Agenda item - Street Furniture Removal

This report seeks approval for an annual budget from the Capital Programme to reduce the amount of street furniture on the highway network and for new highway schemes to go through a street furniture audit during the design stage.

RESOLVED: (i)That the Executive Member approves Option C, as set out in the Officers report, and that the Network Management Traffic Team be charged with the task of being the lead team implementing the proposals.

(ii)That a basic set of guidelines be compiled showing more sensitive methods of signing for distribution to other teams / organisations carrying out work on the highway.

(iii) That an annual review report be produced outlining the progress made and areas where further improvements may be feasible.

REASON: To reduce the:

- amount of street clutter along the city’s highway network;

- maintenance burden created by traffic signs and other street furniture;

- energy consumption and associated cost of illuminated signs;

and to improve:

- the ability of those with visual impairment difficulties to negotiate their way along the footway

- the visual aspect of the street scene;

Consideration was given to a report which sought approval for an annual budget from the Capital Programme to reduce the amount of street furniture on the highway network and for new highway schemes to go through a street furniture audit during the design stage.

Officers reported that, based on a pilot scheme, it was proposed that the current level of signing and associated street furniture, such as poles, was effectively “capped” at the existing level on street. To achieve this outcome they recommended:

· Establishing a budget to fund the removal of redundant street furniture, combine two or more items to one location and in key sensitive areas replace with a higher quality less intrusive piece of equipment.

Based on the information it was suggested that a budget of £10,000 be set aside for improvements to be made the city’s street furniture.

· Produce a basic set of guidelines showing more sensitive methods of signing for distribution to other teams / organisations carrying out work on the highway. In addition, establish a street furniture audit process for new highway schemes during the design process.

· As the cost of removing a sign was often less than the cost of maintaining a sign there were clear benefits to reducing the burden on the maintenance budget. Hence the need to establish a rapid response to queries on the continued need for signs that had suffered damage or some other mishap. Further work on this area to establish a framework for decision making for officers was needed.

Ron Cooke, made representations at the meeting as Chair of the Local Strategic Partnership. He congratulated officers on the production of an excellent report and expressed his support for the recommendations to reduce the amount of street clutter and improve the street scene in the city.

Officers confirmed that their aim was to reduce any unnecessary street clutter and provide higher quality signs in Conservation Areas but that this would not involve the wholesale removal of signs around the city.

The following available options were considered:

A. To note the report and take no further action at this time. This was not the recommended option because it did not tackle the issue of street clutter.

To gather additional information for consideration before deciding whether to proceed with the proposals put forward or a was not the recommended option because the proposals put forward were considered to be merely a starting point that could be amended as and when desired or changing circumstances arise.
To implement the proposals outlined above. This was the recommended option.

RESOLVED: (i)That the Executive Member approves Option C, as set out above and in the Officers report, and that the Network Management Traffic Team be charged with the task of being the lead team implementing the proposals.

(ii)That a basic set of guidelines be compiled showing more sensitive methods of signing for distribution to other teams / organisations carrying out work on the highway. ^1.

(iii) That an annual review report be produced outlining the progress made and areas where further improvements may be feasible. ^2.