Archived decisions

Contact: Richard Chinn, tel 02380 427000

1. Summary

1.1 This reports covers the following issues:

(i) Casualty Reduction and Safer Routes to School Programmes;

(ii) Street Lighting; and

(iii) under £10,000 programme.

2. Casualty Reduction and Safer Routes to School Programmes

2.1 For the last 10 years the implementation of an annual programme of low cost casualty reduction schemes has been an important element of the County Council's road safety strategy. Each annual programme of at least 50 such schemes, rising to 70 schemes in recent financial years, has produced encouraging accident reductions and financial rates of return.

2.2 These results have been well received by the Department for Transport (DfT) and this programme has attracted increasing levels of funding over this period in the County Council's capital programme settlements. This has enabled a small number of larger single site schemes to be included, treating particularly problematic locations, usually where previously implemented low cost measures have not given a satisfactory solution.

2.3 The 2002/03 programme totals £1.6 million which will include some 90 low cost schemes and three large schemes. These are prioritised strictly on the basis of police injury accident records to give the best value for money in terms of casualties saved. Where there are savings in fatal and serious casualties, this will help meet the road safety target which has been agreed with the Government as part of the County Council's Public Service Agreement.

2.4 The casualty reduction schemes provisionally included at this stage in the 2002/03 programme are shown on Appendix 1.

2.5 The Safer Routes to School programme is a related and complementary programme which has been established in recent years with increasing emphasis being placed on both the safety of children and the need to encourage non-car modes for the journey to school. Some schemes under this heading have been included in Area Strategy programmes and are covered in Agenda item 7.

2.6 Schools are being encouraged to participate and to develop School Travel Plans and priority will be given to proposals generated in this way for inclusion in the Safer Routes to School programme. For the first time in 2002/03 an additional county-wide allocation of £0.5 million has been made and the currently proposed scheme in the Test Valley area is shown on Appendix 2.

3. Street Lighting

3.1 April 2002 was the start date for two new major contracts associated with the procurement of the street lighting service within Hampshire. These contracts are now getting established and the normal percentage of lights identified is being maintained. The following paragraphs provide a brief outline of the work.

Maintenance

3.2 There are currently 10,599 items of illuminated street furniture being maintained in the Test Valley area. The percentage of lights on for May varied between 97% to 99%. However, the time taken to make repairs is not as good as it needs to be and staff are working with the contractor (Southern Electric Contracting) to improve performance in this area. In addition there is a high level of waste recycling included within the contract, with an expectation of over 80% being reprocessed.

Column Replacement

3.3 The column replacement programme continues with a budget of £850,000 for the present year. This will replace and improve lighting to those streets in Hampshire where the greatest need arises. It is hoped that LTP funding may be made available in future to deal with corroding columns. However, funding will need to increase significantly to provide for the 50 year replacement cycle currently required.

3.4 There are no column replacement works programmed in Test Valley in 2002/03.

Community Safety Initiative

3.5 For 2002/03 this popular dual funded local safety related initiative has a total budget of £120,000. This provides local councils with an opportunity to work in partnership with the County Council to improve lighting in local areas. It is initiated by local residents making known specific problems to their respective councils, which could include such issues as road safety, personal safety or fear of crime.

3.6 The following roads and footpaths within the Test Valley area are included in the 2002/03 Initiative:

(i) Suffolk Road, Andover;

(ii) Eastfield Road/London Road, Andover - footpath;

(iii) Belmont Close, Andover;

(iv) Rectory Lane, Penton Grafton;

(v) Chilworth Road, Chilworth;

(vi) Botley Road, North Baddesley; and

(vii) Nutburn Road, North Baddesley.

Painting of Street Lighting Columns

3.7 The County Council does not have a routine column painting programme. This can lead to columns in some areas becoming unsightly but they are inspected to ensure they are structurally sound. To repaint columns correctly requires a considerable amount of preparation work which is not always beneficial to the life of the column.

3.8 For aesthetic reasons in specific areas, such as seafronts, painting is carried out when required but only if the maintenance budget permits.

4. Under £10,000 Programme

4.1 The Minor Works Programme is funded from the Capital Programme allocation based on the Local Transport Plan submission to the DfT. The total budget available for the Minor Works Programme county-wide is £300,000 and this is divided on a pro-rata mileage basis.

4.2 Whilst Minor Works are defined as those which cost below £10,000, and therefore have only a limited impact on the strategic transport issues, they provide a considerable benefit by improving local highway infrastructure for communities to assist with mobility and safety on the highway.

4.3 The demand for schemes greatly exceeds the funds available and it is therefore necessary to prioritise the schemes put forward for funding. A ranking criteria based on the benefits of the scheme is used and each Highway Unit, prepares an agreed list of schemes in priority order.

Test Valley Minor Works Programme

4.4 The allocation for Minor Works in Test Valley for 2002/03 is £25,000. From the priority assessment the following schemes have been identified for the 2002/03 programme:

East Dean Road, East Dean - footway £10,000

Hatts Hill, Mottisfont - footway £10,000

Andover Town Mill footbridge - new railings £ 5,000.

Recommendation

That the report be noted.

7239/RC