Agenda item

Report of the Director of Climate Change, Environment and Transport (CET/24/4), attached.

RESOLVED that all the recommendations in the Report be rejected.

The Chair exercised his discretion to allow oral representations from nominated members of the public as follows:

·         Sue Simmonds (representing those against the Trial);

·         Edward Pickering (representing those in support of the Trial); and

·         Teegan Creed (representing the views of the disabled community against the Trial).

In accordance with Standing Order 25, Exeter City Councillors A Jobson, A Sheridan and P Holland attended and spoke against the Trial Scheme and Councillor D Moore attended and spoke in support of the Trial Scheme.

The Committee considered the Report of the Director of Climate Change Environment and Transport (CET/23/80), which provided a monitoring update on the Active Streets Trial Scheme and recommended that the measures of success were reviewed  after 29 February 2024 to determine whether the Trial had had an overall positive impact; and that the Director of Climate Change, Environment and Transport be given delegated powers to suspend the Experimental Traffic Regulation Orders associated with the Trial from 1 March 2024.

The Active Streets Trial had now been in operation for five months.  The Statutory Consultation period will run until 8 May 2024 and responses continued to be received and analysed.

Traffic monitoring data indicated that there had continued to be an increase in traffic at many locations on the boundary roads, most significantly on Polsloe Road and Hill Barton Road where flows had increased by up to 20%, with an increase also on Heavitree Road/East Wonford Hill, which was an air quality-sensitive route.  On the roads within the trial area, there had been reductions in traffic at many locations, particularly in the vicinity of bus gates/physical modal filters, but there had also been increased in traffic on some roads, such as North Street.  Traffic speeds had reduced slightly on both Pinhoe Road and Hill Barton Road.

There had in general been an increase in cycling on both residential streets and boundary roads, with increases in some locations exceeding 100%, although exceptions to this were near Polsloe Road and Heavitree Road, where reductions were recorded. Increases in walking had also been recorded in some locations.

Stagecoach data had indicated there had been a moderate increase in bus journey times on a section of the Heavitree Road corridor, impacting negatively on bus passengers, and a moderate increase in inbound journey times on a section of the Pinhoe Road corridor, but a smaller change in journey times was recorded outbound. The data indicated that it was likely that journey times for all traffic on boundary roads would have increased on Heavitree Road and some increases on Pinhoe Road.

The Council continued to liaise with key stakeholders, such as the emergency services and feedback could continue to be provided through the statutory consultation.

When reviewing the measures of success, there were currently only two indicators out of 10 that were performing well; traffic on residential roads within the trial area and number of cycling trips.  There was a possibility that negative impacts could outweigh the benefits of the trial. The report stated that should there not be a significant improvement by the end of February 2024 and where it met the tests of the Road Traffic Regulation Act 1984, consideration should be given to the trial being suspended.

Officers provided an update as to Carers, where there had been a meeting with Devon Carers on 18 January 2024 and a planned meeting with the paid carer sector in February. It was noted that in discussions with Oxfordshire County Council on their experience of LTNs, they had no exemption for Blue Badge holders.

Officers confirmed that air quality sensors had been installed in December and this data was hoped to be available at a future meeting.

A copy of the presentation given at the meeting is appended.

The matter was debated by Members at length. Members’ concerns in particular included:

·          that the statutory consultation should be allowed to continue until 8 May 2024 and for there then to be a full analysis of the feedback;

·          confusion over the word ‘suspend’, and clarity was provided that this was a legal term used under the Road Traffic Act legislation.

·          that the evidential data presented in the report was insufficient for a decision to be made to suspend the Trial;

·          that any decision to suspend the Trial should be made by the Elected Members of the Committee and not Officers.

·          that single day traffic counts had been presented on a day when flooding had badly impacted users, due to road closures and rail strikes; and that clear reporting showing maps and trends should be forthcoming at the end of the Trial;

·          that the suspension of the Trial could affect future funding applications;

·          the absence of original measures of success;

·          that it was too early to see the drop off from traffic on arterial routes, and further data was needed for this to be measured;

·          that all Petitions received should be carefully validated.

It was MOVED by Councillor Barnes, SECONDED by Councillor Adams and

RESOLVED that all the recommendations in the Report be rejected.

[Note:  In accordance with Standing Order 32(4), Councillors Hannaford and Leadbetter requested that their vote against this decision be recorded.]