Agenda item

Councillor Beulah East attended the meeting and spoke as a Ward Councillor in support of the petition. 

Concerns, comments and suggestions raised by petitioners included the following:

• Letters from former Year 6 pupils had been submitted in the 2010/2011 school year to Councillor Burrows expressing concern regarding road safety around Charville Primary School;
• Petitioners noted that there had been an increase in the number of people involved in accidents or near-misses in the vicinity of the school over the last couple of years;
• As there were so few crossings on the route to Charville Primary School, pupils were having to walk quite a long way down the road before they were able to cross the road;
• A boy had recently been knocked over by a motorcyclist – there had been three accidents in the last six months.  Although not seriously injured, one had been a pupil at Charville Primary School and two had been students at local secondary schools;
• As some drivers and cyclists found it difficult to slow down on Charville Lane, there was an increased risk of hitting a pedestrian that stepped out in the road in front of them without looking;
• The majority of incidents had occurred in the busy periods before school started and after it finished and had involved buses or parents picking up their children from the School.  The busy periods were compounded by the fact that Abbotsfield and Swakeleys schools both started and finished at the same time as Charville Primary School;
• The roads were already quite narrow so, when cars parked there, it interfered with the flow of traffic and increased congestion.  This was particularly noticeable when it involved a bus or when two buses tried to pass each other;
• Drivers had been seen to block the residents’ driveways with their inconsiderate parking;
• Parking for residents in the flats in the area was already thought to be limited;
• There had been a number of road rage incidents in the area where drivers would not concede;
• One of the petitioners usually took 45 minutes to travel home from school on the bus.  On one occasion it had taken him 2 hours as vehicles had been parked inconsiderately and drivers had not been prepared to concede to oncoming traffic and therefore blocked the road and caused a huge traffic jam;
• Some pupils were crossing the road behind buses which was deemed to be dangerous;
• As Charville Primary School had increased in size, there had also been an increase in the number of vehicles and buses operating in the area; and
• It was suggested that the following measures be considered:
  • installation of speed bumps;
  • installation of a crossing – preferably towards the middle of Charville Lane at the junction with Romney Road;
  • installation of speed cameras;
  • installation of traffic lights;
  • installation of cycle lanes;
  • a reduction in the speed limit;
  • erection of signage to remind drivers of the speed limit;
  • repainting of the zigzag lines outside the school; and
  • installation of double yellow lines in Bury Avenue to restrict the parking.

Councillor Keith Burrows listened to the concerns of petitioners and responded to the points raised.  He commended the young people for coming back to Charville Primary School for the Petition Hearing when they had now started secondary school.  He also congratulated them for articulating their concerns so well. 

It was noted that Councillor East had accompanied the local Safer Neighbourhood Team (SNT) when a speed survey had been undertaken in Charville Lane in October 2011.  Over the course of an hour, many of the vehicles that passed were found to be speeding.  The Cabinet Member advised that the Council had also undertaken a speed survey in the area in March 2011 and that this had also highlighted that a large number of vehicles travelling in the area were speeding.  The petitioners suggested that, if another speed survey were undertaken, it be located on the hill. 

Councillor East advised that the opening of the Children’s Centre had contributed towards an increase in the traffic congestion experienced in the area. 

Officers had recently visited the area to observe the footfall and had drawn up a plan for a raised crossing for consideration by the Cabinet Member.  This proposal would need to be discussed with the Ward Councillors and the School and consulted on in the usual manner.  Funding would need to be identified for any agreed scheme – this could possibly be financed through the Road Safety Budget, TfL, School Travel Plans, etc.

Councillor Burrows advised that Hillingdon had the highest ratio of car ownership per household in London.  As such, the Borough suffered from a lot of traffic congestion, particularly outside schools.  He stated that speed cameras (formally known as road safety cameras) were only usually installed in areas where there had been a significant number of individuals killed or seriously injured over the last three years. 

Officers were asked to ensure that they considered all options and look at the area as a whole.  The associated costs could then be investigated in more detail, funding identified and proposals put forward for consideration. 

Councillor Burrows requested that officers contact TfL to organise bus tests.  These tests would highlight the bus issues that were causing some of the problems so that thought could be given to the best way of resolving them. 

The Cabinet Member asked that officers review the zigzag road markings directly outside the school to ensure that they were clear. 

RESOLVED:  That the Cabinet Member:

1. considered the request and discussed with pupils their particular safety concerns for the school community on their journey towards and away from school.

2. asked officers from the Road Safety and School Travel Team to undertake feasibility studies on options to address road safety concerns and report back to him on possible options. 

3. instructed officers to include Pole Hill Road in the future Vehicle Activated Sign (VAS) programme.

4. instructed officers to contact TfL regarding the issues experienced in relation to buses in the whole area and the times that these issues had been encountered and report back to the Cabinet Member.

5. instructed officers to undertake a further speed survey on the hill in Charville Lane.

Reasons for recommendation

Discussions between the Cabinet Member and the school will allow the list of options to be developed that will improve safety for pupils attending Charville Primary School and the investigation of feasible measures could then be explored in further detail by officers including the estimated costs involved. 

Alternative options considered

These can be identified following discussions with petitioners.