MINUTES OF A MEETING OF THE ENVIRONMENT AND TRANSPORT SELECT COMMITTEE HELD AT COUNTY HALL, NEWPORT, ISLE OF WIGHT ON TUESDAY,

4. MINUTES

The minutes of the meeting held on 17 June 2004 were confirmed.

5. DECLARATIONS OF INTEREST

There were no declarations at this stage.

6. VICE CHAIRMAN

The name of Mr M J Cunningham was proposed and seconded and unanimously supported as the Select Committee’s nomination for Vice Chairman.

ACTION TO BE TAKEN BY THE COUNCIL :

THAT Mr M J Cunningham be appointed as Vice Chairman of the Environment and Transport Select Committee.

7. FORWARD PLAN

The Select Committee was advised by the Portfolio Holder of the issues to be considered by the Executive between July and October 2004. The infrastructure required for the Pan Urban Extension in terms of highways and transport would be a vital element. Consideration would be also be given to the Public Convenience Cleaning and Minor Maintenance Contract. The Select Committees Task Group had been involved in the development of relevant policies in this matter.

The Portfolio Holder for Transport indicated that the continued assistance of the Select Committee in establishing broad principles for car parking was welcomed.

8. QUARTERLY PERFORMANCE MANGEMENT REPORT 4

The Portfolio Holders reported on the performance of various services for the quarter ended 31 March 2004 which came within the remit of the Select Committee. They outlined the key achievements, ongoing activities from the Annual Action Statement and CPA Improvement Plan.

In discussing the performance management information members noted that the percentage of household waste being recovered had met the target. Members however requested that information be supplied on the actual amount of waste composted and the income received from associated sales. With regard to public conveniences it was noted that due to the introduction of a Quality Management System in Engineering Services it would be possible to have a performance indicator relating to the cleanliness of public conveniences. The Select Committee was made aware of various public information leaflets produced for Engineering Services. Many members had not seen these.

One target not achieved was that for passenger journeys on local bus services. It was noted that nationally bus journeys were decreasing and the LTP targets were being amended to reflect this trend. The success of bus services operated to major events on the Island such as the Music Festival, Motorcross and Walk the Wight. It was not known if such figures could be included as part of the performance indicators.

The Portfolio Holder for Sustainable Development indicated that she was investigating additional performance indicators for sustainability and environmental issues.

ACTION TO BE TAKEN BY THE PORTFOLIO HOLDERS AND HEAD OF CORPORATE POLICY AND COMMUNICATIONS

i A performance indicator be included on the cleanliness of public conveniences.

ii Clarification be sought on whether bus services provided for special events can be included in bus patronage figures.

iii The future inclusion of additional performance indicators for sustainability and environmental issues be welcomed.

ACTION TO BE TAKEN BY THE PORTFOLIO HOLDERS AND HEAD OF ENGINEERING SERVICES

i Information be circulated to members in respect of the amount of waste composted and the income generated.

ii Any information leaflet produced by Engineering Services for the public be sent to all Members of the Council.

9. WORKPLAN

The Head of Select Committee and Best Value Support advised that arising from the Select Committees Awayday a revised Workplan had been drafted.

Members debated the inclusion of an item relating to roadworks carried out by Statutory Undertakers. It was noted that the provisions contained in the Traffic Management Plan may have an effect on how such works were managed.

ACTION TO BE TAKEN BY THE PORTFOLIO HOLDER FOR TRANSPORT AND HEAD OF ENGINEERING SERVICES

A briefing note be sent to all members of the Select Committee on the Traffic Management Bill and the implications for works by Statutory Undertakers.

10. SAFETY CAMERAS

The Chairman welcomed Dr Marion Sinclair, Project Manager and Mr Julian Hewitt, Public Relations Manager, of the Safety Camera Partnership for Hampshire and the Isle of Wight.

The Chairman indicated that recently there had been an increasing public debate both locally and nationally on the purpose and effectiveness of safety cameras. He hoped that the meeting of the Select Committee would assist in highlighting the contribution made by the cameras in road safety and the criteria utilised for their siting.

Dr Sinclair referred to the target set by the Government of a 40% reduction in road casualties by 2010. Figures indicated that in one third of fatal road traffic accidents (RTA’s) excessive speed was the main contributory factor. It was these accidents that the Partnership were concerned with.

The Partnership’s first year of operation in 2002/03 had seen a steady fall in the number of road users injured on camera routes. Dr Sinclair indicated that the Partnership’s office at Winchester could supply a full range of data and extended an invitation for the Select Committee to visit this.

The Department of Transport had set criteria for the siting of both fixed and mobile speed cameras. The sites where fixed cameras were present had seen a 40% reduction in speeding offences and at mobile sites a 26.6% reduction. It was noted that mobile cameras were utilised on lengths of carriageway either side of fixed installations.

Members considered that there was a need to ensure that motorists, aware of a mobile unit being deployed along one road, did not speed on alternative routes. Dr Sinclair suggested that this could be overcome by the use of two mobile units when resources permitted. It was also noted that the Partnership would shortly bring a motorcycle unit into operation. This would enable greater flexibility with regard to positioning along highways.

The Select Committee was advised by Mr K Burton, Senior Traffic Engineer, that safety cameras were just one element in road safety. A balance had to be achieved between education, enforcement and engineering initiatives. It was accepted that specific casualty statistics for the Island were not included in the Local Transport Plan. The Island would also shortly be taking delivery of its own Speed Indication Device (SID) and this had been acquired, at no cost to the Council, by the Partnership.

Members discussed the siting of the speed enforcement/information units and particularly their positioning on hills. Dr Sinclair advised that there was a correlation between excessive speed and hills as such sites normally had a higher incidence of RTA’s. An area that the Select Committee believed warranted further investigation were accidents caused through the driver being distracted by passengers.

Mr Burton referred to causation factors that were recorded as the primary reason for RTA’s. Instances where accidents involving a driver being under the influence of drink or drugs crashing because of inappropriate speed was not recorded under speeding.

In discussing public concern that speed cameras were primarily a source of income generation the Partnership stressed that its aim was to reduce speed related accidents. Dr Sinclair explained how the Partnership re-claimed its operating costs from speeding fines and how this was utilised to cover the costs incurred by highway authorities, police and magistrates costs. Approximately 52,000 tickets were issued in 2003/04 of which approximately 3,600 related to offences on the Island. After the Partnership had recovered its operating costs the surplus of some £500,000 had been retained by the Lord Chancellors Office. Nearly £2m had been invested in traffic accident reduction measures in the Hampshire and Isle of Wight area.

The Chairman thanked Dr Sinclair and Mr Hewitt for attending the meeting. He indicated some concern that the press had not been able to be present for the debate and advised that he would ensure that a note of the Select Committee’s deliberations would be made available to them.

ACTION TO BE TAKEN BY THE SAFETY CAMERA PARTNERSHIP

i The Partnership be requested to investigate the possibility of utilising two mobile speed units in one area to overcome speeding on alternative routes.

ii The Partnership be requested to identify those speed related RTA’s where the vehicle is occupied solely by the driver compared to those vehicles with passengers.

ACTION BY THE PORTFOLIO HOLDER AND HEAD OF ENGINEERING SERVICES

i. Data on speed related accidents be included in the Local Transport Plan.

ii. The actual numbers of people killed in road traffic accidents on the Island to those seriously injured be shown in future related reports.

ACTION TO BE TAKEN BY SELECT COMMITTEE SUPPORT

i A visit to the Partnership offices in Winchester be arranged for members of the Select Committee.

ii A full note of the issues debated about Safety Cameras be prepared and made available to the public and press.

iii The Councils participation in the Camera Partnership be fully supported and regularly monitored.

MEMBERS’ QUESTION TIME

Mr J Effemey submitted in writing various questions on highway issues. The questions and replies given are contained in the Members’ Question Register (MQ 21/04).

Mr R C Richards asked a question in relation to lane markings in Medina Way. A response was provided.

CHAIRMAN