Agenda item

The Cabinet Member considered a petition from residents requesting traffic calming measures on Warwick Road, West Drayton.

The Lead Petitioner was present and made a number of points, including:

• With the coming of the Elizabeth line, there had been a significant increase in number of people living in and around West Drayton. As a result, Warwick Road had become a major highway for commuters.
• This issue was particularly prevalent during rush hour times in the morning and afternoon as people used the area as a drop-off and pick-up point.
• As referenced in paragraph 2 of the officer report, the petitioner informed the Cabinet Member of a recent incident involving their son where they were attempting to come out of their driveway, and was hit by a speeding car.
• In order to address these issues, the petitioner requested that the existing parking management scheme (PMS) be extended to include weekend operation.
• The petitioner also requested a 20mph speed limit implementation at Brandville Road and also suggested a ‘No Entry’ sign at the junction between Brandville Road and Warwick Road.

The Cabinet Member acknowledged points made by the Lead Petitioner. 

Councillor Jan Sweeting, Ward Councillor for West Drayton, reaffirmed her support for the petitioners stating:

• Warwick Road was indeed a concern, particularly in regard to the safety and wellbeing of the local residents as there had been a number of incidents acknowledged on this road.
• The Member elaborated on this reference to incidents, informing the Cabinet Member that these did not merely concern complications surrounding speeding, parking and congestion but also reported cases of anti-social behaviour and serious crime.
• Further to this, the Ward Councillor informed the Cabinet Member that their colleague, Councillor Stuart Mathers (at the time, a Ward Councillor for West Drayton prior to the local elections of May 2022) had been in talks with the previous leader of the Council in an attempt to increase CCTV surveillance in the area and the possibility that the funding for this could come from S106 contributions.
• Councillor Sweeting expressed doubts that the recommended 24/7 traffic and speed surveys would return positive data as one of the most prevalent dangers was in vehicles passing each other.
• The Ward Councillor echoed the Lead Petitioner’s request for the extension of the current PMS to also include weekends as well as the Lead Petitioner’s request for a 20mph speed limit initiative.
• The Member for West Drayton additionally remarked that the Elizabeth Line was currently not fully operational and once plans have been realised in the future, these issues mentioned were likely to be amplified, thereby adding urgency to action and preventative measures.

The Cabinet Member acknowledged the concerns of the Lead petitioner and Member for West Drayton and responded to these firstly by requesting further elaboration on the ‘No Entry’ sign at the end of Brandville Road put forward by the Lead Petitioner. The Lead Petitioner responded that this would ideally be to prevent vehicles from turning left at the end of Brandville Road, onto Warwick Road. The Cabinet Member noted that because the eastern section of Warwick Road is a cul-de-sac with no other exits, forcing traffic to turn into it would be impractical; however he agreed to explore options to manage traffic flow at the top of Brandville Road but was wary that they may run into feasibility issues during the investigatory stage.

The Cabinet Member proceeded to ask for clarification on the remarks by Councillor Sweeting on previous negotiations between Councillor Mathers and the former Leader concerning CCTV installations at the end of Station Road. Councillor Sweeting subsequently informed the Cabinet Member that the location of these proposed CCTV instillations was the main matter of negotiation and that complications arose from these, due to these ideal locations being on Transport for London (TfL) property. It was noted that CCTV matters were not under the purview of the Cabinet Member for Property, Highways and Transport.

With regard to the requested extension to the existing PMS, the Cabinet Member highlighted the need to approach this cautiously as by amending the operational hours, and potentially the area covered by the PMS, the issues may not be entirely solved and may merely be moved elsewhere.

The Cabinet Member also suggested the possibility of installing a Vehicle Activated Sign (VAS) as a potential method of traffic calming and asked officers to explore this as an option.

RESOLVED: That the Cabinet Member for Property, Highways and Transport:

1)    Met with petitioners and listened to their request for the Council to investigate options for possible traffic calming measures for Warwick Road, West Drayton;

2)    Asked officers to explore the possibility of extending the operational hours of the PMS to cover weekends; and to seek the views of ward councillors on a possible change of area to ensure adjacent roads may not be negatively affected;

3)    Asked officers to investigate further the possibility of restrictions prohibiting access onto Warwick Road from Brandville Road; and,

4)    Asked officers to explore the possibility of a VAS installation on Warwick Road to address reported concerns of speeding.

5)    Asked that the previous dialogue between Cllr Mathers (in his former capacity as West Drayton ward councillor) and former Cllr Sir Ray Puddifoot MBE concerning CCTV and options for suitable funding be referred to appropriate officers responsible for CCTV for further review, as appropriate, with the relevant Cabinet Member

Reasons for recommendations:

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

Alternative options considered / risk management:

None at this stage.