Councillors and committees

Agenda item

PETITIONS

To receive any petitions in accordance with Standing Order 68.

Decision:

That the Local Committee [Epsom & Ewell] agreed

 

That the feasibility study to consider whether a one way system in Hook Road and Temple Road would be appropriate should continue as previously agreed.

 

Reasons: To gather data to see whether a one way scheme would be appropriate in this area and to consider possible options for the road layout should the scheme progress.

 

Minutes:

Two petitions were received, the petitions and answers are set out in Annex B.

 

Declarations of Interest:  None

 

Officers attending:  Nick Healey, Area Highways Team Manager; Alan Flaherty, Engineer

 

Petitions, Public Questions/Statements:  Three members of the public asked questions under Item 3 in relation to this item.

 

Petition 1:  The petitioner, Mr Tufo presented his petition.  He indicated that he felt that there was no need for a study to be carried out as the traffic problems could be solved by the construction of the Kiln Lane link.  Residents had previously been advised that traffic calming would be installed, there are frequent accidents which do not appear to be presented in the data included in the response to the petition.

 

A resident queried where the information had come from that indicated that the traffic had flowed better during the recent gas works and referred to the number of accidents in the area.

 

Officers responded that the accident data is supplied by the police and is publicly available on the Crash Map website.  Incidents are generally only recorded if there is personal injury as there is no requirement to report damage only incidents to the police, more recent incidents are not included as there is a delay in publication whilst information is processed and verified.  As the number of personal injury accidents has been low officers would recommend that limited resources are directed at areas with a higher incidence of accidents.

 

Whilst the Kiln Lane link may alleviate the problems there is no guarantee that it will be built in the foreseeable future.  It was noted that the local highways team receive a high volume of correspondence and during the gas works received a number of requests for the one way system to be continued permanently. The feasibility study is aiming to look at whether this would be a good idea from a technical point of view and would recommend what changes would need to be made to ensure that there is no deterioration in safety in the area.  If the feasibility study concludes that a one way system is appropriate, the Committee would need to agree to proceed and there would be a period of formal statutory public consultation before a final decision could be made.

 

Petition 2:  The petitioner, Mr Tufo presented his petition.  He indicated that residents had previously petitioned for traffic calming which had been agreed, but that all that had resulted was a series of staggered parking bays.  It is difficult for residents to safely leave their driveways between parked cars and there are regular near misses.  In addition when vehicles are not in the bays traffic is not slowed.  Residents would like chicanes as in Manor Green Road, particularly as there are a number of facilities in the area, including a school and a church where users are vulnerable.

 

Three residents supported the request for traffic calming and indicated that they had witnessed vehicles driving at speed in the area resulting in accidents or near misses.  One queried whether a one way system if agreed would lead to increases in traffic speeds and accidents.

 

Officers replied that a one way system can lead to increases in traffic speed but mitigating measures would be included in any proposed scheme to ensure that safety is not compromised.

 

There was no indication of any further public questions or statements so the Committee moved to debate the options outlined in the officer response.

 

Member discussion – key points

 

Petition 1: In response to members questions the Area Highways Team Manager indicated that around £5,000 had been spent on the feasibility study so far.  He could not confirm how long the work would take, it is pencilled in for completion this financial year, but the officer doing the work is due to go on maternity leave in the summer and it is not yet known what cover arrangements will be put in place.  Members queried whether the study could be redefined to look at alternative solutions, he indicated that once the model is established other scenarios can be tested, traffic calming solutions could be considered in the current study for an additional sum.

 

Petition 2:  It was suggested that consideration could be given to reducing the speed limit to 20mph.  Officers responded that this is not effective without engineering measures to reduce speeds, road humps are the most effective, but cause problems for emergency services, road cushions are the next best option followed by chicanes.  These options could be evaluated by means of a road safety study which would cost in the order of £5,000.

 

Resolved:

 

(i)    (on a vote 2 AGAINST to 7 FOR) That, the feasibility study to consider whether a one way system in Hook Road and Temple Road would be appropriate should continue as previously agreed.

 

(ii)   (on a unanimous vote) That a report be brought to the next meeting of the Committee setting out how options for traffic calming in Temple Road and the surrounding area could be brought forward.

 

Reasons: To gather data to see whether a one way scheme would be appropriate in this area and to consider possible options for the road layout should the scheme progress.