LEICESTERSHIRE COUNTY COUNCIL HIGHWAY FORUM FOR HARBOROUGH TUESDAY, 30 JULY 2013 AT 6.00 PM TO BE HELD AT BROUGHTON ASTLEY PARISH COUNCIL OFFICES, 42 STATION ROAD, BROUGHTON ASTLEY 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 5-12) 6. Chairman's update (a) Highways Forum overview for new Members (Pages 13-14) (b) Highway Forum Index / guidance on searching for items (Pages 15-20) (c) Pavement parking campaign update (Pages 21-22) (d) Speed limit update (Pages 23-24) (e) 7.5 tonne weight restriction enforcement update (Pages 25-28) (f) Improving customer service on highways related matters (Pages 29-30) (g) Blanket TROs for school zig zags (Pages 31-32) 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 7. Presentation of petitions under Standing Order 36. (i) A petition with 500 signatures, and supporting documents, from Ms Sandra Parkinson will be presented. The petition requests traffic calming measures on the B581 junction of Station Road and Croft Way, Broughton Astley. ‘Traffic calming measures for the B581, junction of Station Road and Croft Way, Broughton Astley. What is this petition about? “The accident which took place at this location on Tuesday May 7 was by no means the first. Every day our children, older neighbours and local residents with disabilities run the risk of serious injury crossing this busy road between the Red Admiral pub and the Mace shop. As a mother and someone who uses both these local businesses I want to urge our elected representatives at County Hall to make this road safe for all of us. Please support my petition. Thank you”. What we are asking for? We, the undersigned residents of Broughton Astley and users of the local facilities request the County Council, in light of recent accidents and in its role as Highways Authority, to consult as a matter of urgency with the local community regarding the imposition of traffic calming measures at the above location’. (ii) A petition with 53 signatures, and supporting documents, from Ms Nickie Philbin will be presented. The petition requests for reinstatement of boundary and removal of gate on Ancient Road, Springbank, Medbourne, Market Harborough. ‘We the undersigned support that attached letter and petition for highways to ensure the reinstatement of the Ancient Road demarcation at Springbank, Medbourne to land adjourning Mr Polito’s alongside the church boundary. This area has been morphed into the land owned by our Parish Council Chairman, and a gate has been erected some years ago that according to leics.gov/extinguishments is illegal. The sign saying it is a public right of way has disappeared. As he is now building on this land we require highways to act urgently to ensure this ancient highway is protected, clearly delineated and returned to a public right to pass’. 8. Midland Mainline Electrification project - Network Rail presentation 9. Opportunities for streamlining the traffic regulation order (Pages 33-40) (TRO) process 10. Road Safety in Leicestershire 2012 (Pages 41-48) 11. Reducing sign clutter: the national and local picture (Pages 49-52) 12. 2013/14 maintenance and improvements programmes - (Pages 53-72) information item 13. Programme of traffic regulation orders and signing and (Pages 73-83) lining schemes - current position - information item 14. On-going action statement - nothing to report 15. Items for discussion - will members please submit these in writing to the officers prior to the meeting 16. Any other items the Chairman has decided is urgent 17. Date of next meeting - 21st November 2013 - Council Chamber at Broughton Astley Parish Council 18. Chairman's closing remarks This page is intentionally left blank 5 Agenda Item 5 MINUTES OF THE MEETING OF THE LEICESTERSHIRE COUNTY COUNCIL HIGHWAYS FORUM FOR HARBOROUGH HELD AT THE BROUGHTON ASTLEY PARISH COUNCIL OFFICES ON THURSDAY 7TH MARCH 2013 AT 6.00PM PRESENT County Councillors District Councillo rs Cllr W Liquorish (Chairman) Cllr C Holyoak Cllr R K A Feltham Cllr B Smith Cllr S J Galton Cllr G D Spendlove-Mason Cllr G A Hart Cllr S Hill Cllr R Page The following also attended the meeting: County officers present: G Payne, M Sheldrake, D Wright, D R Bradbury District officers present: N Proudfoot 245. CHAIRMAN’S WELCOME The Chairman welcomed Members and officers to the meeting. He also welcomed members of the public who were in attendance. 246. APOLOGIES FOR ABSENCE Apologies for absence were received from Cllrs A Burrell and B Johnson DC and Mr V Turner LCC. 247. URGENT ITEMS There were no urgent items. 248. DECLARATIONS OF INTEREST There were no declarations of interest. 249. MINUTES OF THE LAST MEETING Minutes of the last meeting held on Tuesday 6 th November 2012 were confirmed and signed as a true record of the meeting. 250. CHAIRMAN’S UPDATE The Chairman asked Mr Wright to introduce the first 2 items in the update. i) 20mph speed limits update Mr Wright explained that the Department for Transport has reviewed its guidelines and has produced a new document ‘Setting Local Speed Limits’. The document has recently been published and officers are at present going through its contents in order to formulate the County Council’s policy on speed limits. Mr Wright agreed to bring an update to the next meeting. 6 ii) Pavement Parking Campaign (verbal update) Mr Wright confirmed that the report on pavement parking had been well received at all Forum meetings. All of the seven districts had shown interest in joining in a joint campaign endeavouring to educate motorists on pavement parking. The campaign is co-ordinated by Mr Tony Beirne of North West Leicestershire District Council and commenced on the 5 th March 2013. Mr Wright agreed to bring a further update to the next meeting. Cllr S J Galton CC asked whether parish councils can receive the leaflets. In response, Mr Proudfoot confirmed that a generic leaflet was being used and that Harborough’s website contained information on the campaign. Parish councils can contact Mr Proudfoot for a supply of leaflets. High risk areas are being heavily targeted. Cllr B Smith DC asked if Members could receive a list of the problem areas. Mr Proudfoot agreed to e-mail Members with problem areas. iii) Blanket traffic regulation order for school zig-zag markings The Chairman asked Mr Payne to introduce this item. Mr Payne explained to Members that a blanket TRO would cost in the region of £850,000 and is not considered viable under LTP3. However, there is an indication that the DfT may relax the requirement of a TRO for zig-zag markings in the future. However, it is not clear at the present moment when this may occur. Mr Payne confirmed that no distinction would be made between county run schools and academies. An update will come to the forum once the DfT has confirmed its stance. iv) Breakdown of revised on-street civil parking enforcement costs Mr Payne took Members through the update and confirmed that, whilst the number of Civil Enforcement Officers has been reduced, the amount of penalty charge notices have remained the same or, in some areas, have increased. Cllr R Page CC asked Mr Proudfoot if a parish council wishes to purchase CEO time, would this be a possibility. She also asked if the CEOs patrolled at certain times on certain days. In response, Mr Proudfoot stated that, under the new system, CEOs do not patrol areas at the same set times. Problem areas are targeted for enforcement. Extra CEO time can be purchased if all of the costs are met and the request fitted in the system. He cautioned that it would not be economical for parish councils to purchase small amounts of CEO time. Cllr G D Spendlove-Mason DC asked how confident were officers that the future income levels stated in the papers would be met in view of the fact that car usage is declining. Mr Payne confirmed that the future income budget is based on PCN recovery rates in the current year and the estimated out-turn in 2012/13. v) Index of Highway Forum agenda items Mr Sheldrake was pleased to confirm that, following a request at the last meeting, officers in Democratic Support have collated an index of all items covered in the last 10 years of the Forum. This will be updated in line with future items discussed at the meetings. 7 Members asked that their thanks be given to officers in Democratic Support for their endeavours. 251. PRESENTATION OF PETITIONS UNDER STANDING ORDER 36 There were no current petitions. 252. RESPONSE TO PETITION REQUESTING TRAFFIC CALMING MEASURES ON FROLESWORTH ROAD, BROUGHTON ASTLEY The Forum considered a report by the Director of Environment and Transport in response to a petition requesting traffic calming measures on Frolesworth Road, Broughton Astley. A copy of the report is filed with the minutes. The Chairman pointed out an article in the Leicester Mercury where the petitioners were quoted as being pleased at how the petition had been accepted at the previous Forum meeting. Unfortunately, assessments undertaken concluded that no action on road safety grounds would be taken to implement traffic calming on Frolesworth Road. RECOMMENDATION That the report of the Director of Environment and Transport be noted.