Issue - items at meetings - Second Local Transport Plan (LTP) Progress Report (22080

Report of the Director of Environment (Copy Attached)

(1)      That the Cabinet Member for Environment endorses the positive progress that the council has made in delivering sustainable transport and maintenance through the capital funding provided by the Local Transport Plan during 2006/07 and 2007/08.

(2)      That the Cabinet Member for Environment notes the responses made on the Progress Report by the Environment & Community Safety Overview & Scrutiny Committee on 10 November 2008.

(3)      That the Cabinet Member for Environment authorises the Director of Environment to finalise the completion of the Progress Report document and submit it to the Government Office of the South East before the end of December 2008.

82.1       The Cabinet Member considered a report of the Director of Environment concerning the council’s progress on the objectives and targets for transport within the Local Transport Plan (for copy see minute book).

82.2       The Cabinet Member reported that the council is making good progress against the majority of the targets at present, but recognised that it clearly needed to continue working hard to reduce the number of fatal and serious casualties that were occurring.

82.3       In response to questions from the Opposition Spokesperson, the Assistant Director for Sustainable Transport made the following points:

§       The business case for the Rapid Transport System had been revised recently, but is was possible that any failed development plans could have an impact; officers would therefore be looking again at this.

§       While roadworks in the city were partly responsible for the decline in bus patronage, officers had been working in partnership with Southern Water to ensure minimal disruption. It was likely that Overview & Scrutiny would be looking at issues around public transport, but if this did not materialise, officers would report back to the Cabinet Member Meeting on the implications of the Public Transport Act.

§       Officers would be considering new locations for the Safer Routes to School scheme.

§       Officers are already incorporated revised health and safety and minimum requirements when undertaking maintenance on the seafront railings as standards have moved on since they were installed in the Victorian era.

§       To combat above threshold NO₂ emissions at locations in the city a comprehensive overarching strategy was needed rather than a location-specific approach. The Air Quality Action Plan could be found in an appendix to the progress report.

§       There was no mention of progress on the Valley Gardens scheme in the report as we are only documenting activity on the first half of the current LTP. The valley Garden scheme is programmed to commence from 2009/10 in the second half of the LTP.

82.4       In response to comments from Councillor Davey the Assistant Director for Sustainable Transport agreed that while the council was making good progress on most targets, the issue of road safety needed further attention and officers had been involved in discussions with the Government Office for the South East (GOSE) about this. He added that speed was only one of the factors in tackling road safety, but that officers would be engaging in a statutory review of speeds on all A and B roads, to be completed by 2010; after this they would be able to consider other possibilities.

82.5       RESOLVED - That having considered the information and the reasons set out in the report, the Cabinet Member accepted the following recommendations:

(1)   That the positive progress that the council has made in delivering sustainable transport and maintenance through the capital funding provided by the Local Transport Plan during 2006/07 and 2007/08 be endorsed.

(2)   That the responses made on the Progress Report by the Environment & Community Safety Overview & Scrutiny Committee on 10 November 2008 be noted.

(3)   That the Director of Environment be authorised to finalise the completion of the Progress Report document and submit it to the Government Office of the South East before the end of December 2008.