LEICESTERSHIRE COUNTY COUNCIL HIGHWAY FORUM FOR BLABY MONDAY, 12 JANUARY 2015 AT 4.30 PM TO BE HELD AT COUNCIL CHAMBER AT BLABY DISTRICT COUNCIL OFFICES AGENDA Item 1. Chairman's welcome 2. Apologies for absence 3. Any other items which the Chairman has decided to take as urgent elsewhere on the agenda 4. Declarations of interest in respect of items on the agenda 5. Minutes of the previous meeting (Pages 3-8) 6. Chairman's update (a) Foxhunter Roundabout (Pages 9-10) (b) Leicester North West Transport Project (Pages 11-12) 7. Presentation of Petitions under Standing Order 36 An e-petition with 291 signatures from Mr Mark Major will be presented. The petition requests improved road safety for pedestrians and road users at the junction of Elm Tree Avenue/Park Drive and Somerset Drive ‘Petition for improved road safety for pedestrians and road users at the junction of Elm Tree Avenue/Park Drive and Somerset Drive. In the form of a zebra crossing with a speed table and speed restriction from 30 to 20 mph’ Officer to Contact: Sue Dann, Democratic Support ◦ Department of Environment and Transport ◦ Leicestershire County Council ◦ County Hall Glenfield ◦ Leicestershire ◦ LE3 8RJ ◦ Tel: 0116 305 7122 ◦ Email: [email protected] www.twitter.com/leicsdemocracy www.facebook.com/leicsdemocracy www.leics.gov.uk/local_democracy 8. Lead Local Flood Authority (LLFA) update (Pages 13-20) 9. Enforcement Policy (Pages 21-26) 10. Changes to the Traffic Signs Regulations and General (Pages 27-32) Directions 11. Future provision of street lighting (Pages 33-34) 12. Forthcoming traffic regulation order consolidation (Pages 35-38) 13. HGVs using unsuitable roads (Pages 39-42) 14. 2014/15 maintenance and improvements programmes - (Pages 43-58) information item 15. Programme of traffic regulation orders and signing and (Pages 59-67) lining schemes - current position - information item 16. On-going action statement - nothing to report 17. Items for discussion Will Members please submit these in writing to the officers prior to the meeting 18. Any other items the Chairman has decided is urgent 19. Date of the next meeting - Thursday 4th June 2015 - 4.30pm 20. Chairman's closing remarks 3 Agenda Item 5 MINUTES OF THE MEETING OF THE LEICESTERSHIRE COUNTY COUNCIL HIGHWAYS FORUM FOR BLABY HELD AT BLABY DISTRICT COUNCIL OFFICES ON TUESDAY 9 TH SEPTEMBER 2014 AT 6.00PM PRESENT County Councillors District Councillors Cllr D Jennings (Chairman) Cllr J Blackwell Cllr J Dickinson Cllr T Greenwood Cllr E F White Cllr S Maxwell Cllr A C Tanner The following also attended the meeting: County Officers: M Stevens, D Wright, D R Bradbury Blaby officer present: J Wells 071. CHAIRMAN’S WELCOME The Chairman welcomed Members and officers to the meeting. 072. APOLOGIES FOR ABSENCE Apologies for absence were received from Cllrs R Blunt CC, J Fox CC, G Welsh CC, J Hudson DC and J Springthorpe DC. 073. ANY OTHER ITEMS WHICH THE CHAIRMAN HAS DECIDED TO TAKE AS URGENT ELSEWHERE ON THE AGENDA There were no urgent items. 074. DECLARATIONS OF INTEREST There were no declarations of interest. 075. MINUTES OF THE PREVIOUS MEETING Minutes of the previous meeting held on Tuesday 3 rd June 2014 were confirmed and signed as a true record of the meeting. 076. CHAIRMAN’S UPDATE Blaby by-pass speed limit revision The Chairman asked Mr Wright to introduce this item. Mr Wright brought Members up to date with the present progress of the TRO for the Blaby by-pass. He confirmed that the consultation period has finished and that there had been several objections made by one member of the public. Once these objections have been considered, a report will be produced and sent to Cllrs K Coles CC and G Welsh CC for their observations. 077. PRESENTATIONS OF PETITIONS UNDER STANDING ORDER 36 4 There were no current petitions. 078. FOXHUNTER ROUNDABOUT AND TRINITY ROAD JUNCTION The Forum considered a report requested by Cllr Dickinson CC on the road safety situation at the Foxhunter Roundabout and the nearby Enderby Road/ Trinity Road junction. The Chairman asked Mrs Hall, the Chairman of Enderby Parish Council to speak on this issue. Mrs Hall thanked the Chairman and explained that since the implementation of the new scheme at the Foxhunter Roundabout, crashes have increased. This is not a good thing from a road safety angle. There are issues with the entry speeds to the roundabout from Narborough and Fosse Park. The signal timings could be altered in order to alleviate problems for drivers entering the roundabout from Enderby. There are also problems encountered by drivers trying to get out from Trinity Road. Increased development in the area will greatly increase traffic coming towards and onto the roundabout with the potential increase in accidents. The Chairman asked Cllr Dickinson to comment on this issue. Cllr Dickinson stated that the yellow cross hatching on the roundabout had made no difference as drivers go into them unaware of when the lights are going to change. In her opinion, the only solution to the problem was to change the timing of the lights on the roundabout. Cllr Dickinson was also concerned that the louvred coverings on the lights made them difficult to see. She also commented that the foliage on the roundabout made it difficult for drivers approaching the roundabout. Cllr J Blackwell DC thanked officers for the report. She was pleased that the yellow cross hatching had been installed in order to stop drivers crossing unnecessarily early. She hoped that officers would arrive at a satisfactory outcome. Mr Stevens explained that the situation had been comprehensively covered in the report. A safety audit undertaken had resulted in some short-term measures such as the yellow box markings installation and two vehicle activated signs being provided on the Blaby Road advising drivers to ‘Give Way'. Mr Stevens further clarified that the signal timings had been changed to enable an early release of B582 eastbound traffic from Enderby, prior to town- bound traffic being released on the B4114. The louvres are designed to slow drivers down so that they check the traffic lights before they pass through. This is an extremely busy roundabout and the accidents occurring are a concern. The effect of the changes undertaken will be monitored to assess their effect. The proposed study of the B582 corridor would provide a more long-term way forward. Mr Stevens explained that signalising the entry from Enderby at the roundabout would cost in the region of £100k, would cause an increase in cars queuing at the roundabout and cause delays to traffic on all approaches. He went on to say that officers would look into the problem of the foliage at the island. Mr Stevens could not give the timescale of the proposed study. Cllr Blackwell asked if an update could come to the next meeting on any problems encountered with the yellow box road markings. RECOMMENDATIONS 5 i) That the report of the Director of Environment and Transport be noted; ii) that officers investigate foliage problems at the Foxhunter Island; and iii) that an update come to the next meeting on any problems encountered with the yellow box markings on the island. 079. WINTER MAINTENANCE The Forum considered a report by the Director of Environment and Transport on winter maintenance. The report was presented by Mr Stevens with a copy filed with the minutes. Mr Stevens took Members through the report commenting on the mild winter in terms of snow and frosts in 2013/14. It was, however, a very wet winter. In 2013/14, only 7.7k tons of salt was used in comparison to 19.0k tons used in 2012/13. Mr Stevens went on to explain how the County Council was preparing for winter 2014/15. There had been a review of the winter operation plan, together with an upgrade of the gritting fleet and the backup to the fleet in the event of a harsh winter. At present, he is looking to revise the salt bin policy. Currently, requests obtained from parish councils and other bodies have to meet set criteria before approval is given for the County Council to add approved locations to its schedule. However, if they did not meet all of the County Council's criteria, parish, town, district or borough councils might be allowed to place a salt bin on the highway if that council accepted responsibility to pay for them, maintain them and filled them. The bins would also have to be distinctly different from the County Council ones and be labelled with the name of the body responsible. In 2014, 42 requests had been received by the deadline of the 31 st July and officers were working their way through them. Successful ones would be in place for the winter. Cllr Dickinson asked if the County Council still uses the molasses-based salt. Mr Stevens confirmed that ‘Safecote’ is used which is a salt treated with an agricultural by- product of molasses. This is slightly more expensive, but has an adhesive texture that means it stays on the road longer. The spread rate is also less than normal materials used and is cheaper in the long run. The salt in the bins is a salt/grit mix as it is too expensive to use Safecote. RECOMMENDATION That the report of the Director of Environment and Transport be noted. 080. GULLY EMPTYING OPERATION The Forum considered a report by the Director of Environment and Transport on the gully emptying operation. The report was presented by Mr Stevens with a copy filed with the minutes. Mr Stevens explained that, in 2012, the county experienced a summer that saw exceptional rainfall.