Agenda and minutes

To elect a Chair of the Scrutiny Committee if no appointment was made at the Scrutiny Management Committee meeting on 18 June 2007.

It was noted that Councillor Merrett had been appointed Chair by Scrutiny Management Committee at their meeting on 18 June 2007.

At this point Members are asked to declare any personal or prejudicial interests they may have in the business on this agenda.

Members were invited to declare at this point in the meeting any personal or prejudicial interests they might have in the business on the agenda.

Councillor Merrett declared a personal non-prejudicial interest in agenda item 5 (Traffic Congestion Ad-hoc Scrutiny Committee) as an honorary member of the Cyclists’ Touring Club and a member of Cycling England.

To approve and sign the minutes of the last meeting of the Committee held on 4 April 2007.

RESOLVED:             That the minutes of the meeting of 4 April 2007 be approved and signed by the Chair as a correct record.

At this point in the meeting members of the public who have registered their wish to speak regarding an item on the agenda or an issue within the committee’s remit can do so. Anyone who wishes to register or requires further information is requested to contact the Democracy Officer on the contact details listed at the foot of this agenda. The deadline for registering is Monday 18 June 2007 at 5 pm.

It was reported that there had been no registrations to speak at the meeting under the Council’s Public Participation Scheme.

This report presents Members with an update on the work completed to date on the Traffic Congestion Scrutiny Review.

Members received a report which presented them with an update on the work completed to date on the Traffic Congestion Scrutiny Review.

Members received two presentations, one on traffic congestion from the Assistant Director (City Development & Transport) and one on air quality from the Environmental Protection Manager, which included:

·  Where the problems were worst in York and how they were currently managed;

·  What the position would be as a result of the second Local Transport Plan (LTP2);

·  A 15 year view.

A handout detailing the traffic congestion presentation was circulated at the meeting and it was confirmed that a handout on the air quality presentation would also be circulated to Members.

Members suggested that it would be useful to look in more detail at the impact of bus priority measures in the ‘do something’ congestion models.  They also requested that information be circulated to them regarding the age of vehicles in York and queried whether statistics could be accessed relating to respiratory problems in York caused by poor air quality.

The following information had also been prepared but was deferred to the next meeting for consideration:

·  Evidence of the Council’s soft measures presently in place to encourage cultural change;

·  A clear prioritised programme of works for carrying out the mapping work scheduled as a result of LTP2, plus a costing for carrying out the additional mapping work identified in the interim report and approved by Scrutiny Management Committee.

The Assistant Director (City Development & Transport) informed Members that a report would also be available at the next meeting on the use of alternative fuels for private vehicles and public transport.  Members requested that representatives from First, Veolia and Arriva be invited to the meeting to discuss journey times and reliability of public transport and that officers prepare a background report on these issues.  It was also suggested that a workplan be drafted in consultation with officers and brought to the next meeting for consideration.

Members agreed to reschedule the meetings for the forthcoming months to 17 July, 4 September and 16 October.  They also suggested that Matthew Page, from the Leeds Institute of Transport Studies, and David Medeows, Environment Consultant for Halcrow, could be approached to see if they wished to attend meetings or be co-opted onto the Committee.

RESOLVED:(i) That the following items be considered at the next meeting:

a)                 The information relating to soft measures for encouraging cultural change and mapping work deferred from this meeting;

b)                 The report on alternative vehicle fuels;

c)                  The discussion with bus operators on journey times and reliability of public transport;

d)                 The draft workplan.

(ii)That the revised dates for the meetings (17 July, 4 September and 16 October) be agreed;

                        (iii) That the suggested invitees/co-optees be approached to see if they wish to be involved with the scrutiny topic.

REASON:                  To progress the scrutiny of traffic congestion in York.