Agenda item

Councillors Barker, Bridges and Jackson attended the meeting and spoke as Ward Councillors in support of the petition.

Concerns and suggestions raised at the meeting included the following:

• The granite blocks were a major hazard to drivers when a vehicle was parked opposite them. Ryefield Avenue was not wide enough for two vehicles travelling in the opposite direction to safely pass eachother and would result in  drivers having to take part in  ‘a game of chicken’ to see which driver would give way. The other option to drivers was to mount the blocks which might cause suspension damage to the vehicle concerned.
• When the blocks were covered by snow they posed a great danger to two wheeled vehicles such as motor cycles and cyclists, who if they were unaware of the blocks, could hit them and be thrown across Ryefield Avenue.
• The blocks caused cyclists (which were aware of them) to evade the blocks by cycling in the centre of the road which was dangerous.
• The blocks were expensive as they required ongoing maintenance and repairs.
• The blocks caused drainage problems. In cold weather it was noted that the accumulated standing water turned to ice which led to a dangerous road surface.
• The rumble strips were not moderate as stated in the officer report and were not easy to drive over.
• One of the cobbles in the scheme was much more prominent than the others and there was concern that this could cause tyre damage.
• Considerably more than just one of eight over-runnable areas had required repair over the years.
• The lead petitioner provided a list of possible solutions to the issues created by the granite blocks to the Cabinet Member which were passed to the Traffic Officer for consideration.
• Ward Councillors suggested that if the blocks were not removed then steps could be taken to improve them.

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

Councillor Burrows explained that the design of the chicanes was deliberately intended to reduce the speeds of traffic flows and the design had been employed with success throughout the United Kingdom. In this particular case, the accident data provided in the report including the findings from the Metropolitan Police illustrated that this design had been effective. The accident data in the report also stated that none of the accidents could be attributed to the over-runnable areas.

Discussion took place on the merits of removing the granite blocks and replacing them with tarmac or maintaining the current scheme. It was noted that when the original consultation took place and was reported to the Cabinet member in July 2006, 69% of respondents had been in favour of the scheme.

Cllr Burrows explained that officers would take into account the list of possible solutions provided by the lead petitioner but that he would need to assess all the information available, including any parking issues, before a final decision could be made as to whether to retain or remove the granite blocks.

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

4. Asks officers to conduct a further review of the traffic calming measures under the Road Safety Programme and investigate any Parking issues connected to the scheme within Ryefield Avenue; and

5. Asks officers to thoroughly review the construction and condition of the over-runnable areas in Ryefield Avenue and tom report back to the Cabinet Member and Ward Councillors