Agenda, decisions and minutes

At this point in the meeting the Cabinet Member is asked to declare any personal or prejudicial interests he may have in the business on the agenda. None were declared.

To approve and sign the minutes of the meeting held on Thursday 8^th March 2012.

RESOLVED:                That the minutes of the last meeting held on 8 March 2012 be approved and signed by the Cabinet Member as a correct record.

It was reported that there had been 2 registrations to speak under the Council’s Public Participation Scheme.

Stephen Patten had registered to speak on agenda item 4 on behalf of residents of Cinder Lane. He advised that residents had concerns regarding safety issues as a result of the changes being proposed under the Access York Highway Works. He asked that a new independent stage 1 safety audit be carried out to consider all areas around the roundabout at the A59. He stated that the Manual for Streets 2010 guidelines were now being used and that in his opinion were less detailed and don’t sufficiently cover the situation of 60mph traffic coming off the bypass to a 40mph road. He advised that the 2008 audit had recommended slowing down traffic exiting the roundabout, but he hadn’t seen this being suggested. He asked that a new road safety audit be carried out in light of the amended scheme layouts.

David Gale who is a retired surveyor who had been involved in developments that involve road safety schemes spoke to advise that he is concerned about road safety issues. He pointed out that the introduction of a 3^rd lane will increase traffic flow significantly in an easterly direction towards Cinder Lane and suggested that the stopping distance should be 90m. He reminded officers that Cinder Lane is a category A road. He also requested that a 30mph speed limit be considered. He stated that some interested parties had not been consulted and in respect of the safety issues he felt that the council was placing itself at risk if independently reviewed.

This report provides the results of the consultation and proposed responses to the planned improvements to the highway network for the Poppleton Bar and Askham Bar Park & Ride sites. It also updates the Cabinet Member on the changes which have been made to address issues identified during the outline design period.

RESOLVED:

That the Cabinet Member for City Strategy:

i.     Noted the comments raised by the public, Councillors and interested organisations.

ii.    Noted the Officer’s response to the comments and the proposed amendments to the designs.

iii.   Approved the further design development of the schemes in line with the amended layouts included in Annex 4 of the report to enable the project to be tendered in Summer/Autumn 2012 and be constructed in 2012/14.

iv.  Approved the further review of speed limits on the A59 and authorised the advertising of Traffic Regulation Orders if required.

v.   Approved the further investigation of traffic issues in Poppleton associated with the construction of the highway works and completed scheme to enable measures to be ready for introduction at the start of construction or as required during the works. Proposals to be presented in a further report to the Cabinet Member prior to the start of construction.

vi.  Noted the comments made by the registered speakers in attendance at the decision session.

vii.Requested that a report detailing the outcome of the Stage 2 Safety Audit be brought to a Cabinet Member in consultation with Officers session for consideration and to ensure that it is available for residents.

REASON:  To implement the Access York Phase 1: Park and Ride sites which will bring road congestion, sustainable travel and environmental benefits across the city.

The Cabinet Member for City Strategy considered a report which provided the results of the consultation and proposed responses to the planned improvements to the highway network for the Poppleton Bar and Askham Bar Park and Ride sites. It also provided an update in he changes that have been made to address issues identified during the outline design period. The report recommended that the amended scheme layouts should be approved to enable the scheme to be tendered in the summer/autumn of 2012.

The consultation leaflets and layout drawings were attached at annexes 1 and 2 of the report.

The Cabinet Member invited Officers to respond to the safety concerns and points raised by the registered speakers. They made the following comments:

·        The stage 1 safety audit in 2008 was carried out with the same diameter roundabout as exists today. The Halcrow team which carried out the audit were from another Office that had not been involved with the scheme. Officers were satisfied the audit had been carried out legitimately.

·        The stage 2 audit will be on the amended design and will include Cinder Lane.

·        Manual for Streets are later guidelines based upon up to date research.

·        The site is constrained due to the availability of land which restricts how far the roundabout diameter can be extended.

·        More approach lanes are required to increase capacity and to enable traffic to cross the roundabout in line with the aims of Access York.

·        Stopping distances are currently affected by vegetation. The intention is to meet 70 metres and increase to 100 metres.

·        In response to the request for a 30mph limit, this wouldn’t be in line with national guidelines and the Police do not support it either.

The Director for City Strategy assured those present that the stage 2 safety audit is an onerous process that will thoroughly check safety at the design stage.

In response to queries from the Cabinet Member, Officers confirmed that an environment will be created that will encourage speed reduction.

The Cabinet Member acknowledged the concerns of residents and requested that a report is brought back to him outlining the outcome of the stage 2 safety audit and that Officers should ensure that it is made available to residents.

RESOLVED:

That the Cabinet Member for City Strategy:

i.     Noted the comments raised by the public, Councillors and interested organisations.

ii.    Noted the Officer’s response to the comments and the proposed amendments to the designs.

iii.   Approved the further design development of the schemes in line with the amended layouts included in Annex 4 of the report to enable the project to be tendered in Summer/Autumn 2012 and be constructed in 2012/14.

iv.  Approved the further review of speed limits on the A59 and authorised the advertising of Traffic Regulation Orders if required.

v.   Approved the further investigation of traffic issues in Poppleton associated with the construction of the highway works and completed scheme to enable measures to be ready for introduction at the start of construction or as  ...  view the full minutes text for item 50.

The purpose of this report is to update the Cabinet Member on the results of a public consultation exercise undertaken in relation to the declaration of a new Air Quality Management Area (AQMA) in the Leeman Road area.

RESOLVED:

That the Cabinet Member for City Strategy:

Approved option (a) and declared a new Air Quality Management Area, for the Leeman Road area based on the results of the public consultation exercise (option 3, shown in an Appendix 1). 

REASON: 

The declaration on an AQMA, and preparation of a Further Assessment and Air Quality Action Plan will ensure that the council carries out its legal duties under the Environment Act 1995.  LAQM is a statutory undertaking that contributes towards the corporate priorities on protecting the environment and protecting vulnerable people.

The Cabinet Member considered a report which updated on the results of a public consultation exercise undertaken in relation to the declaration of a new Air Quality Management Area (AQMA) in the Leeman Road area.  A new AQMA is required due to exceedences of the health based annual average nitrogen dioxide objective along Salisbury Terrace.

City of York Council’s Air Quality Progress Reports, submitted to the DepartmentEFRA in April 2010 and April 2011, identified a number of air quality monitoring sites outside the existing Air Quality Management Area (AQMA) where elevated concentrations of nitrogen dioxide had been monitored in recent years.  One of these sites, Salisbury Terrace, had exhibited consistently elevated concentrations of nitrogen dioxide, and thus a ‘Detailed Assessment’ of nitrogen dioxide concentrations in this area was required by DEFRA.

A Detailed Assessment has now been carried out for the area of Leeman Road near Salisbury Terrace. Diffusion tube monitoring work has indicated that concentrations of nitrogen dioxide are above health based air quality objective values along a short stretch of Salisbury Terrace.  Based on this Detailed Assessment, the declaration of a further AQMA is proposed in the Leeman Road area.

The Cabinet Member commented that the declaration of the further AQMA was a sensible approach and was happy to approve the recommendations.

RESOLVED:

That the Cabinet Member for City Strategy:

Approved option (a) and declared a new Air Quality Management Area, for the Leeman Road area based on the results of the public consultation exercise (option 3, shown in an Appendix 1). 

REASON: 

The declaration on an AQMA, and preparation of a Further Assessment and Air Quality Action Plan will ensure that the council carries out its legal duties under the Environment Act 1995.  LAQM is a statutory undertaking that contributes towards the corporate priorities on protecting the environment and protecting vulnerable people.