Archived decisions

Contact: Adrian Gray, ext 6892 email: [email protected]

1. Summary

1.1 This report describes the proposal to replace the roundabout at the junction of Romsey Road with Chilbolton Avenue in Winchester (location plan attached) with traffic signals. It also describes the public consultation on this proposal, and provides a response to the main themes emerging from this consultation.

2. Details of the Proposal

2.1 It is proposed to replace the existing roundabout with traffic signals to distribute more equitably the delay between different road users, and to reduce the delay currently affecting bus services on Romsey Road leaving the City. The existing roundabout does not work effectively during the evening peak period because of the bottleneck caused by congestion on Romsey Road beyond this junction, which provides only small gaps for vehicles to turn into from the roundabout. The roundabout requires traffic on Romsey Road to give way to traffic from Chilbolton Avenue, and consequently the majority of these small gaps are filled by this traffic. The result is a disproportionately large queue on Romsey Road compared with Chilbolton Avenue.

2.2 Traffic problems at this junction are principally limited to the evening peak period as the roundabout works effectively for the majority of the day. It would not be possible to remove the roundabout and provide part-time traffic signals as the junction would not operate safely with the signals switched off. It would be possible to retain the roundabout and install part-time traffic signals, but the left turn lane included in the proposal could not be provided. In addition, the pedestrian crossings could not be provided. Part-time traffic signals operating with the roundabout would also be less efficient than the full-time arrangement.

2.3 Replacing the roundabout with traffic signals would enable the congestion that produces this bottleneck to be managed by coordinating this junction with the existing traffic signals at the Battery Hill and Stanmore Lane junctions with Romsey Road. The operation of the traffic signals would be managed to create larger gaps for traffic from Romsey Road and Chilbolton Avenue to move into. The traffic signals would not provide any additional capacity, and these gaps would be created by holding back traffic. The result would be a transfer of some of the queue from Romsey Road to Chilbolton Avenue.

2.4 A new left turn lane would be provided for traffic travelling from Romsey Road to Chilbolton Avenue by constructing new carriageway on land adjacent to the new houses being built on Sarum Road. The land required has been secured from the developer. This proposal however would require the removal of vegetation and the construction of a retaining wall with appropriate landscaping and planting. A wider footway would also be provided, replacing the existing narrow one.

2.5 Two new controlled pedestrian crossings would be provided within the traffic signal junction as part of this scheme. One across Romsey Road, west of the junction, and one across Chilbolton Avenue. These would provide safe crossings for pedestrians, and in particular children walking to local schools.

2.6 Chilbolton Avenue is a designated wide and high load route, and this has been reflected in the design for the traffic signal junction. The existing splitter island on Chilbolton Avenue, which also provides a pedestrian refuge, would be removed, enabling two lanes to be provided on Chilbolton Avenue and removing an obstacle to wide loads. The controlled crossing on Chilbolton Avenue provides an alternative facility for pedestrians, but may be considered a retrograde step by agile, able bodied pedestrians for whom the current refuge provides an adequate means of crossing, despite difficulties presented by uninterrupted traffic flows.

2.7 Cyclists would continue to cycle on the road, but cyclists travelling on Romsey Road would be able to use a short cycle lane and advance cycle stop line eastbound towards the city centre to reach the front of the queue.

3. The Wider Transport Policy

3.1 The scheme provides a controlled pedestrian crossing, and during peak periods the traffic signals would enable priority to be given to traffic on Romsey Road, reducing delay for buses. Both of these two facilities help meet the County Council's objective of reducing the environmental impact of transport, while helping to keep it moving efficiently.

3.2 A major step towards improving the bus service on Romsey Road arose with the Quality Partnership agreed in September 2003 between Hampshire County Council, Winchester City Council and the bus operator, Stagecoach. A more frequent, ten minute service now operates on this route, connecting residential areas with major employers like the Royal Hampshire County Hospital, Hampshire Constabulary Headquarters, Winchester Community Prison and King Alfred's College.

3.3 As part of the Quality Partnership, 13 new buses have been provided that have low emissions, with most of the remaining fleet likely to be converted to a low emission standard. A grant was made to Stagecoach through the EU sponsored MIRACLES project to contribute towards the cost of this work. Improvements to the quality of real-time passenger information, funded through the Local Transport Plan (LTP) are also envisaged. This scheme, which reduces delay and improves the reliability of the bus service, will further encourage bus use by making it more attractive to people for whom Chilbolton Avenue is presently a quicker and more convenient route home in their car. MIRACLES funding has also been used to improve information on bus services at stops on Romsey Road.

3.4 The County Council has been working with the major employers in Romsey Road as part of a Department for Transport sponsored Personalised Journey Planning project which aims to encourage a shift from car use to walking, cycling and bus use. In doing so, the reliability and quality of the bus service has been an important factor.

4. Public Consultation

4.1 During 2002 elected City and County Council Members, the public, local businesses and other interest groups were invited to comment on a number of proposals for Romsey Road developed as part of the Winchester Movement and Access Plan (WMAP). The possible introduction of traffic signals at the junction of Romsey Road with Chilbolton Avenue was included in this initial consultation. Although other measures were endorsed (Winchester Movement and Access Plan Joint Members' Panel 4 March 2003), a decision regarding the traffic signal proposal was deferred pending further design work and consultation. The consultation described below was undertaken on the basis of this additional, more detailed design.

4.2 An exhibition was held at West Downs in Winchester on 14/15 January 2004. The information displayed at the exhibition was also available on Hantsweb. A letter was delivered to local residents in the immediate vicinity of the junction inviting them to attend the exhibition, and advising them that information was available in advance on Hantsweb. Other local stakeholder groups received a copy of this letter, and were invited to comment on the proposal. A press release was also issued to the media to more widely disseminate this information.

4.3 People visiting the exhibition were invited to complete feedback forms with their comments. In addition, comments were received by email and through the post from people viewing the proposal on Hantsweb. All of the comments were collated and summarised (see appendix for details).

4.4 Currently, a total of 110 people made comments on the proposal - 22 broadly in support, 50 objecting and 19 presently unsure. The main themes of the objections were:

(i) the scheme fails to recognise and address the principal cause of congestion as the operation of the existing traffic signals at the Battery Hill and Stanmore Lane junctions with Romsey Road;

(ii) the scheme fails to provide more needed crossing facilities for children travelling to local schools, who are crossing Chilbolton Avenue away from the junction with Romsey Road; and

(iii) concern that congestion on Chilbolton Avenue would increase.

4.5 The first two major themes do not relate specifically to the junction proposal. There is only limited scope for reducing congestion on Romsey Road by adjusting the operation and layout of the Battery Hill and Stanmore Lane junctions. The fundamental problems caused during congested periods that arise from the inequitable operation of the roundabout would not be resolved. A separate study is now under way investigating the scope for providing further crossing facilities elsewhere on Chilbolton Avenue. The third major theme, that increased congestion would occur on Chilbolton Avenue as a direct consequence of the scheme, is in fact intentional. The delay on Romsey Road is currently disproportionately large, and the transfer of some of this delay to Chilbolton Avenue would result in longer queues.

4.6 It was clear from examining the addresses of people attending the exhibition that the majority of attendees had received a letter, and were visiting the exhibition in response to this rather than the media coverage. Consequently, in consultation with local Members representing both the City and County Councils, it was decided to extend the letter drop to householders in the Greenhill Road, West Hill Park and Poets Way areas (part of Fulflood) and redisplay the exhibition material in the ITS office at Monument House.

5. Conclusion

5.1 The consultation has indicated a mixed response to the proposal, with a significant proportion of local residents either objecting to the proposal in some form or other, or questioning whether the authority's objectives could be met. The objectives themselves, although evident to the majority of people attending the exhibition, were not necessarily supported. In particular, residents in Chilbolton Avenue generally felt that the additional queueing and delay likely to occur on Chilbolton Avenue as a consequence of installing traffic signals were not justified by the journey time savings for buses.

5.2 Hampshire County Council, Winchester City Council and the bus operator, Stagecoach have entered into a Quality Bus Partnership, and as a result Stagecoach now operates a more frequent, ten minute service. The County Council is contributing to the Quality Bus Partnership by providing improved real-time passenger information and other enhancements for bus passengers, and has also given a commitment to investigate and implement bus priority measures that will assist reliability and reduce bus journey times.

5.3 The proposal would accord with local transport policy but is not widely supported by the people responding to the public consultation. There could be scope to defer a decision on progressing this scheme until more details are available on the current development proposals, which could alter existing access arrangements and junctions on Chilbolton Avenue. It may be appropriate to consider the implications of this development on the Romsey Road-Chilbolton Avenue corridor, including an assessment of options to ameliorate the traffic impact at existing bottlenecks such as the Battery Hill and Stanmore Lane junctions with Romsey Road.

Recommendation

That this report be noted.

8648/AG