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  • Agenda item
  • Agenda item

    Pop Up Cycle Lanes - Verbal Update

    Minutes:

    Mr M Payne, Cabinet Member for Highways and Transport; Mr S Jones, Director of Highways, Transportation and Waste and Mrs N Floodgate, Schemes Planning and Delivery Manager were in attendance for this item.

     

    1.         Mr Payne provided a verbal update. He outlined the timeline of KCC’s active travel bid and receipt of £1.6m in funding from the Department for Transport for the scheme’s first tranche. He emphasised that the Department for Transport had mandated a 4 week deadline for projects to begin, from the receipt of funding, and an 8 week deadline for project completion, from initiation. It was specified that 24 trial schemes had been implemented, 5 schemes had concluded. 

     

    2.         Mr Payne addressed community relations, he cited the use of emergency Traffic Regulation Orders, which had been required to meet the scheme deadlines, as the primary factor for the lack of public consultation and engagement. He noted that a longer deadline for the scheme’s second tranche was desired, to permit wider community and business consultation. Members agreed that greater community engagement would have been constructive, though noted the constrain the strict deadlines had placed on public consultation.

     

    3.         When asked if figures indicated in local media, that a third of projects had ended were accurate, Mrs Floodgate confirmed that the actual figure had been far lower and cited Mr Payne’s previously mentioned figure that 5 of the 24 schemes had ended. She further noted that Public Rights of Way improvements had also been made with the funding.

     

    4.         A Member asked how the performance of schemes had been monitored. Mrs Floodgate confirmed that monitoring had depended on the type and maturity of projects, with levels of walking, cycling and traffic as well as the availability of Vivacity cameras significant factors. Regarding Vivacity cameras she confirmed that the Department for Transport had funded the units and that they formed part of a nation-wide trial of live labs.

     

    5.         Mrs Floodgate confirmed that members of the public had been able to provide their feedback via a dedicated active travel mailbox. A Member requested that they be copied into correspondence between the active travel mailbox and constituents or local businesses, when related to project notice, changes, or other significant updates.

     

    6.         Mr Jones stated that modifications to projects had been made following resident feedback and that community benefit was the core factor in judging the success of individual projects funded by the scheme.

     

    7.         Members suggested that scrutiny of the deployment of Vivacity live lab cameras be considered at a future meeting. Mr Jones agreed that Vivacity and himself could provide the requested information at a future meeting. He further confirmed that KCC did not conduct any public enforcement based on information gathered from the cameras and that information had been used purely for data analysis.

     

    RESOLVED that the Scrutiny Committee note the update and the following action be taken:

    a)         Information related to the use and specification of Vivacity live labs cameras be circulated to the committee.

     

    POST MEETING NOTE: A briefing on Vivacity cameras along with a broader overview of the Live Labs project has been suggested for Environment and Transport Cabinet Committee in January 2021.