Executive Member Decision Session

9 February 2021

Report of the Corporate Director of Economy & Place

Portfolio of the Executive Member for Transport

Directorate of Economy & Place

Transport Capital Programme – 2020/21 Monitor 2 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, and details of the Active Travel Fund Tranche 2 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 development of the 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. Following approval at Budget Council on 27 February 2020, the Transport Capital Budget for 2020/21 was confirmed at £21,282k. Amendments were made at the Consolidated Report in August 2020 to include all schemes and funding carried over from 2019/20, and further amendments to the programme were made at the Monitor 1 report in November 2020.

5. Following these amendments, the current budget for the 2020/21 Transport Capital Programme is £28,694k. This 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.

6. The first 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 was 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 fared better over the summer compared to other cities. The third lockdown period after Christmas and the reduced availability of Highways resources has impacted on the delivery of schemes in January. Additional resources are being procured and recruited to deliver the schemes which were delayed by the COVID 19 outbreak and the new schemes being brought into the programme.

7. Due to the delays progressing some schemes, there are a number of items where funding needs to be slipped to 2021/22 as the schemes will not be implemented in 2020/21.

2020/21 Major Schemes

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. Following the decision at the 26 November Executive to keep the expanded Footstreets area in place until September 2021, it is proposed to reduce the allocation for this scheme to £500k to allow the Racecourse security measures to be implemented in 2020/21, and slip the remaining funding to 2021/22 for the City Centre Access scheme to be implemented.

9. Although there were some delays earlier in the year due to the lockdown measures, bus operators have been able to progress the conversion works needed to bring their bus fleets 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. It is proposed to reduce the allocation by £100k in 2020/21, as the cost of the work on the First York bus fleet is lower than originally estimated.

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 were revised and the scheme will be completed in summer 2021. There have also been some delays to the proposed Hyper Hub at York Hospital due to land ownership issues, which means the work may not be completed by 31 March 2021. It is proposed to reduce the allocation for the Hyper Hubs schemes to £1,765k, and slip the remaining funding to 2021/22 for the completion of the schemes.

11. The council awarded grant funding to First York in 2019/20 for the purchase of a fleet of 21 electric buses for Park & Ride services. Progress was delayed earlier in 2020/ 21 as the manufacturer had to close down during the first lockdown period, but work re-started later in the year and 14 of the new buses were in operation by 30 November, with the remaining buses in use by the end of January.

12. The proposed Transforming Cities funded improvements to cycling and walking facilities between Scarborough Bridge and Bootham Park were approved at the November 2020 Decision Session. The work to signalise the Bootham/ St Mary’s/ The Drive junction, create a ramp at the southern end of St Mary’s, and widen the Railway Walk path adjacent to Marygate car park is now planned to start in April 2021.

13. Although work on the Smarter Travel Evolution Programme has continued throughout the year, some of the aspects of the programme will not be completed by 31 March 2021. It is proposed to reduce the allocation for this scheme to £1,660k, and slip the remaining funding to 2021/22 to allow work on the data platform and communications upgrades to be completed.

14. Following the report to the November 2020 Executive, it is proposed to reduce the allocation for the Station Frontage scheme to £1m due to the lower expected spend in 2020/21. The report set out the funding and delivery approaches for the scheme, which will be progressed in 2021/22.

15. As set out in previous capital programme reports, the Outer Ring Road junction improvements and dualling proposals are now being developed as a single scheme. Following public consultation in autumn 2020, work on the planning application for the scheme is ongoing, and will be followed by completion of the detailed design for the schemes, with construction planned to start in summer 2023. It is proposed to reduce the allocation for the scheme to £1,700k, and slip the remaining funding to 2021/22 for work on the scheme to continue.

2020/21 Transport Schemes

16. As with the major schemes, progress on the transport schemes was delayed earlier in 2020/21 due to the impact of the lockdown measures introduced in March due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Feasibility and design work on new schemes was delayed as staff resources were focussed on the COVID-19 measures and the Emergency Active Travel Fund programme, and implementation of schemes was delayed due to the requirements for lockdown and the need for social distancing. As the lockdown restrictions were reduced over the summer, it was possible to progress and implement some schemes as planned. However, there are some schemes where progress has been delayed, and the following amendments to budgets are proposed to reflect the changes to programme delivery.

17. It is proposed to reduce the allocation for the Park & Ride Site Upgrades scheme as a smaller programme of work will be progressed this year following the closure of some of the sites earlier in the year, and the use of Poppleton Bar Park & Ride as a testing facility. Work to improve the drainage system at Monks Cross Park & Ride has been implemented, and other minor works can be progressed as required though the remainder of the year.

18. It was not possible to progress the Park & Ride Advance Signage scheme in 2020/21 as staff resources were focused on COVID-19 measures and unable to prepare this scheme for implementation in the year. Feasibility and design work is ongoing, and it is proposed to reduce the allocation for this scheme in 2020/21 and include funding in the 2021/22 programme for implementation.

19. It is proposed the slip the grant funding for the School Bus Exhaust Refits and Tour Bus Conversions schemes to 2021/22, as the conversion works to reduce emissions from school buses could not be progressed due to delays with the manufacture approval and procurement of equipment. As set out in the report to the 19 March 2020 Executive, the trial of retro-fitting tour buses to convert them to electric drive has ended, and the council will discuss the possibility of reallocating the grant funding for other schemes in York with Defra.

20. Funding was allocated in the programme for measures to improve the existing road closure at Victoria Bar. However, following requests to extend the scope of the scheme to review the wider area, and the need to consider the proposals to reduce car levels in the city centre as part of the scheme, the work was put on hold to allow these wider measures to be developed. It is proposed to slip the funding to 2021/22 to allow a scheme to be developed that could incorporate all of these proposals.

21. The majority of the work to install new electric vehicle charging infrastructure at car parks and Park & Ride sites will be carried out in February and March, and it is proposed to slip £150k to 2021/22 for the completion of the scheme.

22. It is propose to reduce the allocations for the Wigginton Road and Fulford Road multi-modal studies, as progress was delayed due to the impact of COVID-19 schemes on staff resources. Scheme briefs have been prepared, and work on feasibility and design will be continued in 2021/22 to assess the transport issues on these two main routes.

23. The temporary road closures to reduce through traffic in The Groves residential area were put in place in September 2020, but additional works have been required since the start of the scheme to amend some of the closure points following issues raised by residents and road users. It is proposed to increase the allocation for this scheme by £20k to fund the additional works and the cost of monitoring the trial road closures.

24. The proposed improvements to CCTV on the Hungate development site have been on hold until development work on the site is completed. Due to delays to the development, it will not be possible to complete the proposed work by 31 March 2021, and it is proposed to reduce the allocation for this scheme to £10k for initial works and slip the remaining funding to 2021/22.

25. Following the allocation of additional funding for cycle schemes in the Summer 2019 budget, a list of priority cycle schemes was approved earlier in the year for inclusion in the transport capital programme. However, work to develop and implement these schemes has been delayed due to the focus on the COVID-19 measures and the schemes included in the Emergency Active Travel Fund programme. It is proposed to reduce the allocation for the cycle schemes to £100k to allow feasibility and design work to continue in 2020/21, and slip the remaining funding to 2021/22 to allow schemes to be implemented once feasibility and design work has been completed. Progress on the development of the Bishopthorpe Road Cycle Scheme has also been delayed, and it is proposed to reduce the funding allocation for this scheme to £50k and slip the remaining funding to 2021/22.

26. Initial feasibility work was carried out on possible improvements to a section of footway on University Road due to the narrow width and impact of tree roots on this section of footway. However, the options to realign the footway required the removal of mature trees on land owned by the University of York, and was not supported. It is proposed to reduce the budget for this scheme as a feasible scheme cannot be progressed at this time, and review potential improvements as part of the University Road scheme included in the Active Travel Funding programme.

27. The new zebra crossing on Haxby Road at Clarence Gardens was completed in July, but some additional work has been required to address lighting and drainage issues. It is proposed to increase the allocation for this scheme by £5k to fund these works.

28. Additional funding has been included in the Speed Management programme for the completion costs of the Green Lane Rawcliffe mini-roundabouts scheme, which was completed in April, and the allocation for the Elvington Lane Speed Management scheme has been reduced as the scheme to replace the existing speed cushions will not be implemented in 2020/21.

29. Following completion of the Castle Mills Bridge maintenance scheme in April, work on the Blue Bridge maintenance scheme was completed in the autumn, and the bridge is now back in use. No other schemes are planned for 2020/21, and it is proposed to reduce the allocation for this scheme to £475k and slip the remaining funding to 2021/22 to allow the bridge maintenance programme to be continued.

30. The funding for additional improvements to footpaths to be progressed as part of the CityFibre utility works across the city has not been required in 2020/21, and it is proposed to slip this funding to 2021/22.

31. No other changes are proposed to schemes in the transport capital programme at this stage of the year. A number of schemes have already been completed, including:

· Upgrades to traffic signals at five locations across the city.

· Completion of the CCTV Upgrades programme.

· New pedestrian crossings at Haxby Road, Green Dykes Lane (contribution to ward committee scheme), and York Road Haxby.

· Measures to improve safety at Lord Deramore’s School, and at the zebra crossing on Hull Road near Owston Avenue.

32. Full details of the transport capital programme are shown in Annex 2 to this report.

Emergency Active Travel Fund

33. An update on the Emergency Active Travel Fund was presented to the Executive Member on 18 January. 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. A review of the programme was carried out and reported to the October Decision Session, and it was agreed that while some temporary measures would be removed, the one-way closure of Coppergate would be extended, and consultation should be carried out on the proposal to make this permanent. Approval was also granted for the North-South City Centre cycle route and the Bootham/ Shipton Road Cycle Lanes schemes to go ahead.

34. The council also submitted a bid for Tranche 2 of the government’s Active Travel Fund (ATF) for funding to allow further improvements for pedestrians and cyclists to be implemented. This bid was successful, and we have been awarded £658k for the development and implementation of schemes to improve cycling and pedestrian facilities, including improvements to cycle facilities on Ouse Bridge (A1237), a new pedestrian/ cycle crossing on Tower Street, and a new off-road cycle route linking Wheldrake and Heslington. The capital grant funding for these schemes (£527k) has been added to the transport capital programme, and details of the Active Travel Fund programmes are included in Annex 2 to this report. As approved following the report to 18 January Decision Session, the council has agreed to an in-principle match-funding allocation of £600k for the programme, which will be set out in the 2021/22 Capital Programme.

Consultation

35. 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.

36. 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. A wider consultation regarding the council’s budget for 2021/22 was carried out in winter 2020, as part of the process of developing the council’s 2021/22 Budget, which will be approved at the 11 February 2021 Executive meeting.

Options

37. 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

38. 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

39. 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

40. 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.

41. 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.

42. 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

43. 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

44. As set out in the report, there are a number of schemes where funding needs to be slipped to 2021/22 as the work will not be completed in 2020/21. Adjustments have also been made to scheme budgets to reflect changes to cost estimates and scheme progress, and the overprogramming amount has been reduced as a consequence of these adjustments.

45. Funding slipped to 2021/22 will be included in the 2021/22 Budget, which will be presented to the 11 February Executive meeting for approval, following a process of public consultation in December and January.

46. Following the successful bid for the Active Travel Fund Tranche 2 grant, the council was awarded £658k grant funding, of which £527k is capital grant funding with the remaining £131k being revenue funding. It is proposed to add the capital funding to the Transport Capital Programme to align with the corporate capital programme budget. The required match funding for the Active Travel Fund programme will be included in the 2021/22 Transport Capital Programme.

47. If the proposals in this report are accepted, the Economy & Place Transport Capital budget in 2020/21 would be reduced to £15,182k, as set out in Annex 1 to this report.

Risk Management

48. 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 of Transport, Highways and Environment
	Report Approved	√	Date	29.01.21
	Neil Ferris Corporate Director – Economy & Place
	Report Approved	√	Date	29.01.21

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

9 February 2021

Annexes