Agenda item - Speed Management

This report reviews the various approaches to speed management and recommends an assessment methodology against which all speeding issues can be measured and assessed, in response to increasing complaints about speeding traffic.

Advice of the Advisory Panel

That the Executive Member for City Strategy be advised to agree:

(i) To adopt the data-led method of assessing speeding issues outlined in paragraphs 15-33 of the report (proposal A), whilst acknowledging the need to assess and publish speed statistics for individual roads, in response to complaints forwarded by Council Members, and to support cycling and pedestrian movements by controlling speed.

(ii) To adopt the procedure for managing complaints from residents and Ward Committees outlined in paragraphs 34-43 (proposal B), with the first report to be presented to the next meeting of the Executive Members and Advisory Panel, and to ask that, where possible, details of the speeds recorded on individual roads be made accessible via the Council’s website.

(iii) That Parish Councils also be given the opportunity, should they wish, to fund or contribute to the funding of speed reduction solutions (implemented by the City of York Council) where the appropriate assessment criteria have been met.

(iv) To review the speed limits on all ‘A’ and ‘B’ roads by 2011, in accordance with the new DfT guidance (proposal C).

(v) To continue with the existing programme of targeted education to influence driver behaviour (proposal D).

(vi) To implement the most appropriate speed management engineering treatment, as detailed in Annex A to the report, where justified by the data (proposal E), recognising that VAS should not be restricted only to those locations where there is a casualty record.

(vii) To work with North Yorkshire Police and support data-led targeted speed enforcement (proposal F), encouraging the Police to adopt a policy which includes appropriate prosecution of those who break the speed limit.

Decision of the Executive Member for City Strategy

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

REASONS:

(i) To enable resources to be deployed most efficiently and with maximum benefit to the community, and to ensure parity across the City by applying a consistent and robust approach to all speeding issues.

(ii) To ensure that issues are dealt with in the most effective manner and to improve transparency.

(iii) To enable Parish Councils, as well as Ward Committees, to contribute to local improvements where appropriate.

(iv) To ensure that the work is completed by 2011 in accordance with DfT guidelines.

(v) To ensure that the Council is able to fulfil the objectives of the Speed Management Plan.

(vi) In order to manage speeds across the City effectively, particularly in those areas where speeding poses a risk to safety.

(vii) To ensure that speed enforcement is targeted where appropriate.

Members considered a report brought forward in response to increasing complaints about speeding traffic and the high demand for the installation of Vehicle Activated Signs (VAS) to address speeding issues. The report reviewed the various potential approaches to speed management and provided an assessment methodology against which all speeding issues could be measured.

The Department for Transport (DfT) had recently issued new guidance on the setting of local speed limits and local authorities, requesting local authorities to review the speed limits on all ‘A’ and ‘B’ roads and implement any necessary changes by 2011.

The report outlined a data-led method of assessment to be applied to the development of speed management schemes, requests from Ward Committees and complaints from residents. This was based upon the injury accident record and existing speed data for the relevant stretch of road. Other criteria to be taken into consideration if further prioritisation was needed were; traffic flow, evidence of non-injury crashes and pedestrian generators (schools, local shops etc.). A more structured management procedure for dealing with residents’ complaints was also proposed; this involved grouping complaints together and producing a twice-yearly report to Members, in May and November. Ward Committee requests would be assessed as and when received, with Officers to report proposals to the ward committee and encourage them to use their own funds to implement these, if agreed. Suggestions for approaches to be taken to speed management generally, under the broad headings of Education, Engineering and Enforcement, were set out in paragraphs 46 to 97 of the report. A full list of proposals arising from the report (proposals A to F) was set out in paragraph 99.