Archived decisions

Contact: Geoff Topps, ext 7959

1. Summary

1.1 This report is to provide Members with an update on the progress of this phase of the South Hampshire Rapid Transit (SHRT) network.

2. Background

2.1 The A3 Bus Priority Corridor is the second major phase of the SHRT network, that will provide improved north/south public transport facilities between the centres of Portsmouth, Cosham, Waterlooville and Horndean and the many settlements between.

3. Steering Group

3.1 The A3 Steering Group continues to meet on a three monthly basis, allowing officers from the County Council, Portsmouth City Council, Havant Borough Council and East Hampshire District Council to liaise with representatives from Hampshire Constabulary and First, the main bus operator along the route, to discuss the development of the project.

4. Quality Bus Partnership

4.1 The draft for a corridor-specific Quality Bus Partnership (QBP) is taking shape and it is now expected to have this finalised for signing in early 2003. It is planned to combine this with the launch of the new corridor branding and bus livery that is being developed and market tested at the moment for Hampshire County Council, Portsmouth City Council and First.

4.2 Consideration is now being given to elevating the commitment to this partnership by developing a Statutory QBP for the A3 corridor, which forms a contract under which the parties commit formally to providing specified features, services and facilities. The benefits and consequences of such a partnership are now being examined and, if implemented later next year, it will be one of the first of its kind in Britain.

5. Closed Circuit Television

5.1 The provision of closed circuit television (CCTV) on the corridor has two purposes - to provide traffic monitoring for Hampshire County Council as the Highway Authority and to provide security surveillance for Havant Borough Council and the Police of passengers waiting at the bus stops. This dual use is unusual and the practicalities of how to set up the system, manage the images and camera control are being determined. Due to the extra complexity the installation of cameras on Section 1 will not be completed until 2003.

5.2 Consultations with the Police and bus operator have identified a preference to install the CCTV system along the whole corridor as soon as possible for immediate security benefits, and not do it piecemeal as part of each section of highway works. The feasibility of doing this is also being examined and may be proposed if the necessary funding and authorisations can be achieved.

6. Real Time Passenger Information

6.1 The Real Time Passenger Information (RTPI) for the A3 corridor is to be acquired as the first part of a county-wide contract for such technology. It is planned to let this contract early in the new year and establish a system compatible with all the different RTPI systems of neighbouring authorities. This should lead to the first bus shelter signs being installed by September 2003.

7. Progress and Programme

Section 1 - Widley to Purbrook

7.1 Hampshire County Council's contractor Dyer and Butler started work on 8 April 2002 and plans to be finished before the end of December 2002. The quality of workmanship has been very good and progress timely, although the discovery of an unexpected underground cable caused a small delay.

7.2 Nearly all the accommodation works have been completed and the residents and businesses are satisfied with how these were undertaken and the finished product. The use of a pre-cast flint-faced concrete retaining wall has speeded up work outside Christ's Church and, thanks to the landowner's recent agreement, the planned retaining wall near Ladybridge Road has now been replaced by a landscaped sloping earth bank.

7.3 Public consultation has been maintained during the road works and the third information leaflet was delivered to 2,000 neighbouring properties at the end of September. The location of new street lighting columns and bus shelters has caused response from some residents and a better method of information and consultation will be used for future sections.

7.4 New bus shelters were to have been provided by Adshel in return for bus shelter advertising. The company recently had its capital programme suspended, so the new shelters are being ordered and paid for direct, with a view to Adshel in effect buying them back when its capital programme is restored. Overcoming this problem has delayed the delivery of the new bus shelters for Section 1.

Section 2a - Purbrook Village (formerly Section 2)

7.5 Due to limited space the works in the village focus on improving passenger facilities and the street environment, with little scope for bus priority measures. Detailed consultation has been undertaken with the Church, local residents and businesses to determine parking and loading requirements so that the Traffic Regulation Orders (TROs) can be advertised this month. Generally the response has been favourable and, while it is difficult to satisfy everyone when individual demands are conflicting, it is felt that a good all-round solution has been found.

7.6 Investigations to see if permitted access can be provided through The Woodman Pub car park, from the A3 to the free public car park in Ladybridge Road, are continuing. The need to make better use of this facility has been a recurring feature of the public consultation and, as well as direct access, improved security using CCTV is being investigated with Havant Borough Council.

7.7 The time taken to clarify the parking and loading issues has delayed issue of the TROs, which means that the project appraisal for this part of the route has been deferred from November 2002 to January 2003. This will not delay the overall scheme and the works will be included with those for Section 2b.

Section 2b - Purbrook to Waterlooville (formerly Section 3)

7.8 The project appraisal for this section of the route was approved by the Executive Member for Policy and Resources on 12 September 2002. Final preparations are now underway so that the Statutory Undertakers and Dyer and Butler can start advanced diversionary works and site clearance before the end of the year.

7.9 Within the project appraisal was an explanation of how, in carrying out the detailed design, it had become apparent that retaining walls would be required in some areas to support the roadside boundary. This had not been identified at the time of the public exhibition and there was understandable concern that these would result in the loss of existing trees and hedge. However, after consultation, the local landowner agreed to dedicate land, which removes the need for retaining walls, allowing the existing sloping earth banks to be recreated and the planting of significant landscaping along the field boundary. This actually increases the amount of hedgerow and trees, and when the final details were passed to local residents no further objections were received.

7.10 The project appraisal also included the proposed bus gate just north of Purbrook - a special traffic signal for southbound traffic which stops and holds normal traffic as a southbound bus approaches the signals, allowing it to get to the front of traffic entering the congested road through Purbrook. This is a contentious feature for residents living immediately adjacent, who feel that it makes access to and from their properties more difficult and dangerous. These views are not shared, but it was made a condition of the approval that the performance of the gate is reviewed after 18 months operation, including public consultation, to determine if the feature should be retained.

7.11 The approval contained additional conditions about the quality of new landscaping, the consultation processes for positioning bus shelters, street lights and parking areas, and that the Major Development Area Working Party and developer for Waterlooville be asked to give greatest consideration to the provision of a rural footpath on the west side of the road behind the landscaping. All of these are now being undertaken as part of the final design.

7.12 The project appraisal included the results of the TRO process and the Orders can now be made as necessary. The main works are due to start in the new year and, while the contractor has yet to prepare his detailed programme, completion should be before the end of 2003, subject to the Statutory Undertakers' diversions being completed satisfactorily.

Section 3 - Waterlooville Town Centre (formerly Section 4)

7.13 A public exhibition of the preliminary A3 corridor proposals for Waterlooville town centre was held at the Curzon Rooms in Waterlooville precinct on 11, 12 and 13 April 2002. Over 400 people attended the exhibition, which displayed an extension of the pedestrian zone with three potential concepts for re-routing buses from London Road via Swiss Road, and a temporary alternative option maintaining bus only use between St George's Walk and Stakes Hill Road (avoiding Swiss Road).

7.14 Staff from Hampshire County Council, Havant Borough Council and the bus operator First were on hand to help explain the proposals and answer queries. Questionnaires were given out and the results show 70% in favour of the SHRT proposals, with concept 2 for a new interchange as the most popular idea (38%) for Swiss Road. The potential loss of parking in Swiss Road as a result of any of the concepts was a concern for many, and the second most popular idea was to do nothing in Swiss Road (25%). The temporary alternative to these concepts (which would allow time to resolve the Swiss Road parking issue with ASDA) was viewed favourably (65% support).

7.15 The results of the public consultation have been reported to the Waterlooville Town Centre Consultative Panel. Despite working well in other towns and cities, Members expressed great concern for pedestrian safety if buses were allowed to cross the extended pedestrian area as proposed in the temporary alternative option. They requested that additional concepts be developed for Swiss Road that minimised the impact on parking and that a `high level' meeting be held with ASDA to explore its position.

7.16 The meeting between senior Members and officers of Hampshire County Council, Havant Borough Council, ASDA and the bus operators First and Stagecoach was held on 7 October 2002. ASDA confirmed its opinion that the Swiss Road parking is most valuable (at store level; close to the entrance; main area for mother and baby and disabled or elderly parking; safe for out of hours staff parking; proximity to the town centre, etc) and that it would wish to see any proposals that would avoid losing any of the parking. The bus operators then explained their needs for the town centre and willingness to consider some compromises, although if these became too extreme it could affect their ability to provide services to the town centre.

7.17 A new idea was then proposed by two of the Havant Members: extend the pedestrian precinct, close the Stakes Hill Road junction to all traffic (for pedestrian safety), allow buses to travel two-way through the extended pedestrian zone in London Road and St George's Walk, keep the bus shelters where they are close to the town centre and avoid Swiss Road and the parking issues. No objections were raised and it was agreed to explore this further.

7.18 This new proposal, and the additional concepts for Swiss Road, will now be considered formally by Havant Borough Council and the Waterlooville Town Centre Consultative Panel with a view to agreeing a feasible and practical way to proceed. It seems unlikely that a feasible compromise for Swiss Road can be devised both to overcome ASDA's strong car park concerns and provide adequate public transport facilities. Either the new proposal, temporary alternative or to do nothing appear feasible. The favoured concept will then be developed into a detailed scheme and the outcome reported to the next meeting.

7.19 The detailed design for the town centre will start soon to meet the programmed start of works at the end of 2003. If the new proposal is adopted then additional public consultation will be required (it was not included in the April public exhibition) and steps will be taken to avoid this delaying the delivery programme.

North of Waterlooville

7.20 There has been no further development of the proposals north of Waterlooville. Section 4, from Waterlooville to Cowplain, is scheduled to have a public exhibition in March 2003 and details for this will be prepared early in the new year. The results will be reported to this Panel.

7.21 At present no roadworks are planned north of Waterlooville until 2005. This may have to be reviewed if there are delays in determining what to do in Waterlooville town centre, in order to provide continuity of work for the contractor undertaking the A3 corridor highway works.

Portsmouth City Council

7.22 Cosham Compound - construction of improvements is underway. The relocation of the listed tram shelter is still being finalised and it is intended to replace it with modern, high quality bus shelters.

7.23 Hilsea - London Road Stage 1 bus lanes between Old London Road and Doyle Avenue are complete. TROs for Stage 2 bus lanes between Doyle Avenue and Torrington Road have been advertised and the works should be complete before the end of December 2002. Stage 3 investigations and development are now underway.

7.24 North End - initial feasibility investigations have indicated that it will be difficult to balance the competing highway demands here.

7.25 Isambard Brunel Road - bus priority and pedestrian works are underway and due for completion in early 2003.

7.26 PORTAL - facilities for the corridor are included in the city-wide passenger information system being implemented. This is scheduled to deliver bus and shelter systems by October 2003 and have them operational by the end of next year.

8. Funding

8.1 The principles and facilities embodied by the project have developed and been refined during the last year or two to create the new public transport service for the A3 corridor that is now under construction. The original project has grown by including the quality features expected by the 21st century travelling public, and integrating them with improvements for highway users and the local community. As a result the estimated project costs have grown correspondingly. Funding for Sections 1 and 2 is secure within the Transportation Capital Programme and Hampshire County Council has submitted a Major Scheme Appraisal as one potential way of funding the remainder of the project. The outcome of this bid will be known by December 2002, at which time decisions can be made on the funding of future sections of the corridor.

Recommendation

That progress on the elements of this transportation scheme be noted.

7507/GST