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Agenda Item 10(B)

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Agenda Item 10(B) Agenda Item 10(b) Sandwell Metropolitan Borough Council 15 October 2014 Overview of Centro Activities - September 2014 Report by Councillor Roger Horton 1. New buses for Sandwell Sandwell’s largest bus operator, National Express West Midlands, is investing in over 50 new buses for the borough worth over £9m. A number of new E400 double deck vehicles are already running on service 75, while 19 E200 single deck vehicles are also being delivered to operate on services predominantly in the West Bromwich, Stone Cross and Wednesbury areas. The British-made buses have been introduced as part of the Partnership Plus deal between Centro and National Express West Midlands to transform bus travel in the region. They will have the latest environmentally- friendly engines for lower emissions and will have CCTV systems with pictures being displayed on screens in the vehicles. 2. Cradley Heath Interchange Work commenced on 28 September to develop a new exciting world class bus interchange at Cradley Heath. The new bus interchange will offer improved facilities including a new bright waiting area, modern toilets, electronic passenger information for bus and rail passengers and enhanced safety and security with CCTV and help points. Currently, some passengers have to catch their bus on Forge Lane outside the bus interchange. Upon completion, all passengers, for the first time, will be able to catch every bus within the bus interchange. There will also be a number of improvements that will help with accessibility. The £1.9m interchange is being paid for by the Better Bus Area Fund. Whilst work takes place bus services will be located nearby on Forge [IL0: UNCLASSIFIED] Lane and Lower High Street. The rail station and Park and Ride car park will remain open for the duration of the work. As part of the scheme work is already underway on a £1.2 million bus priority and road improvement scheme in nearby Merry Hill. The Better Bus Area Fund scheme has also delivered new buses with audio visual displays, bus shelters and electronic passenger information screens complemented by marketing and ticketing initiatives. 3. Car Park Enforcement Centro manage 59 car parks containing over 7,500 spaces across the Centro region. In Sandwell, Centro manage 17 car parks containing 2,317 spaces at rail and Metro stations, which are all free of charge to use. Following an increasing number of incidents where customers are blocked in and inappropriate parking has been identified Centro have introduced a not-for profit enforcement scheme designed to address indiscriminate and inappropriate parking that will ensure that the safety and function of the sites is suitable for all customers and will protect disabled customer spaces for proper use. Centro have added an extra 250 spaces into car parks in advance of the introduction of the scheme including 23 extra spaces at Cradley Heath. Where possible additional spaces will be created at alternative sites over the next 12 months including an extra 760 spaces being created at Rowley Regis, Sandwell and Dudley, Tame Bridge Parkway and the Hawthorns. 4. Rail Investment As part of a £62m Government investment, some of the new electric trains will be coming to the West Midlands to enable a cascade of existing Class 323 trains from the Wolverhampton- Birmingham-Walsall Line onto the Cross City Line to operate an enhanced service frequency of three trains per hour to Redditch from December 2014 and services to Bromsgrove from 2016. Passengers at Tipton, Dudley Port, Smethwick Galton Bridge, Smethwick Rolfe Street and Sandwell and Dudley stations will benefit from brand new state of the art trains, with modern passenger information systems, air conditioning and fully accessible toilets. The new trains will be introduced into service in the latter part of 2014. [IL0: UNCLASSIFIED] Joint investment with London Midland in a range of station improvements, including:- (i) improvements to the platform shelters, subway and lighting at Dudley Port; (ii) additional ticket vending machine at Rowley Regis; (iii) CCTV in the waiting room at Smethwick Galton Bridge. Conversion to LED lighting in the park and ride sites at Rowley Regis, Tame Bridge Parkway and The Hawthorns. The £3m Rowley Regis Park & Ride expansion will provide an additional 360 further spaces taking capacity to more than 700 spaces .The scheme will be complemented by the installation of a ‘Cycle Hub’ with capacity for the secure storage of up to 30 bikes. 5. Swift Smart ticketing Since November 2013 the entire Adult nBus direct debit range, including the two new area types has been solely available through Swift. In August this year Centro completed a significant part of its product rollout with the launch of adult 1 and 4 week nBus and National Express product types, including the Coventry and Black Country variations on Swift and available through traditional retail means. Centro’s current priority is to deliver the enhanced PAYG by working closely with suppliers and National Express. Centro is also undertaking further work to enhance the on-line retail offering through the rollout of on-street readers that will allow Swift card holders to purchase a product on the website and then download it onto their card at 100 locations installed at key interchanges. Swift users will also be able to download these products using an NFC enabled mobile phone. Centro expects to deliver these retail enhancements before the end of the current calendar year [IL0: UNCLASSIFIED] 6. Local Enterprise Partnerships and Sustainable Transport Centro have worked closely with developing Sustainable Transport Packages for the Black Country Local Enterprise Partnership through their Strategic Economic Plan. The Black Country Growth Deal has prioritised the Managing Short Trips programme for funding. This will see the delivery of cycle infrastructure and coordinated information across the Black Country. In Sandwell, this includes the extension of National Cycle Network Route 5 to Smethwick Galton Bridge. 7. Smarter Network Smarter Choices WorkWise has now supported over 10,425 unemployed jobseekers across the West Midlands (including over 1,200 Sandwell residents) to find, start and stay in new employment with free ticketing support across all SNSC corridors since the summer of 2012. Employers: There are now 34 employer sites signed up to the SNSC programme in Sandwell, covering approximately 15,700 employees. Education – in Sandwell, nine secondary schools and one College are now engaged with the SNSC programme and developing Travel Plans, covering over 16,000 students and nearly 2,000 staff. Community Engagement, Personalised Travel Planning Projects - 1,500 Sandwell households participated in door-to-door engagements on the A4123/A459 Black Country West corridor, while 1,500 Sandwell households participated along the A34 Walsall Road corridor. Approximately 2,750 households participated in the Sandwell area of the Route 4 PTP project. Walking and cycling - as part of the SNSC programme, over 2,000 people have participated in some form of cycle intervention (cycle training, maintenance training, route planning, journey accompaniment) in the Black Country, against a target of 1,715 by March 2015. [IL0: UNCLASSIFIED] SNSC Infrastructure - Delivered 4 junction upgrades, replacing all signalling equipment with LEDs, installation Optimised Vehicle Actuation (MOVA) and the introduction of Bus Priority at the following locations :- All Saints Way/Newton Road All Saints Way/Parsonage Street Oldbury Road/Mincing Lane/Penncricket Lane Oldbury Road/Throne Road/Titford Lane Delivered 5 junction upgrades, replacing all signalling equipment with LEDs and the introduction of Bus Priority at the following locations:- . Walsall Road/Sandy Lane . Walsall Road/Beaconview Road . Churchbridge/Park Street (including Toucan Crossings) . Oldbury Road/Station Road/ Britannia Road . Oldbury Road/Henderson Way/ Archer Way Delivered Bus Priority at the following junctions:- . High Street/Ross/Powke Lane Delivered the upgrade of 5 Pelican Crossings to Puffin Crossing at the following locations:- . Henderson Way/Short Street . High Street/Darby Street . High Street, Cradley Heath . Churchbridge/Oldbury Ringway . Hargate Lane Dual Pelican. Station Travel Plan . Rowley Regis – Installed pedestrian signage, tactile paving, footway upgrade and crossing upgrade at Station Road . Cradley Heath – installation of pedestrian signage and tactile paving. [IL0: UNCLASSIFIED] Cycling and Walking Improvements . Provision of footway on 1km section of the A42 between A41 Black Country Spine road between Power Way and A41/A461 junction (Great Bridge) . Throne Road to High Street via Oldbury Road . Walsall Road (All Saints Way to Greenside way) . Moor Street via Bromford Lane Cycle route – (Expected completion Autumn 2014) . Churchbridge and Birchley Island Cycle Route – (Expected completion Autumn 2014) 8. High Speed 2 Centro and WMITA have developed a joint proposal with local authorities from both the metropolitan area and wider region for a £2bn HS2 WM Local Connectivity Package aimed at ensuring that the economic benefits of HS2 are maximised across the wider West Midlands. The Connectivity Package includes improved access from Sandwell to the HS2 station in Birmingham City Centre (via both Midland Metro and heavy rail) and also to the HS2 Birmingham Interchange station through additional direct rail services (using capacity released by HS2) to Birmingham International station (which also serves Birmingham Airport, the NEC and the
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