Traffic Action Group - Meeting 19th September 2006
Agenda
Barrow upon Soar Traffic Action Group
Meeting to be held on Tuesday 19 September 2006 at 7.30 p.m. at the Bishop Beveridge club on South Street
AGENDA
1. Apologies
2. Minutes of previous meeting – 15 August 2006
3. Matters arising from minutes
4. Sub groups
5. Community Speed Watch
6. A.O.B.
7. Next meeting
Minutes
Parish plan TRAFFIC ACTION GROUP
Meeting Tuesday 19th September 2006
Bishop Beveridge Club - 7.30 p.m.
Present:
B. Henman (Parish Council) C. Gilchrist J. Hardy
M. White (Chair) R. Woodhouse S. Hobbs
W. Woodhouse (minutes) D. Norton I. Knowles
J. Tindle (Treasurer) R. Moorhouse C.Shepherd T. Kershaw (County Council) M. Tansey
N. Ritchie (Community Support Officer)
Mark opened the meeting and thanked everyone for attending.
1. Apologies:
J. Rodgers
V. Brown
R. Brown
E. Dring
P. Haynes
G. Hobbs
S. Knowles
K. Pepper
D. Smith
2. Minutes of the previous meeting:
The minutes for the meeting held on 15 August 2006 were agreed.
3. Matters arising from minutes:
• Tony Kershaw agreed to try to obtain figures from the mobile speed cameras on Sileby Road – He had been unable to obtain details prior to the meeting but would let us know as soon as possible.
• Mike Wilson agreed to ascertain what the legislation was regarding warning signs regarding speed limits on approach roads to villages – Mike is currently on holiday and has not been able to provide this information to date – carried forward to next meeting.
• Tony Kershaw had agreed to investigate the possibility of raised kerbs at bus stops – Tony had attended a meeting where this issue was discussed. A survey on the number 2 bus route is currently taking place, when completed a feasibility study will be produced and passed to the developer, Tony is hopeful that this will be taken forward early in the 2007/08 financial year.
• Wendy Woodhouse was to send a request for funds to the Parish Council – this has been done and the matter is on the agenda at the next Parish Council meeting which will take place on Tuesday 3 October.
• Hazel Fish asked for a contacts list for the group – Wendy Woodhouse had emailed this to her.
• Wendy Woodhouse was to ask Nigel Ritchie, our Community Support Officer, if the posters in the High Street which asked motorists to park correctly could be more visible – Nigel explained that where the posters are displayed is down to the traders in the High Street. He will pass on our concerns and try to persuade the traders to make the posters more noticeable.
• Outstanding from July meeting – Mike Tansey had agreed to ascertain who in the Highways Department would have responsibility for the implementation of Parish Plan – he had obtained information that the Highways Area Manager is Andrew Warrington and the Team Leader, Scheme Development and Projects is Mike Bradford, he is responsible for the development of future schemes.
4. Sub Groups:
There was some discussion about the use of sub-groups. A number of people were concerned about more than one area so would find it difficult to decide which group to join. The community Speed Watch scheme will take a lot of time. It was decided to scrap the idea of the groups.
As an alternative, Mike Tansey suggested having a large map of the village and highlighting 10 areas of concern, these could then be discussed at meetings and any action agreed taken forward. Mike volunteered to facilitate this and the idea was welcomed and agreed by the meeting.
Brian Henman has a suitable map and will bring a copy to the next meeting; David Norton may be able to superimpose the new development onto the map.
There was some discussion about problem areas, some suggestions were made but this will be finalised when the map is available:
• Traffic calming related to the Willow Way Development
• Peak time congestion on the High Street and South Street
• Raised kerbs on bus route
• Pedestrian and cycle access on Bridge Street and the bridge
• Church Street parking and traffic control around Hall Orchard school
• Lack of parking for people using the shops in the High Street/village centre
• Bollards on the Melton Road/South Street junction
• Parking on the pavement
The use of the map will also be helpful when we need to decide which areas to operate the Speed Watch scheme.
There was some discussion about various problem spots and Brian Henman, Nigel Ritchie and Tony Kershaw were able to provide some answers:
• The lay by on the high Street was removed because of the pedestrian crossing and the yellow lines
• The zebra crossing is in the widest place so is unlikely to be moved
• The car park by Somerfields is owned by Somerfields and the lower part is owned by the surgery. Incidentally the plans for the extension of the surgery do not include any extra parking.
• By the Three Crowns public house the area by the recycling banks is public parking and the area adjacent to the Three Crowns belongs to the public house
• The parish council have investigated extra public parking at the library and schools and have found this not to be feasible
• The ground by the Conservative club is owned by the club
• Regarding the bollards on South Street/Melton Road: Brian Henman will approach the Parish Council to discuss traffic being directed to the island instead of turning right into Melton Road
• The use of flyers asking motorists who were parked on the pavement not to do so in future was discussed, Tony Kershaw, Brian Henman and Nigel Ritchie all agreed that this had been investigated some time ago and it was not legal
5. Community Speed Watch:
Mark White explained that we have been accepted on the pilot scheme. We are the first village to be accepted. We need between 6 and 12 volunteers who can be available in daylight hours (7 am to 8 pm) for a period of 4 to 6 weeks. We need to appoint a co-ordinator and a deputy co-ordinator who will need to look after the equipment, hand held speed radars and portable speed signs. Brian Henman said we may be able to use the Parish Council rooms to store the equipment and as a base when the checks are being undertaken.
Training will take 2 to 4 hours. We need to decide as a group where we need to undertake the checks.
Brian Henman said we need to check the position regarding insurance for the volunteers, Mark will contact Mike. There was also a question about where the training will take place and Mark will ask Mike if it can be done in Barrow.
A number of those present volunteered, two people who were unable to attend the meeting had also volunteered;
Veronica Brown
Debbie Smith
Robert Moorhouse
Roger Woodhouse
Colin Shepherd
Caroline Gilchrist
Jim Hardy
Jane Tindle (depending on training being available in Barrow)
Mark White
Wendy Woodhouse
It may be necessary for the volunteers to meet separately; all will be informed if this becomes necessary.
Nigel Ritchie explained that he is unable to take part as a volunteer but he will give visible support.
6. AOB:
• A group LOGO and letter head were discussed but no conclusions were reached
• Ian Knowles agreed to take forward inclusion on the village website
• Fund Raising: We agreed to write to Joan Smith at British Gypsum, Astra Zeneca and EMA but we need to put together a business plan clearly defining the aims of the group before we can do this, Jane Tindle, Mark White and Wendy Woodhouse will meet before the next meeting to get this started
6. Date and place of next meeting:
The next meeting will be at the Bishop Beveridge club on Tuesday 17 October 2006 at the usual time of 7.30 p.m.
