Issue - meetings

To consider a report of the Road Safety Manager.

The committee considered a report of the Road Safety Manager, which provided an opportunity to review the 20mph Policy in its first year of operation. In addition, it set out information on an ongoing review by the Department for Transport (DfT) and noted that there was potential for new national guidance on 20mph for England.

Councillors considered the issues arising from the report and during discussion the following points were covered:

·       Link with the school streets pilot project and whether the implementation of a 20mph limit could be included within these schemes or considered around school sites generally. Further consideration of the issues around this would need to be undertaken

·       Consideration of the position with A roads within 20mph schemes, how the national guidance was interpreted and whether this needed to be reviewed. Roads could be considered in sections, balancing the interests of different users of the area

·       Applications were considered on an individual basis and specific circumstances discussed with communities. The policy did not exclude the consideration of 20mph schemes on A and B roads

·       It was noted that new guidance was awaited from the DfT

·       Consideration of the process used for review of applications and whether there was a role for a member of the scrutiny committee on the 20mph Panel

·       The assessment criteria including reference to the mean speed being at or below 24mph and the use of a 20mph zone versus use of additional traffic management measures

·       A request to consider the wording used in the ‘Road user tips’ section of the toolkit to reflect the increased use of electric vehicles and their silent running operation

·       Information on how collisions information was provided to the council by Dorset Police

·       The budget available for schemes and the link to the allocation of Local Transport Plan funding

·       The need to review emissions data moving forward.

The Chairman provided a summary of the points raised and further action required as follows:

·       Consideration to be given to whether the policy could be amended to include an automatic 20mph speed limit around school streets sites and the costs associated with this, with report back to a future committee

·       To consider the possibility of a scrutiny member sitting on the 20mph Panel

·       To review the wording used in the ‘Road user tips’ section of the toolkit to reflect the increased use of electric vehicles and their silent running operation

·       To undertake a review of the inclusion of A roads within 20mph schemes, how the national guidance was interpreted and whether this needed to be reviewed, with report back to a future committee

·       To consider the budget allocated for 20mph schemes and the link to the allocation of Local Transport Plan funding.