Agenda item

This report advises Members of locations where concerns about traffic speeds have been raised, and provides an update on progress towards assessing these against the agreed prioritisation framework.

Proposal A - provides a continuation of the Speed Management Review System put in place in October 2006, and ensures that the greatest rate of return from funding steams is achieved.

Proposal B - ensures that, although not speed related the issues around junctions that the process has highlighted are progressed through the appropriate channels

Proposal C - provides partnership working to work towards a speeding strategy that should include a proactive approach as well as the reactive approach that already exists through the Speed Management Review process. This should ensure ownership of the issues, across the board at all levels.  It also gives a co-ordinated way forward for implementing any further education, publicity or enforcement, which should support the Speed Management Review Process.

Advice of the Advisory Panel

That the Executive Member for City Strategy be advised to:

(i) Note the outcome of the junction/speeding issue assessments carried out by Officers, and give in principle support to an appropriate funding allocation being made within the 2008/09 and 2009/10 Transport Capital Programme for speed management proposals.

(ii)        Give support to the proposal to create a Speed Strategy to ensure speed issues are considered in a proactive as well as reactive and structured way.

(iii) Note the feasibility study being undertaken by the 95 Alive partnership and understand that should this recommend the implementation of speed cameras within York and North Yorkshire funding will have to be found for implementation and continuing running costs

Decision of the Executive Member for City Strategy

RESOLVED:That the advice of the Advisory Panel be accepted and endorsed.

REASON:         By implementing a robust programme of speed management measures to reduce excessive speeding, which targets the minority of drivers whose driving behaviour poses the greatest risk to others, overall safety can be improved and an increase in active transport use achieved.

This report advised Members of the locations where concerns about traffic speeds had been raised, and provided an update on progress towards assessing these against the agreed prioritisation framework.

Based on this assessment process, a number of priority sites had been identified and discussed, leading to the development of proposals for possible future speed management actions.

The report also gave an over view of the proposed Speed Strategy, which was being created in collaboration with the Safer York Partners together with a Community Speed Matrix Programme.

Officers updated that two emails had been received since the report had been published, one from a resident of Moorgate stating that the width of the road encouraged drivers to go over the 30mph speed limit and he requested that the road should be made a 20mph zone. The second was from a resident of Millfield Lane who referred this long straight road to Poppleton, which was used by some drivers travelling at speeds in excess of 70mph. He suggested that light up warning signs would be a possible solution to the problem. 

Members expressed their support for the work undertaken and for the partnership working with Safer York Partnership, the North Yorkshire Police and the North Yorkshire Fire and Rescue to tackle these issues.

Members considered the following proposals:

Proposal A - provides a continuation of the Speed Management Review System put in place in October 2006, and ensures that the greatest rate of return from funding steams is achieved.

Proposal B - ensures that, although not speed related the issues around junctions that the process has highlighted are progressed through the appropriate channels

Proposal C - provides partnership working to work towards a speeding strategy that should include a proactive approach as well as the reactive approach that already exists through the Speed Management Review process. This should ensure ownership of the issues, across the board at all levels.  It also gives a co-ordinated way forward for implementing any further education, publicity or enforcement, which should support the Speed Management Review Process.

Advice of the Advisory Panel

That the Executive Member for City Strategy be advised to:

(i) Note the outcome of the junction/speeding issue assessments carried out by Officers, and give in principle support to an appropriate funding allocation being made within the 2008/09 and 2009/10 Transport Capital Programme for speed management proposals. ^1.

(ii)        Give support to the proposal to create a Speed Strategy to ensure speed issues are considered in a proactive as well as reactive and structured way; ^2.

(iii) Note the feasibility study being undertaken by the 95 Alive partnership and understand that should this recommend the implementation of speed cameras within York and North Yorkshire funding will have to be found for implementation and continuing running costs. ^3.

Decision of the Executive Member for City Strategy

RESOLVED:That the advice of the Advisory Panel be accepted and endorsed.

REASON:         By implementing a robust programme of speed management measures to reduce excessive speeding, which targets the minority of drivers whose driving behaviour poses the greatest risk to others, overall safety can be improved and an increase in active transport use achieved.