A report providing the Sub-Committee with an update and response to a petition requesting the Council to improve road safety at Hamilton Road junction with Crescent Road that was received at the June 2023 meeting of the Sub-Committee.

Further to Minute 2(a) of the meeting held on 14 June 2023, the Sub-Committee received a report providing an update and response to the petition that had requested the Council improve road safety at Hamilton Road junction with Crescent Road.  A residents’ report of near misses and collisions was attached to the report at Appendix 1 and residents’ comments and ideas for crossroad improvement was attached at Appendix 2.  The report followed officer investigation of the requested alterations in the petition and the presentation that had accompanied it and initial officer recommendations that had been made to the Lead Councillor for Climate strategy and Transport and Ward Councillors.

The report detailed comments from officers in response to the ideas that had been put forward in both the petition and the slideshow presentation.

The report stated that at the June 2023 meeting decisions had been made for other reports that would impact on the junction, namely a full-time loading ban to be introduced around the junction and for the experimental school street restriction on Crescent Road to become permanent.  Officers had identified numerous illuminated speed hump warning signs in the area, with a number of these being located around the junction.  Signing regulation no longer required these signs within a 20mph zone, so officers were working to get these disconnected and removed.  With many of the signs being on standalone poles, the signing and poles could be removed entirely, which would remove signing and street furniture ‘clutter’ around the junction and had the potential to increase driver focus on the give way signs and surrounding area.  It might also remove some minor visibility obstructions at the junction.  The removal of the signs was being funded as part of a Highway maintenance budget saving initiative and carbon reduction initiative. 

The report stated that at this time it was considered that the forthcoming changes noted above would bring benefits to the junction both in terms of visibility and focusing drivers on the important messages and no further alterations were recommended.  The proposed alterations that had been put forward in the petition and presentation represented significant changes that might have varying local impacts and would create new potential issues. 

It was accepted that some options might help lower the resource burden on the Crescent Road School Street, have other sustainable transport and local enhancement benefits, but road closures, one-way plugs and similar features needed to be considered in a wider context; the impact on accessibility for local and emergency service vehicles, traffic displacement and local popularity.  There was an entry in the Requests for Traffic Management Measure report that had reflected the 2017 concepts for partially closing Crescent Road, investigation and development of this, or an amended scheme, proposal would require funding and resourcing that was not currently available.

The Sub-Committee discussed the report and it was suggested that the junction be monitored and the situation reviewed, particularly in respect of a bus lane being installed in the area, with a view to possibly making changes in the future.

Resolved –

(1)        That the report be noted;

(2)        That the officer recommendation set out in Section 3.9 of the report, namely that no further alterations to the junction were currently recommended and that potential options to address trough-traffic could be investigated when funding and resourcing allowed, be agreed;

(3)        That the lead petitioner be informed of the decisions of the Sub-Committee, following publication of the agreed minutes of the meeting;

(4)        That no public inquiry be held into the proposals.