Agenda item

Details of any relevant schemes will follow.

The Assistant Director explained that the County Council’s Partnership Programme allowed Parish Councils to bid for matched funding for small scale highway improvement schemes in their areas.  In the unparished area of King’s Lynn and West Lynn, this Committee would now consider any scheme put forward. 

The Assistant Director further explained that if the Committee decided to support a particular scheme, the recommendation would be passed to Cabinet for their consideration. 

One scheme had been put forward for 20/1718.  This was an enhanced pedestrian refuge island crossing, close to the housing estate known as Poppyfields in West Lynn.  A feasibility report had also been produced and was attached to the report, which set out the background to the request as well as details of the proposal.

The Committee noted that the total cost of the scheme would be £20,000.  It was also stated that if the actual costs came in below £20,000 there would be a pro-rata refund.  If the costs exceeded £20,000, Norfolk County Council would accept the risk and the Borough Council contribution would therefore be capped at £10,000.

The Chairman then invited Paul Donnachie to outline the scheme.

Mr Donnachie explained that the intention of the enhanced island refuge was to make it easier for pedestrians to cross the road safely.  Although there was no accident record to warrant the County Council providing a crossing improvement, it could be delivered through the jointly funded parish partnership programme.  He considered that the proposal delivered value for money.

He explained that the different types of pedestrian crossings were determined nationally by traffic flow and pedestrian numbers.  A signalled crossing would not meet the required standard requirement and would be too expensive at £100k+, given that the upper limit on any individual Norfolk County Council Parish Partnership contribution was £25,000.

In relation to the provision of a zebra crossing, Mr Donnachie explained that a zebra crossing on a raised table at the current bus stop location may be viable but would require a detailed pedestrian/traffic survey to confirm that and it was the view of Norfolk County Council that pedestrian numbers were unlikely to reach those required for a zebra crossing.  A zebra crossing would also be expensive at £60k+ which would include improving the surfaces of the approaches to achieve the required skid resistance.

Another key issue which had been raised was visibility – this had also been raised by the West Lynn Forum.   It was explained that detailed adjustments to the siting of the island would be needed at detailed design stage to ensure acceptable visibility was available, which had been noted in the Safety Audit, which was an absolute minimum requirement.  This would require measurement of traffic speeds and a topographical survey.  However the minimum sight distance for pedestrians based on a site measurement was around 50m and likely to be acceptable.

In relation to whether the island could have a barrier to make the crossing safer, Mr Donnachie explained that any surrounding barrier would need to be offset by 450-500mm from the edge of the island.  This would leave only 1m standing space within the 2m island, which was not enough, particularly for users with buggies and pushchairs.

Mr Donnachie also explained that the provision of Belisha beacons would increase the cost as the cost of a beacon was £1800 each and might not be appropriate in this situation.  However measures to make the island as conspicuous and safe as possible would be considered at the detailed design stage.  He added that other available options could be looked at, such as advance signs and they could get the local school involved to design signs, which had taken place in other locations.

He concluded that the proposal needed to be looked at in further detail with the local Ward Members, County Councillor and West Lynn Forum, but he considered that the proposal was the most suitable scheme and did offer value for money.

The Chairman then invited questions from the Committee, some of which are summarised below:

In relation to value for money and affordability, Councillor McGuinness suggested that the proposal did not offer a significant increase in safety and resulted in a lot of cost for not much benefit.  He also considered that there needed to be something that forced drivers to slow down.  He added that there needed to be more information in relation to whether the proposal provided value for money.  He asked what the next steps would be if the proposal was not supported tonight and whether it could be considered again in next year’s Parish Partnership Scheme.

Councillor Joyce cited other examples where other types of crossings had been provided and stated that he did not understand why there was resistance to a zebra crossing in this location.  He added that if the refuge could not be made safer then he could not support the proposal.  He further added that not all zebra crossings were raised.

Mr Donnachie responded that the proposed crossing was safer than what was there at the moment.  In relation to zebra crossings, he advised that they did not have to be raised but they did have to meet national design standards requirements and he was doubtful that that could be achieved in this location.  He also made reference to the cost of the zebra crossing and queried whether the Borough Council would be willing to contribute £35,000 to the cost.

Councillor McGuinness referred to the measures in Clenchwarton which included Belisha beacons, raised zebra crossing and raised tables.  He considered that the proposal put forward for the residents for West Lynn was not good enough.  He added that it needed to be addressed that the speed in that area needed to be reduced and considered that a zebra crossing would do that but not a refuge as proposed.

In response, Mr Donnachie explained that it had been agreed to run the Parish Partnership Programme year on year, however a zebra crossing could not be provided if the standards could not be met.  He added that in relation to Clenchwarton, this was more built up.

The Assistant Director advised that if the proposal was not supported tonight, then it could be considered again in 2018/19 or the County Councillor could progress a scheme separately.

The Committee then voted on whether or not to support the proposal for an enhanced pedestrian refuge island crossing at Poppyfields, West Lynn, which was not supported by the Committee.

The Chairman thanked Mr Donnachie for attending the meeting.

AGREED:       That, the proposal for an enhanced pedestrian refuge island crossing at Poppyfields, West Lynn is not supported.