Issue - meetings

ES20234

A Member queried why public transport had been classified as ‘active travel’.

A Member stated that it was good to see the policies in one place, however he felt that it was rather negative in some respects. He expressed the view that the stance taken in the report with respect to roundabouts was negative and should have a more positive spin. He said that in his ward, roundabouts had been a successful and cost effective way of forcing traffic to reduce speed.  The Assistant Director for Traffic and Parking explained that the original text in the report had been shortened to save space and so the way the text was written may have conveyed an unnecessary negative view of roundabouts that was not intended. It was possible that this may need to be re-worded before the policy was published on the Council website.

A discussion took place concerning what statistics were taken into consideration when deciding to progress and implement road safety schemes. A Member requested that the Council keep under review the evidence base with respect to the implementation of 20 mph speed restrictions. The Assistant Director for Traffic and Parking responded and said that a DFT study had arrived at the conclusion that blanket 20 mph speed restrictions had no impact on reducing casualty figures. In his view, it was not the best way to spend money in order to save lives. He felt that the best way to reduce casualties from road traffic accidents was to focus on accident cluster sites and implement the most appropriate solution for each site. The process for determining what could be regarded as an ‘accident hotspot’ or cluster site was explained.

It was noted that work was underway to implement changes to what was regarded as a dangerous roundabout in Luke Road, Chislehurst. 

The Portfolio Holder for Transport, Highways and Road Safety reminded Members that the report was a statement of the Council’s traffic and road safety policies at this time.

It was noted that the traffic and road safety policies were already in the public domain in the sense that the report had already been published as part of the agenda on the Council website. However, it was clarified that the policies would be formally published on the Council website after some of the wording was modified.

RESOLVED that the Portfolio Holder for Highways, Traffic and Road Safety be recommended to confirm the traffic and parking policies set out in Section 3 of the Traffic and Road Safety Policies report.