Agenda item

Councillors Simon Arnold and Alan Deville attended the meeting and spoke as Ward Councillors in support of the petition.  Councillor Shehryar Ahmad-Wallana’s comments in support of the petition were read out by Councillor Burrows.

Concerns and suggestions raised at the meeting included the following:

·         Tavistock Road was predominantly straight and there had been an increase in the number of vehicles speeding in both directions.  The pavements were narrow and there were blind spots which meant that visibility could be very poor;

·         Concern was expressed for the safety of residents living in the road which included very young families and elderly people; 

·         There had been at least seven ‘near-misses’ so far this year and four collisions, three of which did not involve the attendance of the emergency services as the drivers of the vehicles involved exchanged details.  However, on Wednesday 5 September 2018, there was a serious road traffic collision which was attended by a first responder, two ambulances, the Police and Fire Brigade, and resulted in two people being taken to hospital and at least one of the vehicles being written off (a photograph of the scene had been emailed to Councillor Burrows).  All of these incidents had been caused by speeding vehicles;

·         Although the petition suggested the installation of speed humps, along with appropriate road markings showing 20mph, it was thought that strategically located chicanes might be far more effective and less intrusive to residents than the noise of vehicles hitting the speed bumps.  It was suggested that consideration could also be given to the installation of speed tables;

·         Tavistock Road was often used as a rat run by drivers wanting to avoid travelling along the High Street and many of the speeding vehicles were lorries, mostly skip lorries accessing the Trout Lane depot run by Quick Skip Hire Ltd.  Concern was expressed that a collision involving one of the skip lorries could cause serious harm;

·         It was noted that there was a significant amount of construction underway in Tavistock Road. Whilst this was only temporary, it did exacerbate the road safety issues in the road; and

·         Petitioners requested the implementation of traffic calming measures as soon as possible.

Councillor Burrows listened to the concerns of the petitioners and responded to the points raised.  He noted that he was familiar with the area and knew how busy it was becoming as the building developments in the area progressed.  Councillor Burrows advised that an independent traffic survey would provide the Council with information about the type, speed, time and direction of each vehicle that passed along Tavistock Road 24/7 for a one week period.  This information would be shared with Ward Councillors and would be used by the Cabinet Member to determine what further action should be taken.  Ward Councillors and petitioners identified three locations for the traffic surveys in Tavistock Road.

RESOLVED:  Meeting with the petitioners, the Cabinet Member:

1.      listened to their concerns with excessive traffic speeds and pedestrian safety on Tavistock Road, Yiewsley.

2.      asked officers to undertake traffic surveys at three locations agreed with the petitioners and then report back to the Cabinet Member.

Reasons for recommendations

The Petition Hearing will provide a valuable opportunity to hear directly from the petitioners of their concerns and suggestions. 

Alternative options considered / risk management

None at this stage.