Agenda item

To update the committee following the implementation of the Leatherhead to Ashtead cycle route.

Declarations of Interest

No interests were declared

Officers attending

Mark Borland, Group Highway Manager,

Lesley Harding, Sustainablity Manager

Petitions, Public Questions and Statements

Mr Browne submitted a public question relating to this item and is detailed under item 4a.

Mr Meudell submitted a public question relating to this item and is detailed under item 4a.

Mr Billard asked that the spill out of traffic be looked at during the works.  He was told that traffic modelling had been undertaken but could this be improved for the future to aid public consultation.

Mr Meudell raised that models were fine but it depends on the constraints and data put in, and has requested the information on the modelling.  He raised concerns over further safety issues, particularly those with disabilities.  Officers confirmed this would depend on the findings of the safety audit in October.

Mr Meudell also raised concerns that the scheme is shared space and was it consulted as.

Mr Browne felt the new Grange Road crossing point on the A24 is not safe as pedestrians have their back to oncoming traffic.  Headteachers at the local schools have also raised concerns about the safety of the crossing. The resident also highlighted he felt the questions he raised had not been answered satisfactorily.  Mr Browne raised concerns about the budget as well as the scheme over running, lack of replacement of railings on the Knoll roundabout and concerns about HGV in Garlands Road due to the narrowing of the junction.

Member discussion – key points

The Chairman of the Committee agreed to allow this item to be considered as urgent business, on the grounds that public questions had been submitted, raising concerns regarding the Leatherhead to Ashtead cycle route, including safety concerns.  It was felt this should be considered urgently by the Committee before its next scheduled meeting in December 2014.

The Group Highways Manager confirmed this scheme utilised shared space, this is something the County Council have not used a lot as yet but are now implementing this.  This aids decluttering of signage and also is designed to improve usage for pedestrians as well as cyclists.  Shared space is the current policy direction from Central Government.

The Leatherhead to Ashtead scheme was designed to address 10 previous casualties and it is not aimed at professional cyclists, but non-professionals and children.  It was noted that the upgrades were to Leret Way Junction, not Leroy Way Junction.

There has been a £33,000 variance in the budget and this was due to some slightly more complicated aspects to the scheme.  This included replacing the bus shelters with up to date ones, with real time information.  The Department for Transport were happy to support this change. The footbridge was near the end of its life and this would need to be replaced, so this was replaced as part of this scheme rather than at a later date.  This was funded through central county council funding.   There is a £100k contingency and this will tackle anything coming out of the safety audit.

This project was not comparable with project horizon as project horizon would not include traffic signals and did not have the long lead in time which contributes to the cost saving in project horizon.

For all projects the standard is a 10% variance in budget, this scheme has come in at 4% variance which would be deemed acceptable by project standards.    Officers acknowledge that there are lessons to be learnt from this project and they will work with councillors to do this.   A full scheme safety audit will be undertaken in October.

The divisional members confirmed there was traffic modelling for the entire area at various times of day had been undertaken.

The Chairman confirmed that it was not put out as segregated or shared space during the consultation. The group manager agreed to look at how consultations can be improved to help public understanding.

The figures provided today are the most up to date.  Officers will take concerns back to the road safety team and see if the safety audit is required to be moved forward.

The divisional member for Leatherhead and Fetcham East raised concerns over communication as they had not always been consistent.  This has lead to confusion amongst residents.  Consultation was undertaken with residents along the route, but when the works were underway these were not taken into account.

The divisional member for Ashtead highlighted some snagging issues but agreed that the railing issues need to be put into the crossing as a matter of urgency. There is a lessons learned meeting taking place with officers where other issues can be discussed.

It was also raised that some of the work of the subcontractors was not up to the standard of SCC.

The Group Manager highlighted the speed of delivery of this programme – this would normally be done within two years but due to it being a DfT bid it had to be done in 12 months.  This led to some of the confusion around communication.

The ward member for Ashtead Park raised that the notices were not clear so there was confusion amongst residents as to what work was being undertaken.

Resolution

The Local Committee AGREED to note the item.