Agenda for Overview and Scrutiny Committee on Wednesday, 4th April, 2018, 2.00 pm

Agenda and minutes

Venue: Ground Floor Committee Room - Loxley House, Station Street, Nottingham, NG2 3NG. View directions

Contact: Laura Wilson  Senior Governance Officer

Items
No. Item

63.

Changes to Membership

To note the resignation of Councillors Ginny Klein, Carole McCulloch and Marcia Watson from the Committee

Minutes:

RESOLVED to note the resignation of Councillors Ginny Klein, Carole McCulloch and Marcia Watson from the Committee.

64.

APOLOGIES FOR ABSENCE

Minutes:

Councillor Mohammed Saghir – personal reasons.

65.

DECLARATIONS OF INTERESTS

Minutes:

None.

66.

MINUTES pdf icon PDF 122 KB

To confirm the minutes of the meeting held on 14 March 2018

Minutes:

The minutes of the meeting held on 14 March 2018 were confirmed as a correct record and signed by the Chair.

67.

Cycling Strategy Update pdf icon PDF 148 KB

Report of Head of Legal and Governance

Additional documents:

Minutes:

John Bann, Cycling and Roadspace Transformation Manager, introduced the report and delivered a presentation providing an update on the Council’s Cycling Strategy, highlighting the following:

 

(a)  the local Cycling and Walking Investment Strategy is the largest in the country as it covers Nottingham City, Nottinghamshire, Derby City and Derbyshire. This is a wide and varied area of both urban and rural areas. The aim of the strategy is to double cycling in the area and increase walking;

(b)  the city’s Cycle Ambition Programme consists of a number of cycling corridors and schemes to make cycling in the city easier. At the end of March 2018, the programme reached financial closedown, and further funds will be required if this is to be expanded further. Some of these corridors, such as the Western Cycle Corridor, are complete, whilst a few elements remain under construction;

(c)  the period from 2010 to the present has seen an almost 50% increase in cycling in Nottingham City;

(d)  there is an ambition to have 15 cycle corridors into the city centre, along with radial routes, and these will be named N1 to N15 with clear signage;

(e)  the Western Cycle Corridor  was reviewed following concerns about congestion on Castle Boulevard, and some changes have been made to provide additional capacity for cars. Improvements have recently also been completed at Abbey Bridge and the Gregory Street junction where the route has been moved to the other side of the road with an improved crossing point;

(f)  cycling flows on the Western Cycle Corridor have increased by around 16% since completion. The flows are seasonal and currently the peaks are in October and November when students begin at the university;

(g)  the Eastern Cycle Corridor is substantially complete. At junctions to the corridor cyclists have the right of way over motor vehicles. Further changes will take place to provide a temporary route across the Island Site and to upgrade a crossing over Manvers Street;

(h)  the Council has put forward a proposal to Highways England for cycling improvements on the A453 near Clifton;

(i)  at the Nottingham Enterprise Zone, which is being developed at the Boots Campus, a programme of walking and cycling schemes is being developed. The most significant element of this will be a new bridge over the railway line to connect the Boots Campus and the Nottingham Science Park and tram line. The City Council is also working with the County Council to improve connections to Beeston and Beeston Rylands;

(j)  following a bid for European funding to deliver walking and cycling improvements along the River Leen, £500,000 has been secured. This funding is part of a wider project to improve the ‘blue and green’ infrastructure in Nottingham and Derby;

(k)  the Victoria Embankment has been improved with new lighting and provision of a child’s practice bicycle track;

(l)  City Council officers have visited Nottingham’s twin cities of Karlsruhe and Ghent to learn from their cycling infrastructure, as they both have cycling levels of over 25%. An exchange student from Germany will be joining the Council for 6 months and representatives from both cities will also be invited to the National Cycle City conference, to be held in Nottingham in 2019.

Keith Morgan, Principal Transport Planner, Cycling and Roadspace Transformation, updated the Committee on cycling provision at Aspley Lane as this was a specific request at the previous Committee meeting:

 

(m)Aspley Lane is not included as part of the strategic cycle network, although it is recognised as a well-used route by cyclists and an important local connection to shops, schools and other facilities;

(n)  There is no specific funding available to make changes to the infrastructure on Aspley Lane, but small scale schemes could be prioritised by Councillors and funded through Area Capital budgets.

 

The following points were raised during the discussion which followed:

 

(o)  congestion affected by the Western Cycle Corridor on Castle Boulevard should be relieved when the Southern Relief Route is open and work in the Broadmarsh area is complete as a lot of the traffic will be diverted;

(p)  cyclists in pedestrian areas, such as Bulwell Market, can be dangerous for pedestrians. In some cities, cyclists are banned in peak hours and are subject to a code of conduct but a balance has to be drawn as the Council should reduce congestion from motor traffic;

(q)  the Council is purchasing a limited number of electric bicycles which colleagues and Councillors will have the opportunity to use on a ‘try before you buy’ basis;

(r)  cycle safety training is provided in schools throughout the city, and there is also funding available for adult cycle training;

(s)  following the establishment of the city’s free bike hire scheme, there is the possibility that a national company will roll this out on a larger scale as has happened in other core cities;

(t)  monitoring of cycling behaviour will continue in order to investigate the reasons why people have decided to switch from car to bicycle travel;

(u)  cycling around the city centre is a particular challenge with high numbers of pedestrians, narrow streets and the tram line. Cycling infrastructure should be incorporated into roadspace improvements on Collin Street, Canal Street and Carrington Street, as well as the developments at Eastside and at the Guildhall;

(v)  the cycling team is consulted on all new planning applications, and the cycle corridors are included in the Local Plan.

 

RESOLVED to thank John and Keith for the information provided.

68.

Work Programme 2018/19 pdf icon PDF 293 KB

Report of Head of Legal and Governance

Minutes:

RESOLVED to amend the work programme to bring forward the bailiff review update, and note the work that is currently planned for the 2018/19 municipal year.