Agenda item

Councillor Peter Money attended the meeting and spoke as Ward Councillor for Heathrow Villages.

Petitioners raised a number of concerns and suggestions, including the following:

·         Traffic tended to use Sipson Lane and Cranford Lane as a short cut and often travelled above the speed limit;

·         The junction of Sipson Lane, Cranford Lane and Harlington High Street was a roundabout, which was very busy. Give way signs were often not abided by;

·         There had been a number of incidents at the roundabout including one major one approximately 3 months previously;

·         Speed ramps and cameras were requested on all roads to slow traffic down as it approached the junction;

·         The roundabout had previously been sited on a prominent raised area ; this had now been levelled off

Ward Councillor Peter Money indicated that he supported the petitioners’ request, commenting that the junction was extremely busy. It was noted that the main access to William Byrd School was situated along Sipson Lane; this was an additional cause for concern as there was no safe crossing point for parents and children to use. Councillor Money commented that there had been a considerable number of accidents in the area, many of which had gone unreported. He noted that give way signs were often not abided by and there were a number of blind corners in the area, which added to the danger. A prominent roundabout and signage to indicate the presence of a nearby school were requested by the Ward Councillor.

Councillor Burrows listened to the concerns of residents and the Ward Councillor and responded to the points raised. He informed the petitioners that cameras were governed by central government rather than by the Council and were generally only deployed on roads with a high KSI (killed or seriously injured). Dummy cameras could not be installed as these were illegal. Councillor Burrows advised petitioners that the Council needed evidence from traffic surveys to support the installation of traffic calming measures before any further action could be taken.  Ward Councillors and residents were invited to indicate where the traffic surveys should be located. The Traffic, Parking, Road Safety and School Travel Manager agreed to explore the possibility of accessing transport police data relating to speeding offences in the area.

The Cabinet Member moved the recommendations as set out in the report.

RESOLVED: Meeting with the petitioners, the Cabinet Member for Planning Transportation and Recycling:

1)    Listened to their request for traffic calming measures in Sipson Lane and Cranford Lane, Harlington;

2)    Asked officers to undertake further traffic surveys, at locations agreed by the petitioners, and to then report back to the Cabinet Member;

3)    Asked officers to undertake a review of the signage and road markings on, and close to, the roundabout and report back to the Cabinet Member.

Reasons for recommendations

To allow the Cabinet Member to discuss with petitioners their concerns and, if appropriate, add their request to the traffic calming programme.

Alternative options considered / risk management

These will be discussed with petitioners.