Friday 28 February 2014
Monday 10 February 2014
Highways Report February 2014
PARKSIDE DRIVE, Houghton Regis: Will be closed around Brentwood Close from 17th-24th February 9am to 3.30pm for installation of raised platforms for crossings. I am waiting to hear from Arriva what plans they have for the 38 and the busway A service.
SUNDON ROAD: A crossing is going in near Easthill Road, with 2 way traffic lights operating.
EASTHILL RD: A contra-flow cycle lane is to be installed in Easthill Road. (I personally objected to that).
PARK ROAD NORTH: Once the Sundon Rd crossing is installed, another crossing is due to be installed at Park Road North near the entrance to the Houghton Hall Park car park.
PARKSIDE DRIVE: Parkside Drive was closed on the 27th January when signposts in fact said the road would be closed from the 28th. Correspondence received via Cllr Spurr, 29th Jan from Amey "I apologise for the error and have spoken to the person responsible to ensure it doesn’t happen again. Jon Shortland, Bedfordshire Highways Account Director – Government, Amey "
I complained to Amey about the dates on the Elgin website, also apparently having the wrong dates. I received this communication from Ameys Streetworks co-ordinator, on 28th Jan " We endeavour to keep all notices through Elgin accurate and up to date. Occasionally errors will be made, however, we are working to reduce these over time. Roadworks.org is a key information portal for travellers and residents and we will continue to concentrate our efforts in this respect."
During the same closure, bus stops were unavailable. I had correspondence with Arriva asking where alternative stops were, and if stops might be made on Sundon Road. They were unhelpful, merely stating that buses had to be diverted and would not be stopping on Sundon Road. Notices on closed stops were equally unhelpful.
ENFIELD CLOSE: 28 Jan. My request for reinstatement of a hedgerow at Enfield Close was diverted to Highways, logged to reference number 217303
PORZ AVE FLOODING: Following my emails, Jill Cross wrote on 30 Jan to say that Flood warning notices were going out today. Meanwhile, another email from Amey told me that they only have one gully-cleaning vehicle for the whole of Bedfordshire!
Jill also wrote on 10 Feb: " We have cleaned and jetted the gullies on Porz Avenue and managed to at least get the gully at the lowest point now working (as of last Thursday). Further investigation is required to get the remaining gullies running – potentially there is a problem with the connections onto the main run which will require liaison with AWA. This work will be prioritised for the new financial year."
PORZ AVENUE LIGHTS: Lights out along Porz Ave through to Sandringham Drv roundabout. Message from Peter Williams, Amey employee, 30 Jan: "We have had issues in the past with these lights due to underground cable faults; our maintenance crew will attend site as a matter of urgency due to the quantity of lights out to investigate and repair the fault."
MANOR PARK: I have been involved with pursuing action to bring about draining flooding at Manor Park.
JOHNSON COURT: 31 Jan. Highways replied to report number CRN 205012. This was a follow up by me to a request last summer for a dropped kerb at Johnson Court.
HIGH STREET: SAFETY REPORT. 31st December: memo from Dave Ager (CBC): "Having checked with the audit team this draft has not yet been approved by all the members of the audit team and my understanding is that this will be done early in the new year. Dave Ager
Acting Team Leader. "
(31 Dec) Wrote asking for High Street puddles to be taken into account when the report is ready.
(21 JAN) Wrote expressing disappointment that we have not received an update on the High Street yet; requested any news of Amey's plans with how you intend to deal with areas of flooding that occur all along the High Street from Mill Road to the Chequers roundabout.
(7 Feb) Wrote to Lee Baldry at Amey requesting what work is going to be done to fix flooding issues all along the High Street from Georgina petrol station to East End. I've asked for a copy of the High Street safety audit, and a timetable for any issue resolutions.
JEANSWAY, DUNSTABLE: I have been made aware that a new bus stop in Jeans Way could cost £100,000. This could come from sustainable transport funding from the Government in the next financial year: April 2014 to April 2015.
GRANGEWAY: A stream of correspondence with Amey. Upshot is that the private owners of garage area are responsible for sorting out their own flooding issues, not CBC Highways or Housing.
PEEL STREET: An abandoned Bulgarian car in Peel Street car park was reported in January.
CYCLEPATHS: Wrote to Amey requesting their programme for cleansing cyclepaths.
BUSWAY: I had some correspondence with Cllr Dave Taylor (LUTON BC) in December, in which he copied in several others. The concern was unauthorised vehicles entering the busway. Following that, a large sign was erected in Luton at the start of the busway. This sign was widely publicised in local newspapers.
GRASS VERGES: CBC councillors want to permit local bans on parking on grass verges where locals request them. In December I asked Gary Baldwin (Amey) what would be an acceptable reason for disallowing parking. The response was very guarded. It would be up to a traffic management Meeting to decide.
BEDFORD ROAD BUS STOPS: Two bus stops very close together. I asked if the bus stops had been put in the right places. Ultimately this response came from Paul Dodge (CBC):
"Centrebus, as a commercial operator decided that they would provide a new guided bus service linking Toddington, Bidwell, Houghton Regis, Dunstable White Lion and Luton. Given the financial investment into the new Busway, this commercial service was welcomed by CBC.
As the route operated along Bedford Road, there were calls from residents of the Bidwell Hill area for a bus stop for this new service, rather than having to walk the additional distance to Houghton Regis Church. Our Transport Policy recommends a distance not exceeding 400m for residents to walk to a bus stop. Bus operators prefer 250m. The new bus stop serves the Bidwell Hill and Platters Way estates. They are also beneficial for residents in the Churchfield Road area.
The bus stop locations were chosen following a safety assessment by Amey. Public consultations are not normally undertaken for bus stops as they are classified as road signs on the Highway.
There are discussions ongoing with an operator about an additional service on the Busway, but their plans are commercially sensitive."
THAT CONCLUDES MY HIGHWAYS REPORT TO FEBRUARY 10TH 2014.
Cllr Alan Winter
Highways rep, HRTC, 10/feb/2014
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