Decision Session - Executive Member for Transport	3 November 2020
Report of the Corporate Director of Economy & Place

 Transport Capital Programme – 2020/21 Monitor 1 Report

Summary

1. This report sets out progress to date on schemes in the 2020/21 Economy & Place Transport Capital programme, and proposes adjustments to scheme allocations to align with the latest cost estimates and delivery allocations.

2. The report also provides an update on the progress of schemes in the Emergency Active Travel Fund programme.

Recommendations

3. The Executive Member is asked to:

1) Approve the amendments to the 2020/21 Economy & Place Transport Capital Programme.

2) Note the progress of schemes in the Transport Capital Programme and the Emergency Active Travel Fund programme.

Reason: To implement the council’s transport strategy identified in York’s third Local Transport Plan and the Council Priorities, and deliver schemes identified in the council’s Transport Programme.

Background

4. The COVID-19 lockdown significantly affected the capacity of the Transport and Highways teams to deliver the schemes in the Transport Capital Programme. Although progress has been maintained on many of the schemes resources had to be redirected to deliver additional urgent items, such as the Emergency Active Travel Fund schemes, in direct response to the outbreak. At the same time delivery capacity continues to be affected by social distancing and self isolation requirements. This has placed a significant amount of pressure on the Transport team who have worked at speed to deliver multiple schemes which under normal circumstances would have taken many months. These works, such as the delivery of footstreet extensions, have been broadly welcomed by businesses as supporting the York economy that faired particularly well over the summer compared to other Cities. To get the programme back on schedule it is proposed to commission additional resources to deliver the schemes which were delayed by the COVID 19 outbreak and the new schemes being brought into the programme.

5. Following approval at Budget Council on 27 February 2020, the Transport Capital Budget for 2020/21 was confirmed at £21,282k. The budget was then increased to £28,538k in August 2020 when the Executive Member was presented with the Consolidated Transport Capital Programme, which included all schemes and funding that had carried over from 2019/20.

6. The approved budget includes funding from the Local Transport Plan (LTP) grant and council resources, and significant funding from various external sources, including grant funding from the government’s Office of Low Emission Vehicles (OLEV) and the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) for the Hyper Hubs project, the National Productivity Investment Fund, the West Yorkshire Transport Fund, and funding from the Department for Transport for the Outer Ring Road Dualling scheme.

2020/21 Major Schemes

7. Due to the impact of the COVID-19 lockdown measures, progress on the major schemes in the capital programme has been slower than anticipated due to the lockdown restrictions preventing works from going ahead, and staff resources being focused on COVID-19 measures and the Emergency Active Travel Fund programme.

8. The City Centre Access scheme has been affected by the expansion of the city centre Footstreets area as part of the council’s COVID-19 measures to provide additional space for pedestrians to accommodate social distancing measures. The scope of the scheme has been reviewed to assess the impact of these changes, and the outcome will be reported to the Executive. The design of the Racecourse security measures is ongoing, and the scheme will be implemented later in the year.

9. Although there have been some delays due to the lockdown measures, bus operators are now progressing the conversion works required to bring their bus fleet up to the emissions standard required for the city centre Clean Air Zone. Grant funding was also awarded to Reliance for the purchase of new buses, which are now in operation.

10.The Hyper Hubs project to provide additional electric vehicle charging infrastructure at Monks Cross and Poppleton Bar Park & Ride sites is being progressed, though the use of Poppleton Bar as a COVID-19 testing site means the timescales for this scheme may be subject to change. The council is in discussions with the testing site management team to discuss changes to the site to allow the Hyper Hub project to be implemented while the testing station is in use. The council was also successful in obtaining additional funding from the York & North Yorkshire Local Enterprise Partnership (LEP) for an additional Hyper Hub at York Hospital, which is being progressed following approval by the Hospital Trust Board in September.

11. The council awarded grant funding to First York in 2019/20 for the purchase of a fleet of electric buses for Park & Ride services. While progress was delayed as the manufacturer had to close down during the lockdown period, the factory has now reopened and the first batch of new buses are now in use on the Askham Bar Park & Ride route. It is expected that all the new buses will have been delivered by November.

12. Public consultation has been carried out on the Transforming Cities funded proposed improvements to cycling and walking facilities between Scarborough Bridge and Bootham Park. These include: signalisation of the Bootham/St Mary’s/The Drive junction; a new ramp at the southern end of St Mary’s; and a relining of Marygate car park to enable a slight widening of the adjacent Railway Walk path. It is proposed to implement the schemes as set out in the separate report on the agenda for this meeting.

13. Work on the Smarter Travel Evolution Programme is continuing as planned. The upgrades to traffic signal wireless communications will be completed in November, and a test version of real time transport model is now live. The tender for the Data Platform work is being prepared, and the work will be progressed later in the year.

14. Work on the Station Frontage scheme is ongoing, and the project team has been working on finalising the delivery strategy, which is expected to have a three phase approach for the highway and station works. An updated planning application for the scheme was submitted in spring 2020, which will be determined later in the year. A report will be taken to Executive in November to request decisions on the funding and delivery approaches for the scheme.

15. The project team have been working on the development of the Outer Ring Road junction upgrades and dualling as a single scheme. This has involved preparation for procurement of a number of suppliers, principally technical and engineering services for the design of the scheme. The outline programme is as follows:

· Planning approval: Summer 2021

· Detailed design complete: Early 2022

· Compulsory Purchase Order made: Spring 2023 (If Required)

· Commence construction: Summer 2023

· Completion: Summer 2025

16. The team has also developed an engagement strategy for preparation of a planning application and this is now underway, with a report to Executive on the proposals planned for early 2021. Public Consultation is due to commence shortly.

2020/21 Transport Schemes

17. As with the major schemes, progress on the transport schemes was delayed at the start of 2020/21 due to the impact of the lockdown measures introduced in March due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Several schemes where implementation was planned in early 2020/21 (following feasibility and design in 2019/20) were delayed as it was not possible for the work to be carried out while complying with social distancing and other lockdown requirements. Feasibility and design work on new schemes was also delayed as staff resources were focussed on the COVID-19 measures and the schemes included in the Emergency Active Travel Fund programme. However, as the lockdown restrictions were reduced over the summer, it has been possible to progress and implement schemes as planned.

18. The proposed improvements at Park & Ride sites were delayed following the closure of some of the sites and the use of the Poppleton Bar P&R site as a COVID-19 testing facility, however these schemes will be progressed later in the year. A programme of improvements to bus shelters will continue throughout the rest of the year, including an upgrade to the Peasholme Green bus shelter, and the School Bus Exhaust Refits will continue when possible.

19. Despite the delays due to lockdown, it has been possible to progress some of the schemes in the Traffic Management block. The CCTV Upgrades have been completed with the upgrade of 23 cameras, which will improve the reliability of the traffic monitoring network, and traffic signal upgrades have been completed at two locations, with work at the Hull Road/ Osbaldwick Link Road junction to be completed by the end of October.

20. A backlog of signing and lining schemes has built up over recent years. It is proposed to increase the allocation for this work to £70k to resolve.

21. Following approval at the June 2020 Decision Session, temporary road closures to reduce traffic ‘rat-running’ through The Groves were put in place at the start of September. However, additional works have been required to replace some of the temporary barriers with concrete blocks, and additional staff time has been required to adjust the signing and lining to address comments raised by residents and businesses.  As a result, the scheme cost has increased, and it is proposed to increase the allocation for this scheme to £70k. A contribution of £10k is also available from the Emergency Active Travel Fund programme.

22. Following the allocation of additional funding for cycling and pedestrian schemes in the Summer 2019 budget, a priority list of cycle schemes for development and implementation was approved earlier this year, and details of these schemes have now been added to the Transport Capital Programme.

23. Although progress on schemes in the Walking & Cycling block was delayed as staff resources were focused on the COVID-19 measures and the Emergency Active Travel Fund proposals, the scheme to install a new zebra crossing on Haxby Road (at Clarence Gardens) was completed in July, and feasibility and design work is continuing on the other schemes in the programme for implementation at a later date. Progress on the Bishopthorpe Road Cycling scheme has been delayed and it is now not anticipated that the scheme will be constructed in 2020/21. The allocation is therefore reduced to £100k.  

24. The Pedestrian Crossing Review allocation includes funding for the York Road Haxby pedestrian crossing scheme, and a contribution to the ward committee-funded Green Dykes Lane crossing scheme, both of which are reported separately to this meeting.

25. Progress on schemes in the Safety Schemes block was also delayed earlier in the year, but the Lord Deramore’s School Safety scheme and the Hull Road/ Owston Avenue safety scheme have now been completed, and work continues to develop the other schemes in the programme for implementation later in the year.

26. Following the completion of the Castle Mills Bridge Maintenance scheme earlier this year, the Blue Bridge was removed and replaced with a temporary bridge in May to allow maintenance works to be carried out off-site. This work has now been completed.

Emergency Active Travel Fund – Tranche 1 Schemes

27. A number of schemes to increase space available to pedestrians and improve facilities for cyclists were implemented over summer 2020, following the council’s successful bid for funding from Tranche 1 of the government’s Emergency Active Travel Fund for measures to support walking and cycling whilst social distancing restrictions were still in place. The council has also submitted a bid for Tranche 2 of the Emergency Active Travel Fund for funding to allow further improvements for pedestrians and cyclists to be implemented.

28. A detailed report on the Emergency Active Travel Fund programme was considered by the Executive Member at the Decision Session on 20 October. It is proposed to allocate £40k of Local Transport Plan funding to continue the delivery of some of the Tranche 1 schemes and undertake feasibility work on two of the Tranche 2 schemes (A1237 Great North Way to A19 Cycle Route and Acomb Road cycle route) for future delivery. It is proposed to increase the Future Years CYC Scheme Allocation to accommodate this additional work which would be replaced with EAT Tranche 2 funding if awarded.

29. Annexes 1 and 2 to this report show the revised 2020/21 transport capital programme, including the Emergency Active Travel Fund programme.

Consultation

30. The capital programme is decided through a formal process using a Capital Resources Allocation Model (CRAM). CRAM is a tool used for allocating the council’s capital resources to schemes that meet corporate priorities.

31. Funding for the capital programme was agreed by the council on 27 February 2020. While consultation is not undertaken on the capital programme as a whole, individual scheme proposals do follow a consultation process with local councillors and residents.

Options

32. The Executive Member has been presented with a proposed programme of schemes, which have been developed to implement the priorities of the Local Transport Plan (LTP3) and the Council Plan.

Analysis

33. The programme has been prepared to meet the objectives of LTP3 and the Council Plan as set out below; implement the City Centre Access & Safety Scheme; implement the Clean Air Zone and Hyper Hubs schemes; progress the Smarter Travel Evolution Programme; and progress the Outer Ring Road upgrades and Station Frontage major schemes.

Council Plan

34. The Council Plan has Eight Key Outcomes:

· Well-paid jobs and an inclusive economy

· A greener and cleaner city

· Getting around sustainably

· Good health and wellbeing

· Safe communities and culture for all

· Creating homes and world-class infrastructure

· A better start for children and young people

· An open and effective council

35. The Transport Capital Programme supports the prosperity of the city by improving the effectiveness, safety and reliability of the transport network, which helps economic growth and the attractiveness for visitors and residents. The programme aims to reduce traffic congestion through a variety of measures to improve traffic flow, improve public transport, provide better facilities for walking and cycling, and address road safety issues.

36. Enhancements to the efficiency and safety of the transport network will directly benefit all road users by improving reliability and accessibility to other council services across the city.

37. The capital programme also addresses improvements to the transport network raised by residents such as requests for improved cycle routes, measures to address safety issues and speeding traffic, and improvements at bus stops such as real-time information display screens and new bus shelters.

Implications

38. The following implications have been considered.

· Financial: See below.

· Human Resources (HR): In light of the financial reductions in recent years, the Executive Member’s attention is drawn to the fact that the majority of Highways and Transport staff are now funded either through the capital programme or external funding. This core of staff are also supplemented by external resources commissioned by the council to deliver capital projects, which provides flexible additional capacity and reflects the one-off nature of capital projects.

· Equalities: There are no Equalities implications.

· Legal: There are no Legal implications.

· Crime and Disorder: There are no Crime & Disorder implications.

· Information Technology (IT): There are no IT implications.

· Property: There are no Property implications.

· Other: There are no other implications.

Financial Implications

39. Following the successful bid for the Emergency Active Travel Fund Tranche 1 grant, the council was awarded £193k grant funding, of which £156k is capital grant funding with the remaining £37k being revenue funding. It is proposed to add the capital funding to the Transport Capital Programme to align with the corporate capital programme budget.

40. The proposed changes to the budget allocations have been accommodated in the existing budget by reducing the allocation to the Bishopthorpe Road Cycle scheme in 2020/21.As a result, the overprogramming has reduced to £141k.

41. If the proposals in this report are accepted, the Economy & Place Transport Capital budget in 2020/21 would increase by £156k to £28,694k, as shown in Annex 1 to this report.

Risk Management

42. For larger schemes in the programme, separate risk registers will be prepared and measures taken to reduce and manage risks as the schemes are progressed throughout 2020/21.

Contact Details

Author:	Chief Officer Responsible for the report:
Tony Clarke Head of Transport Directorate of Economy & Place Tel No. 01904 551641	James Gilchrist Assistant Director, Transport, Highways and Environment.
	Report Approved	√	Date  21.10.20
	Neil Ferris Corporate Director – Economy & Place
	Report Approved	√	Date  22.10.20
Specialist Implications Officer(s)  List information for all
Wards Affected:  List wards or tick box to indicate all				All	ü
For further information please contact the author of the report

Background Papers:

E&P 2020/21 Capital Programme Budget Report – 19 March 2020

E&P 2020/21 Capital Programme Consolidated Report – 11 August 2020

Annexes

Annex 1: 2020/21 Transport Capital Programme Budgets

Annex 2: 2020/21 Transport Capital Programme Schemes