Agenda item

This report advises the Executive Member of the proposed response to the receipt of two petitions requesting 20mph speed limits at Sovereign Park and Dodsworth Avenue.

RESOLVED: The Executive Member for City Strategy agrees to:

i) Note the relative priority of the petitions set out in the table (annex A of the report) in relation to other petitions and requests received.

ii) No further action being taken at the current time in relation to Sovereign Park but that it is retained on the list for possible implementation when higher priorities have been addressed and resources become available.

iii) Note that Dodsworth Avenue is currently being considered through the speed review process, requests officers to provide an update on progress at a future Executive Member Decision Session and to update residents on the progress being made by including a briefing note in the next Heworth Ward Committee newsletter.

REASON:                  To progress requests and petitions against the agreed criteria and in priority order and to enable those requests that do not comply with key elements of the criteria to be considered through other processes.

Consideration was given to a report, which advised the Executive Member of the proposed response to the receipt of two petitions requesting 20mph speed limits at Sovereign Park and Dodsworth Avenue. Both petitions had been considered under the criteria set out and agreed at the December 2009 Decision Session and the report included an updated prioritisation table which included the data for both these petitions.

Representations in support of the 20mph speed limit at Sovereign Park were received from a representative of the Sovereign Park Residents Association. He confirmed that a petition supporting the reduction in speed limit had been signed by 223 residents, which represented 87.1% of the households in the area. He referred to the prioritisation table and to the factors affecting prioritisation many of which he felt the area met. He stated that the estate had a lot of young families with children and that there had already been two vehicle collisions involving a child on the estate roads as vehicles often drove too fast for the conditions. He pointed out that the signage required would be minimal and requested the Executive Member to support local residents and prioritise a 20mph speed limit at Sovereign Park.

Councillor Simpson Laing referred to the large amount of local support for the Sovereign Park petition. She stated that the estate design was flawed with blind bends, no footpaths and a central play area with no barriers to prevent children wandering onto the roads, which aggravated the dangers of speeding traffic.

Councillor Horton went through the prioritisation criteria explaining how the request for a 20mph speed limit at Sovereign Park met all the criteria. He confirmed that residents had witnessed two accidents on the estate but as the estate roads had only recently been adopted these accidents had not been recorded which affected prioritisation of the scheme. He also referred to errors in the report and to unnecessary delays relating to the LTP3 consultation and requested the Executive Member to progress this scheme without delay.

Officers confirmed that they would have to examine Police records to ascertain whether details of accidents were collected in respect of unadopted roads. She stated that it had not been suggested that Sovereign Park did not meet the criteria but that, together with other requests across the city, it had not been allocated a higher priority than some other schemes.

The Executive Member pointed out that the priority list had been agreed in December without any disagreement. He stated that Sovereign Park had traffic speeds of 14mph which was the lowest of any street or group of streets suggested for a limit change and that it was unlikely that the provision of signs would result in further speed reductions. He referred to the residents survey as part of LTP3 to be undertaken later in the year, which meant that no additional 20mph speed limits would be implemented prior to receipt of these results. He confirmed that the request from Sovereign Park residents had been added to the priority list and that it would be progressed as resources became available.

The following options were considered:

Option one – Agree the prioritisation for both petitions and await the outcome of the LTP3 consultation before undertaking any further implementation in relation to Sovereign Park and await the outcome of the Speed Review Process in relation to Dodsworth Avenue.

Option two – Do not agree the current prioritisation but still await the outcome of the LTP3 consultation process.

RESOLVED:           That the Executive Member for City Strategy agrees to:

i) Note the relative priority of the petitions set out in the table (annex A) in relation to other petitions and requests received.

ii) No further action being taken at the current time in relation to Sovereign Park but that it is retained on the list for possible implementation when higher priorities have been addressed and resources become available. ^1.

iii) Note that Dodsworth Avenue is currently being considered through the speed review process, requests officers to provide an update on progress at a future Executive Member Decision Session meeting and to update residents on the progress being made by including a briefing note in the next Heworth Ward Committee newsletter. ^2.

REASON:                  To progress requests and petitions against the agreed criteria and in priority order and to enable those requests that do not comply with key elements of the criteria to be considered through other processes.

­ Note: This decision was amended at the Executive (Calling In) meeting held on 15 June 2010 - see under mentioned link to the minutes of that meeting for further details.

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