Community Representatives to contact Noel McMenamin, Governance Officer, with items by 15 September 2016.
Note: The following issues will be discussed under this item:
- Radford Bridge Road allotments update
- Arleston Drive parking/camera location;
- Cycle path junction at Middleton Boulevard: safety issues.
Minutes:
66A ITEMS OF GOOD NEWS
A number of issues were raised from the community. Some positive news from the area over recent months was offered to the Committee:
(a) the first Wollaton arts festival was held in July. The event was a great success, with lots of residents, schools and organisations taking part, and it is hoped that it will improve year on year;
(b) medals were presented recently to 350 children and young people who completed the Summer Reading Challenge, of reading more than 6 books. A special prize was awarded to a young man who read 70 books. The event would not have been possible without the help of local volunteers;
(c) this summer saw a Good Garden Award event, and a popular and enjoyable tea party;
(d) a Green Flag was awarded to Wollaton park. The award of the Green Flag was dependent on the park having a Friends Group, so it would not have been possible without them.
RESOLVED to note the items of good news.
66B TRAINING OF COMMUNITY REPRESENTATIVES
Pauline Dorey, Neighbourhood Development Officer, provided details on a training event for Community Representatives. A refresh of training combined with a celebration event will be held on 15 October 2016, and all Community Representatives will be invited. The event will be a celebration of the role of Community representatives, and an opportunity to share best practice. It will include a workshop training element.
RESOLVED to note the training date.
66C RADFORD BRIDGE ROAD ALLOTMENTS UPDATE
Jenny Cole, Planning Officer, updated the Committee on the Radford Bridge allotments, highlighting the following points:
(a) work started on the site in March 2016, which included road and land lay out of allotments. Stop notices were served in April / May to prevent work continuing on site, surrounding non-compliance of conditions. Developers started the appeal process in June, with statements due towards the end of September. In July developers submitted details to discharge some of the conditions, relating to layout of the allotments, drainage, and location of the road;
(b) discussions are ongoing regarding the appropriateness of the documentation that has been submitted, and ecology conditions have almost been agreed. The main areas of concern are the allotment provision and infrastructure, and the management plan.
The Committee offered questions and comments on the development, and further information was provided in response:
(c) allotment renters have been strung along, and been told a move is imminent for a number of months. In the meantime, a year’s worth of gardening has been lost. There is a worry that unless the issues are resolved in early 2017, another year will be lost. There is a real onus to resolve this properly in the next 6 months;
(d) the residential part of the development will happen as part of phase 3, from around the end of 2017 to the beginning of 2018. Timetables are difficult to gauge, as details have not been submitted yet;
(e) if the appeal against the stop notice is successful then the enforcement notice will fall away. However, the developers are starting to correct things and submit documentation, and are in ongoing discussion.
RESOLVED to thank Jenny Cole for the update, and note its contents.
66D ARLESTON DRIVE PARKING / CAMERA LOCATION
Councillor Steve Battlemuch, Chair of the Committee, provided an update:
(a) as in every school, there are ongoing issues and tensions at Fernwood Primary and Nursery School between parents who drive their children to school, parents who walk their children to school, and people who live close to schools. These tensions sometimes bubble over. The issues at Arleston Drive were ongoing long before the extension to the school was proposed. As a positive approach there's been engagement between Councillors, school staff, parents, and residents. A week of action in April was very successful. Signs designed by children have gone up outside the school, and since the last Area Committee there was a meeting with parents, the Traffic Team and local Councillors. What became clear from the consultation was that there were lots of different ideas, but only a few practical and affordable ones:
· extension of double and single yellows on key roads around Arleston;
· a new walk in entrance;
· encourage more families to walk to school;
· if they are going to drive, encourage parents to park further away and walk to school;
· enlist parent volunteers for a “park and stride” scheme, where accredited volunteers walk children to school from a nearby car park;
· more parking enforcement cameras. Whilst these are used only for enforcement on zig zag lines, even having a visible camera nearby would be a deterrent on inconsiderate (but not illegal) parking as well.
(b) a bid has been submitted for a camera when a council wide scheme is expanded. Funding has been agreed for the extension of yellow lines. Councillor Battlemuch will report back on the other ideas.
The Committee asked some questions about the issues and proposals, and Councillor Battlemuch provided further information:
(c) whilst there are traffic calming measures and chicanes already present around Fernwood, this issue relates to illegal, dangerous or inconsiderate parking, rather than speeding;
(d) there are some minor issues around Fernwood Academy as well, as even though the pupils are aged 11-16, quite a few parents still drive their children to school. However, they have not been on the same scale as the problems surrounding Fernwood Primary School.
RESOLVED to thank Councillor Steve Battlemuch for the update, and note its contents.
66E CYCLE PATH JUNCTION AT MIDDLETON BOULEVARD: SAFETY ISSUES
John Bann, Cycling and Road Space Transformation Manager, presented an update to the Committee:
(a) the aim of the main scheme was to improve the junction and keep traffic moving. At the same time, as a long standing route, money was spent on resurfacing paths and giving more priority to pedestrians and cyclists;
(b) the City Council has ambitions to have a world class cycling network. This has been a significant route linking residential areas, hospitals, universities, industrial estates etc. Up to now cyclists had to give way at side roads. The new layout is quite unusual, as cyclists have right of way. Work has been completed in consultation with the Road Safety Team – there are 3 stages to the safety audit. The third stage is following installation of works to consider how the new design is working;
(c) temporary cameras have been added to some junctions on Middleton Boulevard to monitor how the new designs are working. The visibility on the side roads on Middleton Boulevard is not as good as some other locations. Whilst the cycle path is not wide enough to warrant a direction-segregation white line, following feedback, one will be painted on;
(d) the average speed of cyclists using the path is 10-12 miles per hour, with a maximum speed recorded of 16 miles per hour. Users tend to slow at the side roads as the path is not as straight. A traffic survey showed 400 vehicles using the side roads, with only around 7% interacting with a cyclist. Local residents have highlighted many issues which will be addressed.
The Committee asked some questions about the issues and proposals, and John provided further information:
(e) residents near Wollaton Park reported that they are concerned, as the give way junction stops vehicle users between 2 hedges, with very poor visibility. The main entrance to Wollaton Park is now not wide enough for 2 vehicles to safely pass each other, and if a car stops on the way into the turning, the vehicle is still partly in the road. John took a note of these issues and will look into the location of the give way line and the width of the access road;
(f) work is ongoing with the Student Unions to communicate the new Road Safety protocol;
(g) “keep clear” markings cannot be added at the Harrow Road junction, as such markings cannot be placed along zig-zag lines which are present near a pedestrian crossing;
(h) residents who live on Radford Bridge Road, Charlbury Road and related streets have been concerned for some time about access from Radford Bridge Road onto Crown Island. This has got worse since the ring road works were completed as there is an extra lane now that cars have to get across in order to exit Crown Island towards the City Centre, towards QMC or towards Wollaton. Residents were promised that road sensors would be placed on Radford Bridge Road in order to link to the traffic lights and allow more time to exit the junction. The Committee requested that an update be provided to a future meeting.
RESOLVED to thank John Bann for the update, and note its contents.