Cornwall Road had gotten faster and faster and local Councillors had been on site visits with the Local Police Team to target those who were speeding.

·         It was noted that speed bumps were not considered a suitable solution as residents living in other areas where speed bumps had been implemented had often complained about the noise they had created as well as the vibration effects. 

·         Emergency Services would not be keen on chicanes or speed bumps.  It was not a pleasant experience to travel in ambulance when going over speed bumps.

·         There was a width restriction on West End Road to protect Torrington Road.

·         All 3 Ward Councillors had received representations from residents, who were equally as passionate as petitioners, for the proposals to be implemented.

·         In response to the comment made by petitioners, Ward Councillors advised that they had not heard of house prices being reduced in value as a result of traffic calming measures being implemented.

·         It was suggested that other options, such as chicanes, would not be appropriate for Cornwall Road and would reduce parking further than the current proposals.

·         Ward Councillors believed that something needed to be done before there was an accident or someone was killed and had witnessed a motorbike travelling at over 60mph.  Two drivers had also been seen speeding at between 34mph and 39mph with children in the car.

·         One of the Ward Councillors had previously been a school Governor at Sacred Heart School, and the parents had often asked for measures to be implemented on Cornwall Road as cars had been written off on that road.

·         It was noted that the number of signatures on the petition represented 48% of the household in Cornwall Road.

·         The Ward Councillors wanted Cornwall Road to be safe for everyone.

The Cabinet Member, Cllr Keith Burrows, listened to the concerns and responded to the points raised.  Cllr Burrows explained that there were many reports in the public domain that contradicted one another and that some schemes may work in one area but not in another.  Cllr Burrows informed petitioners that the Council had a number of highly skilled engineers, who were able to design and implement schemes that were fit for purpose.

Officers informed petitioners that, during the initial consultations, every house on Cornwall Road was hand delivered a letter informing them of the proposals.  During the last consultation, only residents directly affected by the proposals were delivered a letter of the plans.  The Cabinet Member also refuted claims that letters had not been delivered and informed petitioners that the Council did not use Royal Mail to ensure that everyone received their letter.

The Cabinet Member highlighted that the Council did not install speed cameras, as this was part of Transport for London's (TfL) remit.  Additionally, for a road to have a speed camera installed, there would have to have been at least 3 people either Killed or Seriously Injured for the Council to make a case. 

Cllr Burrows informed petitioners that the proposals being put forward were the best option for Cornwall Road at this stage which was the reason why the Executive decision had been made in February/March 2015.

Resolved - Meeting with the Petitioners, the Cabinet Member:

1.    Considered the petitioners’ request to "stop the proposed traffic islands and pedestrian refuge on Cornwall Road".

2.    Noted the results of previous consultations and petitions received on various options for Cornwall Road and the nature of the concerns that were raised by residents to these.

3.    Noted that a scheme was developed to introduce two traffic islands and one pedestrian refuge in Cornwall Road as phase 1 of a possible series of measures.

4.    Instructed officers to implement the scheme as currently proposed, and to review the scheme after 6 months and report the results back to the Cabinet Member and Ward Councillors.

5.    Instructed officers to conduct 24/7 speed surveys before and after the scheme is implemented.