To approve as a correct record the minutes of the meeting held on 5 December 2023.

Decision

That the minutes of the meeting held on 5 December 2023 be approved as a correct record.

Report of the Strategic Director (Neighbourhoods)

This report sets out the Council’s approach to Road Safety.

The Committee received a report of the Strategic Director (Neighbourhoods) which set out the Council’s approach to Road Safety.

Key points and themes within the report included:

• Examples of previous Road Safety Projects;
• City Wide Speed Limit Reductions;
• School Streets Schemes;
• Controlled Pedestrian Crossings;
• Cycle Training (Schools);
• Vision Zero;
• School Crossings and Park Entrances Audit;
• Enforcement of Moving Traffic Offences;
• Disabled access improvements;
• Enforcement activities undertaken around schools including GMP (Greater Manchester Police);
• Road Safety Strategy document;
• Speed Cameras / Red Light Cameras;
• Rights of Way Improvement Plan;
• Road Safety Week; and
• Road Safety Tool Kits for schools.

The Chair of the Children and Young People Scrutiny Committee addressed the Committee in relation to schools and active travel.  She reported that, due to increases in pupil numbers, children were having to travel further to school, crossing main roads.  She reported that driving had got worse since the pandemic and expressed concern about issues on the main arterial routes into the city and cuts to traffic policing.  She referred to previous national campaigns to make drivers aware of the dangers of speeding. 

The Head of Network Management acknowledged the points raised.  He reported that, while investment was needed to make improvements on the roads network to improve safety, policing was also needed and the Council and Transport for Greater Manchester (TfGM) were working with Greater Manchester Police (GMP) in relation to enforcement and greater visibility, which would act as a deterrent.  He highlighted the importance of education, training and enforcement.  He recognised that road safety campaigns and messaging had not been as prominent in recent years as they had been previously and advised that this was something that the Council would pursue, including lobbying the Department for Transport regarding a national campaign.   He informed Members about the role of car manufacturers and the use of technology such as black boxes to reduce accidents.  He informed Members that the Council was developing a Road Safety Strategy to identify improvements that the Council could make and monitor progress against targets.

The Director of Highways reported that an assessment of all school and park entrances had been carried out in the previous six months and that, on the basis of this, and subject to funding, improvement work would be planned to improve safety.  He highlighted the additional powers that the Council had been granted to enforce moving traffic offences (MTOs) which would be important for tackling some of the poor driving behaviour referred to.  He reported that speed camera enforcement would be part of the Road Safety Programme which was being rolled out.

The Chair of the Children and Young People Scrutiny Committee expressed concern about drug-driving and advised that more speed cameras were needed on main arterial roads.  She reported that Manchester did not currently have its fair share of school buses, compared to other Greater Manchester authorities, and informed the Committee about work she was involved in to address this.

Key points and queries that arose from the Committee’s discussions included:

• The  ...  view the full minutes text for item 2.

Report of the Head of Network Management

This report highlights the performance, key outcomes and successes achieved in 2022/23 along with some of the challenges going forward.

The Committee received a report of the Head of Network Management which highlighted the performance, key outcomes and successes achieved in 2022/23 along with some of the challenges going forward.

Key points and themes within the report included:

• Investment in the city;
• Social Value;
• Street works;
• Winter services;
• Major projects;
• Road safety and pedestrian crossings;
• Network congestion;
• Service performance and delivery;
• Public satisfaction;
• Key highway assets;
• Cycleways;
• Drainage, including Sustainable Urban Drainage Systems (SUDS);
• Bridges and structures; and
• Street lighting.

Key points and queries that arose from the Committee’s discussions included:

• Had an assessment taken place into whether the investment in highways was good value for money;
• Succession planning and addressing staffing gaps;
• Communication with residents on the work of the Highways Service as well as communication with residents who had reported problems and obtaining feedback from residents;
• How would the condition of footpaths be improved, given the budget constraints;
• Service performance targets and how Manchester compared to other Core Cities;
• The quality and durability of thermal repairs;
• Concerns about roads and pavements which were being dug up by broadband companies and reinstatement work being carried out in a timely manner and to a good standard;
• Loose flagstones;
• Noting that some information had been excluded from the report to keep it at a manageable size, suggesting that in future additional information could be included as an appendix;
• That it was important to think about culture change, rather than behaviour change of individuals;
• How non-responses were considered in consultations, given that those who felt most strongly on either side were the only ones likely to respond and concern that this could result in some schemes not going ahead on the basis of a vocal minority;
• Learning from the Chorlton Cycleway consultation and other large projects; and
• How success was defined in reports, requesting that in future it should be clear whether this referred to outputsor intended outcomes.

The Director of Highways reported that a workforce plan was being developed for the Highways Service in addition to a proposed restructure to provide better succession planning; however, he advised that there was a national shortage of civil engineers and that local authorities across the country were struggling to recruit to some technical posts.  He informed Members about plans to build a graduate and apprenticeship programme and create career pathways to retain staff.  In response to a Member’s comments about the quality of street works carried out by broadband companies, he advised that part of the challenge was recruiting to roles to carry out inspections.

The Head of Network Management drew Members’ attention to the information in the report on the Annual National Highways and Transport (NHT) Survey, stating that the data, including public satisfaction, was benchmarked against other Greater Manchester authorities and Core Cities.  He stated that value for money was assessed by central Government and that Manchester’s Highways Service performed well on this.  He reported that information on value for money was originally going to have been included in the report  ...  view the full minutes text for item 3.

Report of the Strategic Director (Neighbourhoods)

Vehicles parking on footways, cycleways and pavements can cause obstruction to people seeking to use those facilities for their intended use of walking and wheeling in the city. Unmanaged parking on pavements often results in parking practices which are inconsiderate to the needs of those road users and can result in people who need the most assistance in travelling around the city (e.g. young children, the elderly and people with limited mobility and disabilities) being significantly impacted in going about their daily lives.

The Committee received a report of the Strategic Director (Neighbourhoods) which provided an overview of issues relating to pavement parking.

Key points and themes within the report included:

·         Managing pavement parking, including physical prevention, accommodation and enforcement;

·         Consequential effects of preventing pavement parking; and

·         Pavement parking in Manchester.

Key points and queries that arose from the Committee’s discussions included:

• The problems that pavement parking caused in Members’ wards for pedestrians, particularly wheelchair users and those with pushchairs, and local residents and that the extent of the problem was not captured in the report;
• That wards neighbouring the city centre were particularly badly affected due to commuters parking on their streets;
• Concern about people driving on the pavement and that enforcement action should be taken;
• Damage to pavements from vehicles, particularly Heavy Goods Vehicles;
• To support action to address pavement parking, while recognising the challenges involved in this;
• Concern that there was insufficient guidance from the Government on addressing this;
• Questions about trials schemes and the need to communicate the changes to drivers;
• That some drivers were not deterred by fines because it was not a lot of money to them;
• To request a further report following a response from the Government or when data was available from the trial schemes; and
• Noting that in some areas banning pavement parking would make a road effectively a one-lane road, due to the width of the roads; and
• That the language in the report should demonstrate that other road users were being prioritised over car users.

In response to Members’ questions about the trial project to prevent pavement parking, the Executive Member for Environment and Transport reported that there was no blueprint for this as yet due to the complexities involved.  She reported that they were looking across the whole city for trial areas, that consideration needed to be given to where the cars would go if they were not parked on the pavement and that part of the work was about behaviour change and reducing the number of cars in the city.  She advised that it was important not to just displace the problem into different areas.  In response to a Member’s comments about Operation Park Safe in Sheffield, she reported that GMP were looking to other areas for good practice which could be adopted in Manchester.  She informed Members that she was also engaging with local MPs to make progress on this issue.

In response to a Member’s question, the Director of Highways reported that GMP was looking into using photographic evidence provided by members of the public to support enforcement but that clarification was needed on the definition of obstruction in relation to pavement parking offences.  He agreed with a point from the Chair about a minimum width of clear footpath being a useful measure, stating that this would be useful for defining obstruction and for prioritising areas for intervention.  In response to a further question, he confirmed that grass verges were included under the pavement parking powers in  ...  view the full minutes text for item 4.

Report of the Governance and Scrutiny Support Unit

This report provides the Committee with details of key decisions that fall within the Committee’s remit and an update on actions resulting from the Committee’s recommendations. The report also includes the Committee’s work programme, which the Committee is asked to amend as appropriate and agree.

A report of the Governance and Scrutiny Support Unit was submitted. The overview report contained key decisions within the Committee’s remit, responses to previous recommendations and the Committee’s work programme, which the Committee was asked to approve.

The Chair informed Members that the report on the Cultural Strategy had been deferred to the next municipal year.

Decision:

That the Committee note the report and agree the work programme.