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Subject: Green – Conditions Responsible Officer: Steve Swain, Interim Head of Public Realm Infrastructure Contact Officer: Mohsen Nekouzad, Principal Engineer, Traffic Management (East) Portfolio Holder: Councillor Eileen Kinnear, Portfolio Holder for Urban Living - Public Realm Key Decision: No Urgent/Non Urgent: Non Urgent Power to be exercised: “Extraordinary Council, 28th May 2002 – item 6” Role and Delegated Powers of Portfolio Holders – Section 8 and 16(b) Status: Part 1

Section 1: Summary

Decision Required

a) That officers be authorised to consult the residents/businesses of Green Lane and associated on option 2 shown at Appendix C; b) subject to the development of a school travel plan, enforceable school yellow zigzag keep clear markings be introduced at both Stanmore Hill and Green Lane entrances to the school; c) the petitioners’ request for pedestrian crossings be considered as part of a Safe Routes to Schools scheme subject to funding from Transport for London, and d) the head petitioners be advised of the above.

Reason for Report

To report back on an investigation carried out and to gain approval to consult the local community on the recommended option.

Benefits

• Improved sight lines for pedestrians • Improved road safety • Better pedestrian facilities • Deterring obstructive parking • Deterring driving along the footway

Cost of Proposals

The estimated cost of option 2 is £12,000 spread over two years. A sum of £9,000 would be required this year, which can be funded from 2006-07 council funded traffic management budget. The remaining £3,000 would be required in 2007-08 from the traffic management budget subject to funding.

Risks

• Introduction of parking controls may lead to an increase in speeds • The proposed parking controls may not be acceptable to the residents

Implications if recommendations rejected

• Obstructive parking will not be deterred • Local community dissatisfaction with the outcome of requests and petition for parking and road safety improvements • Driving along the footway would not be deterred • The morning peak congestion problems will continue

Section 2: Report

2.1 Brief History

2.1.1 Following instructions from the Traffic and Road Safety Advisory Panel meeting of 21 September 2005 consultants were employed to carry out an investigation into the traffic conditions in Green Lane to identify measures to alleviate the prevailing conditions.

2.1.2 A petition containing 268 signatures from the parents and carers of children attending St John’s Church of England School in Green Lane together with 91 letters from the school’s pupils were also received by the Panel at its meeting of 28 February 2006. The petitioners request that “the London Borough of Harrow urgently review and implement a school safety zone around the school especially in the area of Stanmore Hill and Green Lane, before a serious accident occurs – several minor ones have already happened. This should include at the very least controlled crossings at the main school entrance on Stanmore Hill, and also at the junction of Church Road/Green Lane Stanmore by St John’s Church to aid those walking to school.” The Chair of Governors in the covering letter indicates that the petition and the letters have the full support of the staff and the governing body.

2.1.3 The Panel instructed officers to consider the petitioners’ requests as part of the previously agreed investigation. The petition has been placed in the members’ library.

2.1.4 In addition complaints about obstructive parking, driving on the footway, congestion and speeding continue to be received.

2.1.5 An investigation has been carried out by consultants and supplemented by further investigation by officers.

2.1.6 Green Lane spans between the A410, Uxbridge Road/Church Road, and Stanmore Hill (A4140). A location plan is shown at Appendix A. St John’s First and Middle Schools are located at the Stanmore Hill end with accesses from both Stanmore Hill and Green Lane. The Schools generate considerable congestion and traffic and parking problems at arrival and dispersal times in both roads but in particular in Green Lane. Uxbridge Road drivers use the latter as a through route in order to bypass the traffic signals at Stanmore Hill junction with Church Road. A traffic survey carried out in 1999 shows that around 4900 vehicles per weekday are using Green Lane for this purpose. (An allowance for traffic growth to date has been factored into the figure). Due to the emergency roadwork that arose in May 2006 and continued until July 2006 it was not possible to carry out a fresh traffic survey before the schools’ summer recess. Whilst congestion and parking problems are commonplace in the vicinity of all schools, the high volume of through traffic compounds the problem here.

2.1.7 Since the introduction of the Stanmore CPZ extension in April 2006, there has been a marked increase in the number of vehicles parking in Green Lane. The majority of vehicles park on the eastern side. The road is not wide enough to accommodate parking and two way traffic. Drivers are therefore required to give way. Complaints have been received that some drive along the footway in order to by-pass the queue of on-coming traffic.

2.1.8 In the vicinity of Culverlands Close the road begins to narrow, reaching its narrowest point of 6.0 metres by the cottages and parking reduces the flow to single file. On the east side north of Pinnacle Place the footway is extremely narrow and in one small section there is no footway at all.

2.1.9 The junction of Green Lane and Stanmore Hill features an elongated in Stanmore Hill, which prohibits the right turn in and out of Green Lane. Consequently, the predominant traffic flow is northbound.

2.1.10 There have been no reported personal injury accidents in Green Lane in the three years to April 2006. Three years is the nationally recognised period for assessing accident risk for design purposes.

2.1.11 Traffic surveys show that the highest 85 percentile speed (the speed not exceeded by 85% of vehicles) is 46 mph with the 24 hour (85 percentile) average of around 40 mph. Whilst such speeds are inappropriate and undesirably high, they have not translated into injury collisions. Therefore, cannot be justified on accident remedial grounds.

2.1.12 In May 2006 the Metropolitan Police Safer Neighbourhoods team invited the local residents to an evening meeting in the to discuss the Green Lane traffic issues raised at a recent Stanmore Society meeting. The police meeting was held in Green Lane with local Neighbourhood Community Police Officers and a representative from the council’s Traffic and Road Safety Section. The meeting was well attended and the views and concerns of the residents were discussed and collated by the police. Major concerns were summarised as follows:

Number of residents complaining about speeding: 33 Number of residents complaining about parking: 33

Number of residents complaining about traffic volume: 19 Number of residents complaining about school traffic: 5

2.2 Options considered

2.2.1 To improve the traffic and parking conditions a number of measures are proposed for consideration. These are summarised under three options where one or all could be considered for consultation.

2.2.2 Option 1 - Road Closure

2.2.3 It would be feasible to close the road at the Stanmore Hill end. The scheme would be accompanied by yellow line waiting restrictions at junctions with Woodside Close, Ben Hale Close and Culverlands Close to deter obstructive parking. These measures would greatly improve residential amenity and as through traffic is removed, congestion would be eased and the need for driving on the footway would diminish. Speeding which is by far the most persistent complaint is also likely to be resolved by the scheme.

2.2.4 However, there are disadvantages. The Church Road/Stanmore Hill signalled junction is already working at or close to capacity and the area is heavily congested at peak times with eastbound traffic queues stretching beyond Green Lane. A road closure would displace around 600 vehicles in the am peak hour and around 380 vehicles in the pm peak hour. Around 4900 vehicles will be displaced over a 24 hour period. The resulting queues and delays would be unacceptable, especially in this area where complaints about congestion and delays are regularly received.

2.2.5 A recent emergency road works necessitated the closure of Green Lane at the Stanmore Hill end. Observations during this period showed the eastbound pm peak traffic queues that were normally up to Green Lane, stretched beyond Old Lodge Way. Additionally, some Old Church Lane northbound traffic turns into Green Lane and this is likely to be transferred to Marsh Lane and Dennis Lane. The latter is a local road (same category as Green Lane) and has a poor accident record and further traffic could worsen its safety record. However, Transport for London (TfL) has provided £50,000 for traffic calming in Dennis Lane and if a scheme is agreed it could make the road safer. Some northbound traffic is also likely to divert to Clamp Hill that is already used by a large volume of through traffic. Overall, there could be a negative affect on road safety in the wider area as drivers seek alternative routes.

2.2.6 An area for turning would also be required. Though the road is fairly wide at the Stanmore Hill end, there would be insufficient room for larger vehicles such as delivery lorries and refuse collection vehicles to turn around.

2.2.7 The proposal would include gaps for pedal cycles and a gate for emergency access. The emergency services have not been consulted and as a road closure would affect their response times they may object to the scheme. Additionally, a road closure may not be acceptable to the residents of Green Lane and associated roads because of the inconvenience it would cause.

2.2.8 Parking controls will also be required to deter obstructive parking, mainly at junctions with associated roads. A consultation exercise that was carried out in September 2004 as part of the Stanmore Controlled Parking Zone (CPZ) review showed that Green Lane respondents were not in favour of parking controls. Two petitions against a CPZ were also received from Green Lane although a subsequent petition in favour was also received when the scheme was advertised. On balance it was decided not to introduce parking controls in Green Lane. Since implementation of the extension, obstructive parking complaints have increased. The yellow line waiting restrictions shown at Appendix B would deter obstructive parking and are likely to be supported by the residents.

2.2.9 Option 2 – parking controls

2.2.10 All day parking in the area could be deterred by the inclusion of Green Lane in the Stanmore CPZ. This would stop all day commuter parking but has the advantage of accommodating the residents and their visitors during the restricted hour as well as accommodating visitors to the shops and businesses in the area outside the hour of operation. However, as the Stanmore town centre scheme only operates between 3 pm and 4 pm, it may not deal with the morning peak congestion problem and some drivers may still be tempted to drive along the footway to bypass parked vehicles. Green Lane is close to Sainsbury’s supermarket in Elm Park and their part time staff or shift workers may still park in Green Lane outside zone times. The footway driving has been occurring mainly during the am peak and it would be necessary to introduce appropriate parking controls to deal with it. Removal of parking would result in even higher speeds compromising safety. It is recommended that parking be permitted on two sections as shown at Appendix C in order to discourage speeding. Whilst this would not be sufficient to deal with the prevailing speeding problem, it would help reduce speeds to a degree. Therefore, it is recommended that 8 am – 10 am, Monday to Friday yellow line waiting restrictions be considered on both sides between Uxbridge Road and Culverlands Close, excluding the two sections as shown at Appendix C. To deter drivers mounting the footway where parking is recommended would have to be placed at strategic locations. It is recommended that vehicle speed activated message signs be also introduced in both directions. These are signs that display a ‘SLOW DOWN’ message, and include an electronic display of the roundel, which are triggered when drivers exceed a set threshold speed. The sign face would remain blank when not activated.

2.2.11 This option does not effectively deal with the speeding or ‘rat run’ traffic problems and would not help to ease congestion at school arrival and dispersal times.

2.2.12 Option 3 - traffic calming and parking controls

2.2.13 Although there is no history of injury collisions in Green Lane, the prevailing speeds are excessively high compared with other similar roads in the borough. Additionally, the volume of through traffic is also quite high and considering there is a school entrance, a case can be made for traffic calming or indeed making the road a 20 mph zone. Parking controls similar to option 2 would still be required to deal with obstructive parking and footway driving (see Appendix D). Moreover, this option would address the speeding problem, which is a major concern of the residents and the school community alike. It may also deter some ‘rat run’ traffic.

2.2.14 Council funding would be necessary for a 20 mph zone as Transport for London (TfL) is unlikely to support a bid due to the good accident record of the road. A previous bid to TfL for funding a traffic calming scheme in 2005-06 failed as no injury collision savings could be made.

2.2.15 A ward councillor and some residents have indicated that since implementation of the recent extension of the Stanmore CPZ the majority view on parking controls has changed. The next review of the Stanmore CPZ is programmed for 2010. Whilst Green Lane and associated roads could be considered for inclusion in the CPZ ahead of that, the labour intensive legal procedure and the need to consult would have a knock on effect on the agreed CPZ programme. At the very least the review of the Edgware CPZ (Canons Park Estate) will have to slip from this year’s programme with further knock on effect on next year’s programme. Additionally, dropping the review of Edgware CPZ (Canons Park Estate) would not be popular as the local community is expecting the review to be carried out as programmed and a stakeholder meeting has also taken place raising expectations. It is therefore recommended that whichever option is agreed double yellow line waiting restrictions be introduced at the junctions of Green Lane with Woodside Close, Ben Hale Close, Culverlands Close and Stanmore Hill, as shown at Appendix E.

2.2.16 The petitioners’ request for pedestrian facilities has been investigated. There is a pedestrian in Stanmore Hill immediately north of the school’s Stanmore Hill entrance that assists pedestrians to cross the road in two halves. Due to the congestion that the school traffic creates pedestrians are managing to cross the road without undue difficulty. Observations have shown that outside school arrival and dispersal times there are little or no pedestrians crossing here. Therefore, if a formal crossing were provided, it would be more or less redundant for the majority of the time. As the prevailing speeds are high a zebra crossing would not be appropriate and a traffic light controlled facility must be considered.

2.2.17 There have been two reported personal injury accidents in the vicinity of the requested location in the last three years. Neither of them involved pedestrians. The borough’s three year average at pelican crossings is 2.28 injury collisions. Therefore, a crossing here may lead to an increase in accidents. Whilst a pelican or puffin crossing (a variation of pelican crossing) would be desirable, it cannot be justified on accident grounds. The estimated cost of a pelican or puffin crossing is around £50,000. Discussions have taken place with the school about developing a school travel plan. It is recommended that subject to a plan being devised funding for a Safe Routes to Schools (SRTS) scheme be sought from Transport for London and a formal crossing be considered as part of that scheme subject to funding. See also 2.4. In the meantime, subject to the development of a school travel plan, it is recommended that enforceable school yellow zigzag keep clear road markings be introduced at both Stanmore Hill and Green Lane entrances to the school. (The existing zigzag markings at the Stanmore Hill entrance are advisory). The hours of operation of the road markings to be during term times and limited to school arrival and dispersal times. This should improve road safety, access and visibility.

2.2.18 Fewer pedestrians have been observed crossing the Uxbridge Road at Green Lane junction. A pedestrian refuge island has been provided west of the junction outside St John’s Church. The road narrows at this point and pedestrians are able to cross the road in two halves without undue difficulty. A formal crossing here would also need to be traffic light controlled. There have been no reported personal injury accidents in the three years to December 2005 at this location and consequently, there is even less justification for a formal crossing here. Such a facility would make an already congested area worse. It is therefore not recommended. However, it would be possible to widen the existing pedestrian refuge island to provide more protection for pedestrians. The gap can also be widened to provide a wider area for pedestrians to stand before negotiating the second half of the road. The petitioners’ request would also be revisited as part of the SRTS investigation.

2.3 Consultation

2.3.1 The frontages and the school community will be consulted on the agreed option.

2.4 Financial Implications

2.4.1 The estimated cost of option 1 is in the region of £20,000 and that of option 2 is £12,000 including the cost of consultation, order making and salaries in both cases, spread over two years. A sum of £9,000 would be required this year for either option, which can be funded from the 2006-07 council funded traffic management budget. The remainder in each case would be required in 2007-08 from the traffic management budget subject to funding.

2.4.2 The estimated cost of option 3 would be in the region of £65,000. Approximately £9,000 would be required in this financial year for scheme design and consultation, which can be funded from the traffic management budget. The remainder would be required for implementation in 2007-08 from the traffic management budget subject to funding.

2.4.3 This report recommends option 2.

2.4.4 The estimated cost of the yellow line waiting restrictions at junctions together with school zigzag markings would be in the region of £7,000 which can be funded from the 2006-07 traffic management budget.

2.4.5 The estimated cost of a pelican or puffin crossing at either location would be in the region of £50,000 each. The pedestrian crossings if agreed cannot be implemented in this financial year or possibly next year due to Transport for London’s inability to carry out new commissions not already on the programme this year. Therefore, council funding for the pedestrian crossings if agreed would be required in 2007-08 and 2008-09.

2.5 Legal Implications

2.5.1 Parking controls can be introduced under the Road Traffic Regulation Act 1984.

2.5.2 Road closure can also be introduced under the Road Traffic Regulation Act 1984.

2.6 Equalities Impact

2.6.1 Not applicable

2.7 Section 17 Crime and Disorder Act 1998 Considerations

2.7.1 Options 1 and 2 would contribute to a reduction in the incidence of crime and disorder.

Section 3: Supporting Information/ Background Documents

Appendices:

Appendix A: Location plan Appendix B: Option 1 Appendix C: Option 2 Appendix D: Option 3 Appendix E: Proposed yellow line waiting restrictions at junctions

Supporting Information:

Consultant’s report, traffic surveys, previous petitions, Stanmore CPZ 2004 consultation results