Decision details

It was reported that there had been 5 registrations to speak at the meeting under the Council’s Public Participation Scheme. The Cabinet Member also granted 6 requests to speak from Council members.

i)          Evening and Sunday Bus Services to Rawcliffe and Skelton- Matter within the remit of the Cabinet Member

A Rawcliffe resident made representations in respect of the public transport situation in the Skelton, Rawcliffe and Clifton Without Ward. She expressed concerns regarding the lack of consultation in respect of the contract for bus services and to the reduction in services particularly on Sundays which was impacting on local resident’s ability to participate in the life of the city.

Representations were also received on behalf of local residents from Councillor Cunningham-Cross in relation to the changes to bus routes in the Skelton, Rawcliffe and Clifton Without Ward. She pointed out that this had resulted in reductions in service and a 2 hourly service at weekends which was affecting residents attending doctor’s surgeries etc. The alternative routes were causing confusion and she requested the Cabinet Member to undertake negotiations with the operators to find a solution.

Cllr Watt also spoke on behalf of residents of the Skelton, Rawcliffe and Clifton Without Ward to draw attention to the significant concerns of local residents at the changes to their bus services. He referred to a petition signed by 140 local residents objecting to the reduced services. Concerns had been raised at the revised routes and with the reliability of the new service and he requested a meeting to consider revisions to the route and frequency of the evening and Sunday services.

In reply to the speakers comments, the Cabinet Member pointed out that the decision to tender bus services had been taken prior to the election. He confirmed that the tenders had now been returned making it more difficult to undertake any major revisions at this stage. However he had asked Officers to examine possible enhancements to the services and confirmed that it may be possible to improve the Friday and Saturday evening services and Sunday service in response to residents concerns. He had also requested Officers to ensure that they worked with the bus operators to maximise publicity of the service. He confirmed that resident’s comments in relation to the new service would be collated and bus usage monitored.

ii)        University Related Parking in Nearby Residential Areas

A representative of the Badger Hill Resident’s Community Group, referred to the lack of consultation and to the need to take this opportunity to assist residents with the parking problems being encountered, at no cost to the Council. He referred to the flawed measurement of parking levels and to the invalid and unreliable results. He pointed out that the only feasible strategy was for the restrictions to cover the whole of Zone 9 to prevent the problem moving further into Badger Hill and to provide full consultation on any scheme.

A local resident confirmed that he had lived in the area for a number of years and if sufficient parking had been provided on campus this problem would not exist. He felt that the main issue related to the charges levied for onsite parking. He further stated that the ‘no waiting at any time’ proposed adjacent to his property would have a detrimental affect on his household and he requested the Cabinet Member to consider the needs of local residents.

Representations were also received from a resident of Field Lane who confirmed support for the recommendations insofar as they related to Field Lane. However she expressed concern at the short hours of operation which would not prove effective as vehicles often arrived prior to 8.00am. She stated that to be effective the restrictions should apply from 8.00am to 6.00pm. She went onto question the practicality of the road closure at the Badger Wood Walk end of the Field Lane service road and its affects on the manoeuvring of large vehicles.

Councillor Warter expressed concerns at the proposal which he felt could move the parking problem from Badger Hill to the adjacent Ward. He referred to the majority of responses to residents comments set out at Annex E3 of the report which he felt were unhelpful. The parking levels at the University were he considered inadequate and he requested the Cabinet Member to request Officers to review the level of parking within the campus. Request the University to provide staff and student parking at a cost based on usage and to continue consultation with the University, resident groups, and Ward Members.  Any parking zone should use as little signage as possible to avoid street clutter.

Councillor Levene, as Ward Member for one of the affected streets, welcomed the recommendation but he also confirmed his concerns regarding the hours of operation. He felt that it was important to liaise with the Parish Council and community groups to find a solution and to discourage car use with the improvement of transport links and satellite parking. 

iii)       City Strategy Capital Programme – 2011/12 Consolidated Report

A local resident spoke in a personal capacity on issues within the remit of the Cabinet Member and relating to the Local Sustainable Transport Fund (LSTF). He welcomed the acceptance of the LSTF bid for bus measures however he felt that it was also essential to use the funding to gain uniform quality provision in provision of bus information at stops, shops, Post Office’s and community venues and to provide route promotion. He stated that action was required to raise the levels of bus use to nearer the regional average, and allow users to influence the services that operators provided.

Councillor D’Agorne spoke in relation to the Fishergate Gyratory Multi-Modal Scheme. He expressed concerns at any delay which would affect the final phase of the improvements particularly at the blind corner at the junction of Fawcett Street/Paragon Street. With the reopening of the Barbican increased pedestrian numbers were using this junction making it essential to improve vehicle priority and pedestrian safety.

iv)      20mph Speed Limit Pilot Areas

Councillor Warters also spoke on behalf of Murton Parish Council in support of the proposal to use Murton as a 20mph speed limit pilot for villages. He requested that consideration should be given to additional traffic reduction to prevent the village being used as a shortcut. He therefore requested further investigation of measures to address additional traffic passing through the village, the inclusion of a reasonable sum of money for engineering works for road narrowing and a build out adjacent to the church. He also asked Officers to have regard to the rural nature of the village in relation to signage.