Agenda item

ES20138

 

The Assistant Director for Traffic and Parking attended to provide the update regarding the Crofton Road Pedestrian and Cycling Route Review. This scheme was a matter of significant public interest and it was noted that Ward Councillor Christopher Marlow would be addressing the Committee on this matter.

 

The Assistant Director explained that this scheme first came to the Committee in 2017 and then went out for consultation; as a result of this a number of modifications were made to the scheme. The main aim of the scheme had been to provide a cycle route, to make the route safe for pedestrians, reduce traffic congestion and to reduce pollution. 

 

Councillor Marlow (Ward Member) thanked the Chairman for the opportunity to respond as the only Ward Councillor on the Committee. He stated that his fellow Ward Councillors (Cllrs Charles Joel and Cllr Robert Evans) were also in attendance and that the view that he was expressing was a collective Ward Councillor view.

 

Cllr Marlow stated that due to the demographics of the Farnborough and Crofton Ward, the Ward Councillors were of the view that cycling would never be significant in this Ward and resultantly the pedestrian and cycling route project did not represent good value for money. Although it was the case that funding from this project did not come directly from Bromley taxpayers, it was still the case that all Councillors had a duty to safeguard the public purse. Cllr Marlow pointed out that the scheme had been supported by the PDS Committee and authorised by the Portfolio Holder without the support of Ward Councillors.

 

Cllr Marlow paid tribute to the hard work of the Crofton Residents’ Association (CRA) which had resulted in positive changes to the scheme being made. This included the alteration of the stretch of road from Crofton Lane to Locksbottom was altered which meant that as well as providing cycling infrastructure, a renovated foot path was also installed. Another significant positive change was the provision of additional zebra crossings. The final positive contribution arising from the work of the CRA was a net increase in the number of trees planted.

 

Cllr Marlow commented on the consultation and construction process. There had been a two stage consultation process in 2017 and 2019. He said that the second consultation process that had taken place in 2019 could have been made more inclusive. 

 

Cllr Marlow stated that the Rain Gardens that were due to incorporate much of the scheme’s vegetation had been left empty for months and that Crofton Road was now significantly narrower as a result of the scheme. He said that if a bus was parked by York Rise, it was now very difficult for other vehicles to pass safely. This was exacerbated when a driver changeover was taking place—this was now being looked into by TfL. Widening the road at this point would make it safer to overtake. He expressed the view that the two way cycle lane on the York Rise side was a poor use of space.

 

Cllr Marlow stated that the zebra crossing located close to Newstead Avenue was located too near to the brow of a hill. This comment had also been made by many residents. There should be more warning that drivers were approaching a zebra crossing—for example—a flashing light. Near this zebra crossing there was an unilluminated sign as drivers approached the bridge by Orpington Railway Station. This sign advised over height vehicles to turn back before getting to the bridge—previously a sign had indicated that drivers could avoid the bridge by turning right; Cllr Marlow asked if Officers could clarify what the final intention was.

 

Cllr Marlow highlighted another concern of local residents which was the fact that in some cases, the cycle lanes were running behind bus stops and some residents were concerned about being run down by speeding cyclists.

 

Cllr Marlow said that it was necessary to assess if the scheme was a success or failure. He suggested that a way of assessing this was to see if there was now an increase in activity by pedestrians and cyclists.

 

At this point Cllr Marlow asked the Committee Clerk to hand out copies of his proposed recommendations to the Committee. 

 

The recommendations were as follows:

 

• Recommendation 2: For all future cycling or combined cycling and pedestrian schemes, measures of success should be determined and stated explicitly prior to approval. Whether such measures have been achieved or not must be reported back to this committee as soon as they are available.

 

• Recommendation 3: For all future cycling or combined cycling and pedestrian schemes, residents on affected and adjoining roads should be contacted via post. They should be provided with a summary overview of the scheme, and be asked to indicate whether they are supportive or opposed, as well as any general comments. This form of consultation should be done in addition to public exhibits attended by council officers

 

• Recommendation 4: For the Crofton Road scheme, officers should determine a measure of success, and report back the proposed measure to this committee within the next three months. Whether the scheme has met or failed to reach the measure of success should then be reported back to the committee once the final cycle and pedestrian counts have been carried out in May/June 2022.

 

• Recommendation 5: In view of the significant level of concern regarding safety, officers will report back to this committee following the conclusion of the Stage 4 Road Safety audit in December 2022/January 2023, with a particular focus on the impact of the new zebra crossings. If the figures suggest that any crossings have resulted in an adverse safety impact, officers will also propose remedial action to remedy the issue.

 

• Recommendation 6: If TfL do not approve the relocation of the bus driver changeover on the stretch of road from Orpington Station to the top of the hill, officers will develop plans to widen the road to permit vehicles to pass parked buses safely.

 

• Recommendation 7: Officers will review how the cycling signage at the Crofton Road/Crofton Lane roundabout can be improved to reduce confusion for cyclists and enhance safety.

 

·  Recommendation 8: Officers will review what steps can be taken to encourage blue light services to respond to requests for feedback on cycling or combined cycling and pedestrian schemes

 

The Chairman requested that Cllr Marlow read out his proposed recommendations for the benefit of members of the public. Cllr Marlow’s recommendations were seconded by Cllr Mcilveen.

 

A Member queried to what degree the scheme took into consideration the views of local residents and made the point that it was important to note the figures pertaining to an absolute increase in cycling as well as a percentage increase.

 

The Assistant Director for Traffic and Parking responded that as far as the consultation process was concerned, the consultation had taken into consideration the views of local residents. The majority of these people were in favour of the scheme. In terms of percentages, a good outcome for Crofton Road would be if 1.8% of local journeys were undertaken by cycle. In 2019, the percentage of cycle journeys was 0.1%. The Assistant Director hoped that when figures were analysed in the summer of 2022, that this figure would have increased to 1.8%-2%. 

 

A Member suggested that a letter be drafted to the emergency services to get their views on the scheme. He expressed the view that to fail to get the views of the emergency services in this matter was a massive failing. He also suggested that the consultation process was flawed and that in fact more people were against the scheme than were for it. He moved a recommendation that it should be noted that the scheme was not value for money.

 

The Assistant Director explained how the Road Safety Auditors worked and how they drew their conclusions. He said that they were independent and that they did not ‘mark their own homework’. If they made a mistake and did not highlight a potential danger, then they would be liable for that. They would also need to be independent of the Design Team.

 

The Road Safety Audit Team had been on site for about three hours which they considered was enough time to make a valid judgement. The Assistant Director defended the results of the consultation analysis. He reiterated his view that the majority of people that had been consulted were in favour of the scheme and were within the scheme area.

 

The recommendations put forward by Cllr Marlow were seconded and agreed by the Committee. At this point Cllr Fawthrop’s recommendation that the scheme be judged to be not value for money had not been seconded. Cllr Marlow said that he did not accept Cllr Fawthrop’s recommendation as he felt that this had already been covered in his recommendation 4.

 

A Member stated that he was glad that the situation with respect to Orpington Station was being looked at. He expressed the view that with regards to this project it demonstrated an arrogance on behalf of officers that they felt they knew better than local residents. He wondered how the scheme reduced congestion and improved air quality. He considered that the narrowing of exit roads was a potential danger.

 

A Member pointed out that if more people used the cycle lanes then this would indeed reduce the carbon foot print and congestion. The Member highlighted the fact that this was a relatively new scheme that had only be completed about three months ago and that residents had not yet had sufficient time to adjust to using cycles instead of cars. A promotion strategy was required that could be particularly targeted at schools and local groups In his view, three months was too short a period to make an assessment of the scheme—he suggested a re-evaluation in nine months would be more appropriate.    

 

RESOLVED that the report be noted and that the recommendations put forward by Cllr Marlow be agreed.