Agenda item

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. The deadline for registering is 5:00 pm on Friday 20 April 2012.

It was reported that there had been five registrations to speak at the meeting under the Council’s Public Participation Scheme and that one Member of Council had also requested to speak.

Paul Hepworth pointed out that one of the Council’s Cycling City objectives had been to create a continuous network of cycle routes and improve safety at junctions. The Water End scheme had achieved that, however some members had suggested that the previous arrangements were safer for cyclists but the latest cycling data had not been included in the report to Cabinet. Reference was made to last year’s Kings Cross cyclist fatality and ongoing Police enquires which could create a legal precedent and members were urged to reconsider the risks if cyclist safety was degraded at the junction.

Peter Fay addressed the meeting as both a cyclist and motorist who regularly used the Water End junction. He confirmed that he accepted the longer waiting times at the junction following the addition of the cycle lane which provided additional safety for cyclists. His main concern now related to any reinstatement which could create an accident trap for cyclists and which ignored safety advice received from the Police and would hamper progress of emergency vehicles. He urged members to retain the existing layout.

Peter Walker spoke as a Westminster Road resident of six years and a Chartered Surveyor. He referred to the changes made at the junction with no mitigation measures being put in place for the adjacent residential roads or prior consultation undertaken. Existing legislation could have been used to provide off road facilities for cyclists rather than the work undertaken which had destroyed the amenities of local residents. Concern was raised at the speed of vehicles which used the residential roads and a request made for point closure on Westminster Road, reinstatement of the two lanes and provision of an off road cycle/pedestrian lane following the cut back of adjacent hedges.

Dr Andrew Pringle referred to the evidence which underpinned the present scheme, particularly the recruitment of additional cyclists and evaluation of the percentage of non cyclists engaged. Generally there appeared to have been a small take up by non cyclists. Reference was also made to the significant failings in the schemes implementation which included increased pollution, congestion and additional use of minor roads affecting resident’s quality of life.

Ron Healey expressed his support for the reference back of this decision for further consideration particularly as there had been little of consultation. Questionnaires he felt should have been sent out to a wider area, together with the offer of a ‘do nothing’ option with note also being taken of the emergency services responses.

Councillor Scott outlined the history of the scheme and referred to the reasons put forward for the calling in, which he felt presented no grounds on which to amend the decisions already made. Reference was again made to the failure to take account of the safety implications with no record of injuries being recorded at the junction in the 3 years prior to the reconstruction.  Other options for cyclists had previously been considered and these should be re-examined as the decision to reinstate the left turn lane was correct.