Report of the Director of Highways

This report outlines proposals to introduce enforcement in Manchester as a result of changes in legislation that allows local authorities to enforce moving traffic offences.

The Committee considered a report of the Director of Highways which provided an overview of changes in legislation which allowed local highways authorities to enforce moving traffic offences such as no entry, yellow boxes, banned turns, traffic restrictions and environmental weight limits.

Key points and themes in the report included:

·                The benefits of enforcement of moving traffic offences such as

o   Improved road safety including pedestrian and cyclist safety, supporting modal shift to sustainable transport options

o   Reduced highway congestion

o   Improved journey times for public transport and emergency service vehicles

o   Improved air quality, reduction in transport related emissions contributing to carbon net zero targets

o   Reallocation and saving of police time

·                Local authorities have power to take on civil enforcement of certain moving traffic and parking contraventions by decriminalising the offences;

·                Enforcement by CCTV cameras has proven to improve levels of compliance with road traffic regulations;

·                The initial implementation programme and trial sites from January 2023;

·                A future proposal for enforcement of parking on school Keep Clear markings.

Some of the key points and queries that arose from the Committee’s discussions were:

·                Welcomed the changes to regulations;

·                Why a trial period was necessary;

·                What did moving traffic offences and the acronym CEA refer to;

·                The future proposal for enforcement of parking on school Keep Clear markings understated the benefit this would have on road safety;

·                A speedy roll out of measures following the trial period was encouraged;

·                Whether enforcement would apply to right-turning vehicles in a yellow box where oncoming traffic is congested;

·                Could the Council ask developers to partially fund ANPR cameras in future schemes; and

·                The possibility of including other contraventions and sites in the trial;

The Director of Highways clarified that moving traffic offences referred to any offence against signs or traffic regulations and that CEA was an acronym for civil enforcement area, which was the whole of city in this instance.

It was explained that a trial period was necessary to ascertain what the level of adherence may be and exactly how much enforcement would be required. It would also allow the Council to learn lessons before imposing regulations city-wide.

The Director of Highways advised that each yellow box would have between 2 and 4 ANPR cameras, which would record all types of contraventions within the box and that the measures were intended to reduce the likelihood of congestion in yellow boxes. The Director of Highways confirmed that the Council could ask would developers for contributions to fund ANPR cameras as part of the approval process for development schemes. He stated that he would ask the Development Control team in the Highways department to consider the suggestion further.

In response to a query as to why enforcement for parking on zigzags was not included in the trial, the Director of Highways explained that there was an ongoing shortage of mobile cameras typically used to enforce this and the Council was trying to find a solution which can be located at various school sites across the city. Enforcement Officers will continue to patrol and monitor sites where zigzags are in use.

The Executive Member for Environment and Transport reiterated the Committee’s comment that the future proposal for enforcement of parking on school Keep Clear markings needed to emphasise the benefit this would have on road safety and that this would be a key message when communicating the new powers. This would be shared with the Council’s Communications team.

The Director of Highways noted the Committee’s suggestion of including other contraventions and sites in the trial and stated that he would discuss the possibility of including an additional site in the trial with the Executive Member, depending on availability of funding. The expenditure involved with running the trial period had been taken from the parking reserves, which was acknowledged as a valid use of funds, and the income generated from enforcement would be reposited into the parking budget for future activity and investment.

Decision:

That the Committee notes the report and endorses in principle the proposal to begin enforcement of moving traffic offences.