Archived decisions

HAMPSHIRE COUNTY COUNCIL

EXECUTIVE MEMBER - ENVIRONMENT: SOUTH HAMPSHIRE AND SPATIAL STRATEGY

ITEM 7

PROJECT APPRAISAL

PROJECT:

ALTON ACCESSIBILITY - PHASE 1

COMMENCEMENT DATE:

DECEMBER 2005

COMPLETION DATE:

FEBRUARY 2006

PLANNED YEAR OF START IN ACCORDANCE WITH CAPITAL PROGRAMME: 2005/06

1.

FINANCE (Client Department, Director of Property, Business and Regulatory Services [Estates Practice] and County Treasurer)

Current

Capital

Estimate

Programme

(at 2005

(at 2005

prices)

prices)

Capital Expenditure

£'000

£'000

Land to be purchased

Nil

Nil

Construction

112

112

Fees

25

25

137

137

Less developers/

21

21

other contributions

116

116

Financial provision for total scheme

Total Cost

1.

From Committees own resources

(a) Capital programme (as above)

116

(b)

116

2.

From other resources

(a) Developer Contribution

21

(b)

(c)

TOTAL

137

Value of land for this project in HCC ownership £

Variations from capital programme

Revenue implications

£'000

% variation

to Committee's

budget

Net current expenditure

2.5

0.003

Capital charges

15.0

0.012

TOTAL net expenditure

17.5

0.015

2.

STATEMENT OF NEED/JUSTIFICATION FOR PROJECT

(Client Department)

2.1

2.2

2.3

2.4

2.5

2.6

2.7

2.8

2.9

2.10

2.11

This scheme forms the first element of a package of accessibility measures for Alton town centre for 2005/06, emanating from the strategic objectives of the Local Transport Plan. Measures include small-scale pedestrian improvements in the town centre that have been identified through consultation as being significant in terms of the positive effect they will have on pedestrian access. A package of measures for 2005/06 was identified which would contribute to improving pedestrian severance problems and developed through a community street audit in October 2004 (by a group of local representatives including Alton Shopmobility) and in consultation with scheme stakeholders (Alton Town Council, Alton Initiatives and the local retailers' association). Areas for inclusion in the parent project for 2005/06 are:

(i) Whitedown Lane;

(ii) Paper Mill Lane to Ashdell Road footpath lighting;

(iii) Lenten Street/Queens Road area;

(iv) Ashdell Road/Lower Turk Street railway bridge footway;

(v) Normandy Street/Orchard Road roundabout;

(vi) Mill Lane crossroads; and

(vii) general vehicle sign audit/development of signing strategy.

It is intended that all of the above items will be delivered in 2005/06. However, due to the design and construction lead time of certain elements, it is necessary to split the 2005/06 project deliverables into phases. Design works have therefore been prioritised to complete the longest lead time elements first (or those that are already near completion).

This Project Appraisal covers three areas of work:

(i) A339 Whitedown Lane; pedestrian improvements;

(ii) street lighting along the currently unlit footpath adjacent to the railway line between Paper Mill Lane and Ashdell Road; and

(iii) minor footway enhancements and dropped kerbs in Ackender Road, Lenten Street and Edward Road.

Subsequent project appraisals will cover the remaining elements of the 2005/06 Alton Accessibility programme, once the design of those elements is completed.

The main vehicle route between the A31 and Basingstoke, Whitedown Lane carries over 12,000 vehicles in a 24-hour period and over 1,000 in the morning peak. This equates to an average of seven vehicles per minute northbound and eight vehicles per minute southbound between 7 am and 7 pm. Whitedown Lane is split into a 40 miles per hour (mph) zone in the northern half and a 30 mph zone in the southern half. Surveyed 85%ile speeds in the 30 mph zone are 36.6 mph northbound and 42.5 mph southbound between 7 am and 7 pm. The acceleration/deceleration lanes for the side roads along Whitedown Lane encourage higher vehicle speeds than are appropriate for the current nature of the road.

A Toucan crossing was installed on Whitedown Lane to the north of its junction with Chawton Park Road in 2003. This provides a direct pedestrian and cycle route into town from the lower portion of Whitedown Lane but is off the desire line for persons wishing to travel to Whitedown School, The Butts Primary School, Amery Hill School and Alton College from the Wickham Close area, which is the main focus of this scheme. This proposal aims to improve pedestrian accessibility to these districts.

In the past three years (to March 2005) there have been two personal injury accidents of slight severity involving vehicles along Whitedown Lane in the vicinity of the proposed works.

The footpath between Paper Mill Lane and Ashdell Road forms an important link to the railway station in Alton. The Police, responding to a request for views on the potential for crime in the area, suggested that whilst there had not been any recorded criminal activity along the footpath to date, the fact that it was unlit did make it a higher risk route - with the increased fear of crime for evening and night-time pedestrians.

The new dropped kerbs and footway improvements in Ackender Road, Edward Road and Lenten Street are part of larger schemes in those areas that are being designed and will be included in subsequent Project Appraisals for the Alton Accessibility project for 2005/06. The East Hampshire Area Office is able to construct portions of the infrastructure in the near future.

Targets and Outcomes

This scheme is designed to fulfil the following second Local Transport Plan (LTP2) objectives:

(i) improve accessibility to services;

(ii) promote safety;

and contribute to the following LTP targets:

(i) town centre access (public satisfaction);

(ii) town centre access (modal split of trips to town centre);

(iii) town centre access (severance);

(iv) accessibility (no county targets have yet been set for this item);

(v) footway condition; and

(vi) percentage of people feeling safe outside the home during the night-time (60% target at time of next residents' survey).

The provision of pedestrian refuges should encourage lower traffic speeds and therefore a reduction in vehicle speeds along the 30 mph section of Whitedown Lane is also a specific target of this scheme.

3.

ROAD IMPROVEMENT PROPOSAL (Client Department)

National/County Network and Policies

3.1

3.2

This scheme supports Corporate Strategy Aim 2 `ensuring that Hampshire continues to be a place where people of all backgrounds want to live, work and visit' by providing more of the infrastructure to make the town more accessible. The scheme also contributes to the objectives of the Safer Routes to School programme as the infrastructure provided lies between a significant residential area and several educational establishments within Alton.

The new street lighting element of the scheme supports Corporate Strategy Aim 4 `working in partnerships with others to make people feel safe in their own communities', by reducing the fear of crime along a important pedestrian link between the town centre and the railway station.

Details of Scheme and Design Standards

3.3

3.4

3.5

3.6

The scheme comprises:

(i) Installation of pedestrian refuge islands with associated dropped kerbs, tactile paving and associated new road markings and traffic signs in Whitedown Lane as follows:

(a) 2 metres wide refuge outside no. 47 Whitedown Lane to serve pedestrians wishing to travel to the town centre via Kings Road;

(b) 1.8 metres wide refuge between Wickham Close and Bolle Road (upgrade of existing refuge); and

(c) 2.1 metres wide refuge approximately 5 metres north of the Bolle Road junction to serve the footpath from Elm Close.

The remaining 3 metre carriageway widths resulting from the construction of the refuges are outside the 3.1-3.9 metres zone which is considered unsuitable for cycle use and hence cyclists' safety is not compromised by the scheme.

(ii) Removal of the acceleration/deceleration lanes at the junctions of Whitedown Lane with Bolle Road, Wickham Close Downs Way with the associated footways being widened accordingly. At the Whitedown Lane residential service road junction the acceleration/ deceleration lanes are being removed and replaced with grassed areas.

(iii) Conversion of bus stop layby from outside no. 47 Whitedown to footway.

(iv) Construction of new 2 metres wide footpath link between the pedestrian refuge (a) above and the residential service road running parallel with Whitedown Lane.

(v) Installation of new road traffic island immediately north of the junction of Whitedown Lane and the residential service road to act as a traffic management measure.

(vi) Installation of dropped kerbs and associated tactile paving at the junctions of Whitedown Lane with Downs Way, Wickham Close and Bolle Road.

(vii) Provision of new road markings and traffic signs at the Whitedown Lane junctions with Downs Way, Wickham Close and Bolle Road.

(viii) Installation of 16 new street lighting columns and heads along the footpath (recently adopted as highway) that connects Paper Mill Lane to Ashdell Road.

A location plan is attached and a detailed plan will be displayed at the meeting.

All features are in accordance with current Hampshire County Council design standards and have been subjected to relevant safety audits.

The bus stop outside no. 47 Whitedown Lane is used by the 28 and X28 Stagecoach bus services which serve the stop eight times a day during the week. Passenger Transport Group has been consulted and supports the removal of the bus lay-by. The bus stop will remain in place.

Environmental Impact

3.7

Removal of the acceleration/deceleration lanes in Whitedown Lane will encourage lower speeds for vehicles turning into and out of the side roads. This will therefore create a safer environment for pedestrians crossing the roads in the vicinity of these junctions.

Land Requirements

3.8

No land acquisition required. All works to be confined within existing public highway limits. The footpath between Ashdell Road and Paper Mill Lane is adopted highway.

Statutory Procedures

3.9

None required

Public Consultation

3.10

3.11

3.12

3.13

3.14

Between November 2002 and January 2003 Alton Town Council produced a `Health Check' questionnaire which was distributed to all homes in Alton. The transport related responses to this questionnaire, which was based on people providing agree/disagree answers to pre-determined statements about Alton, were used as the basis for the public consultation exercise which took place in November 2003.

In November 2003 Alton residents were invited to feedback their top five issues from a pre-determined list of 43 transport related issues. The five highest ranked issues were identified as:

(i) Chawton Park Road: rat-running issues, difficulty in turning out of Whitedown Lane into Chawton Park Road, congestion;

(ii) Beechwood Road: rat-running issues;

(iii) Whitedown Lane: speeding traffic, pedestrian crossing difficulties, rat-running issues;

(iv) trains: insufficient parking at station, frequency and reliability of trains; and

(v) bus services: service scope too limited, lack of coordination with train services.

A community street audit in October 2004, which involved representatives from East Hampshire District Council, The Alton Society, the Alton Community Centre and Hampshire Constabulary, used the results of the previous public consultation exercises as a basis for preliminary design solutions. The records of these events were used as the basis for design work.

The Town Council has been consulted during the development of the preliminary and detailed designs, and has expressed support for all elements of the scheme detailed herein.

The residents of no. 47 Whitedown Lane, directly outside which a new refuge is to be constructed, have been consulted, in the form of written correspondence and site meetings.

Local Member's View

3.15

The local Member, Councillor Ludlow, supports the scheme.

Impact Assessments

3.16

This scheme will improve accessibility for all to important services in and around Alton. An assessment of the Race Relations (Amendment) Act has been considered in the development of this scheme; it will not compromise equalities in terms of race and gender but will improve accessibility for all.

Maintenance Implications

3.17

The maintenance implications are limited as the scheme is to be constructed on the existing highway. A detailed assessment has been undertaken and the minor maintenance implications will be taken into account when setting the annual base budget for maintenance.

Crime and Disorder Act 1998

3.18

The new lighting along the Paper Mill Lane/Ashdell Road footpath will have a positive impact on the reduction/prevention of crime and the fear of crime.

Sustainability

3.19

3.20

By improving accessibility to services, pedestrian comfort and safety, this scheme encourages walking as an alternative mode of transport, especially for journeys to and from local schools.

Recycled materials will be used for the construction of the scheme wherever practicable.

4.

ROAD IMPROVEMENT - ALTERNATIVES CONSIDERED

(Client Department)

4.1

The inclusion of controlled crossings along Whitedown Lane in place of the refuges included in the final design was initially considered as they would provide a more formal and hence safer crossing environment for pedestrians. However, the natural locations for crossing points did not satisfy the numerical criteria for controlled crossings and were therefore rejected.

Section 100 D - Local Government Act 1972 - background papers

The following documents disclose facts or matters on which this report, or an important part of it, is based and has been relied upon to a material extent in the preparation of this report.

NB the list excludes:

1.

Published works.

2.

Documents which disclose exempt or confidential information as defined in the Act.

TITLE

LOCATION

Alton Accessibility 2005/06 scheme file

Environment Department

Room 415