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Burngreave Area Panel Minutes 3rd July 2003

BURNGREAVE AREA PANEL


Meeting held 3rd July, 2003, at the Firs Hill Community Primary School

PRESENT:		Councillors Jackie Field, Ibrar Hussain, Steve Jones and Alan Law.

		Also in attendance:-
		Alex Kyle	)	Planning, Transport and Highways
		Brent Collier	)	Service

		Howard Saffer	-	Sheffield Design and Print

		Stuart Bolton	-	Area Co-ordinator

		Patrick Burns	-	Legal and Administrative Services

		and 17 Members of the Public

…………….

1.	APPOINTMENT OF CHAIR
	Councillor Steve Jones was appointed Chair of the meeting.

2.	APOLOGIES FOR ABSENCE FROM PANEL MEMBERS
	No apologies for absence were received.

3.	PUBLIC QUESTIONS AND PETITIONS
	There were no public questions or petitions.

4.	DECLARATIONS OF INTEREST
	Councillors Jackie Field, Ibrar Hussain and Alan Law declared an interest in the following item of business as they were members of the North and West Planning and Highways Area Board that would be making a decision on the Barnsley Road/ Scott Road/Firs Hill Avenue Area Road Safety Scheme.

5.	PROPOSED ROAD SAFETY IMPROVEMENTS FOR THE BARNSLEY ROAD/SCOTT ROAD/FIRS HILL AVENUE AREA
	Alex Kyle and Brent Collier, Planning, Transport and Highways Service and Howard Saffer, Sheffield Design and Print, gave a presentation on a proposed road safety improvement scheme for the Barnsley Road, Firs Hill Avenue and Scott Road area.
	H. Saffer outlined (i) the objectives of the highway scheme, (ii) the design options for the scheme, namely (a) the provision of a pelican crossing on Barnsley Road, at a slightly different location from the existing crossing facility (which was the preferred option of Officers) and (b) the provision of traffic signals at the junction of Firs Hill Avenue, Barnsley Road and Scott Road which would also include all round pedestrian crossing facilities, (iii) the benefits of each option in terms of convenience, reducing delays to and enhancing the safety of pedestrians, providing other facilities and reducing delays to traffic.
	B. Collier gave a demonstration of a simulation model of traffic flows, both in the area in question and in a slightly wider area, indicating the probable consequences of each option for the traffic movements in the area.
	Mr. Saffer added in summary that the separate pedestrian crossing was the scheme preferred by Officers as it would minimise delays to pedestrians and traffic, it would also allow other improvements to be made including the widening of footways and it would be the safest arrangement for pedestrians, particularly children.
	Members of the public and Members of the Panel asked questions and the Officers responded as follows:-

	Q Would the proposed traffic signal arrangement be similar to the new arrangement in the Wicker?

	A It would not. The Wicker is much wider and it also incorporates a separate bus lane.

	Q Would there be a problem of access when two No. 22 buses met at the Scott Road junction with Barnsley Road?

	A That would not cause a problem, since Barnsley Road and Scott Road would operate on separate phases of the traffic signals.

	Q Could there be filter lanes as at Fir Vale?

	A There would not be filter lanes within the scheme due to the inadequate width of the road.

	Q Would there be filter lanes as part of the pelican crossing scheme?

	A There would not be filter lanes at Scott Road and Firshill Avenue, but a right turn pocket into Orphanage Road might be feasible.

	Q Where would the pedestrian crossing be situated in relation to Orphanage Road?

	A The pedestrian crossing would be approximately 15 metres nearer the City Centre from its present position.

	Q Would the road subsidence at Orphanage Road be dealt with?

	A Whichever option was selected there would be carriageway resurfacing works, including drainage works, within the overall scheme.

	Q Would a pedestrian crossing be provided at Firs Hill Avenue?

	A It was not intended to provide a zebra crossing or a humped crossing on Firs Hill Avenue as part of the pedestrian crossing scheme, but this possibility could be considered.

	Q When had the survey of traffic flows been carried out?

	A The surveys had been carried out over several days, during the past few weeks but other surveys had been carried out over a number of years at various times. The recent surveys were being used to verify the accuracy of the statistics.

	Q Was it a realistic model when it showed that so many cars would be queuing on Scott Road if option 2 was selected?

	A It was a realistic model and it clearly showed the queues that would soon build up on every approach road to a set of traffic signals which had all red periods to enable pedestrians to cross the road with a “green man” signal, and how the traffic would build up successively from each cycle. The traffic volumes were exactly the same in each model.

	Q Had the possibility of providing a roundabout at the junction been investigated?

	A There was not sufficient space to build a roundabout which could accommodate the required vehicle manoeuvres. To provide a roundabout the City Council would have to obtain a substantial amount of additional land.

	Q Would a cheaper way of solving the difficulties be to retain the crossing where it was now and to paint a junction box which traffic could not enter, to enable traffic to exit Scott Road?

	A Drivers from Firs Hill Avenue and Scott Road were often afforded a gap in traffic by motorists travelling along Barnsley Road but a junction box could be provided to cater for the case where there were less considerate drivers.

	Q How much wider would the footpath be?

	A On the south east side the footpath would be approximately three metres wide and on the other side approximately one and a half metres wide. There was also a scheme for the junction at Orphanage Road, which was at the design stage and would have to be merged with the proposed scheme. The footpath would be widened by two metres where buses were stopping close to a wall and there would be considerable widening of the footpaths right throughout the area as many sections of pavement were full of pedestrians for long periods of time.

	Q Would there be a right turning lane on Scott Road?

	A That would not be provided as it would cause difficulties for vehicles turning into Scott Road.

	Q When would the scheme would be submitted to the Cabinet?

	A The scheme would not be submitted to the Cabinet yet. Initially a report would be submitted to the North and West Planning and Highways Area Board incorporating the comments obtained from the consultations and stating the preferred option of the Officers and the Area Panel. The Planning and Highways Area Board would decide the outcome.

	Q There were concerns regarding the width of the pavement in the area and the number of children and parents who were crossing roads other than by using the pedestrian crossings. Would the Scott Road option make the situation worse in that respect?

	A That was correct.

	Q Had there been consultations regarding the previous Scott Road alterations?

	A The City Council had carried out extensive consultations regarding the traffic calming measures, which had been completed on Scott Road and in the wider Burngreave area, including special meetings of the Area Panel.

	Q Had the Emergency Services been consulted regarding both options for the scheme?

	A The Emergency Services were always consulted regarding highway schemes but the present scheme was not yet at that stage, as there was no firm decision regarding the way forward. Other highway schemes containing narrowed width carriageways had been carried out and had caused no difficulties for the Emergency Services.

	Q Was it the case that the traffic simulation model for option 1 covered the period 8.00 a.m. to 8.10 a.m. and for option 2 covered the period 8.20 a.m. to 8.30 a.m.?

	A That was not correct. Both models simulated the traffic situation from 08.00 a.m. to 09.00 a.m., but due to constraints of time, the models had been run at different times and at a speed greater than that of real time, in order to enable those present at the meeting to appreciate the full effect of the traffic signal and pedestrian crossing options, on the traffic flows.

	Q Was it the case that the options were not addressing the danger of the Scott Road junction?

	A To some extent there was a perception of danger at the junction, but the aim of any scheme was to improve particularly the situation for pedestrians. In terms of the safety of pedestrian and traffic movement, traffic signals had some advantages, but they also had many disadvantages.

	Q Could a zebra crossing be provided on Scott Road?

	A The present plateau arrangement appeared to be used by many people as their preferred crossing point and a zebra crossing on the plateau could improve its effectiveness. It was also feasible that a plateau could be provided at Firs Hill Avenue, but investigation of the relevant Regulations would have to be carried out before it could be confirmed that this would be possible at those locations.

	Q Could mirrors be provided on the corners of traffic junctions?

	A Mirrors were not permitted highway equipment and in some situations they could cause difficulties for drivers.

	Q What was the estimated cost of the Project and where would the funding come from?

	A The estimated cost of the pedestrian crossing was £150,000 but the funding had not been committed within this financial year due to the need to carry out consultations and modelling which had not yet been done fully. The scheme would be submitted to the Planning and Highways Area Board in approximately six weeks time and if the preferred scheme was approved it must be assessed and be given a score. The assessment process was geared now to prioritising the more deprived areas and areas with a history of traffic accidents resulting in injury, particularly accidents involving children, so it was unlikely that the scheme would receive funding during the present financial year. It was more likely that it would be approved to go to detailed design and that the funding would be allocated during the financial year 2004/2005.

	Q The difficulties which the scheme sought to address had been raised four years previously. Could the process be speeded up?

	A On the previous occasion that the pedestrian crossing scheme was submitted to the Planning and Highways Area Board, consideration of the scheme was deferred to enable further consultation to be made. Only committed schemes were now being built.

	Q Were the figures available regarding traffic accidents in that area?

	A The statistics regarding accidents in the area were not available at the meeting but they were recorded and related to accidents where there had been injuries to individuals, so minor traffic accidents were not recorded. The exact figures regarding traffic accidents in the area would be incorporated in the report to the Planning and Highways Area Board.

	The Panel thanked Mr. Kyle, Mr. Saffer and Mr. Collier for their presentation and noted that the preferred option of Officers, namely an improved pedestrian crossing facility, slightly nearer to the City, was fully endorsed by the members of the public present at the meeting. The Panel also requested the Officers to consider whether the scheme could include a yellow box marking at the Scott Road junction, a zebra crossing on the plateau at Scott Road and some form of pedestrian crossing at Firs Hill Avenue.

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