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Subject: |
Old Shoreham Road Cycle Lane - Petitions for Debate |
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Date of Meeting: |
23 July 2020 |
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Report of: |
Executive Lead Officer for Strategy, Governance & Law |
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Contact Officer: |
Name: |
Mark Wall |
Tel: |
01273 291006 |
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E-mail: |
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Wards Affected: |
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All |
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For General Release
1. SUMMARY AND POLICY CONTEXT:
1.1 Under the Council’s Petition Scheme if a petition contains more than 1,250 signatures and is not petition requesting officer evidence, it will be debated by the Full Council.
1.2 There are two conflicting e-petitions which have resulted in triggering a debate at the council meeting, having exceeded the threshold with a total of:
(a) 3,937 signatures confirmed at the time of printing the report in favour of removing the Old Shoreham Road Cycle Lane Extension; and
(b) 3,644 signatures confirmed at the time of printing the report in favour of making the Old Shoreham Road Cycle Lane permanent.
2. RECOMMENDATIONS:
2.1 That the petitions are noted and referred to the Environment, Transport & Sustainability Committee for consideration.
3. RELEVANT BACKGROUND INFORMATION / CHRONOLOGY OF KEY EVENTS:
3.1 The Petitions:
(i) Remove Old Shoreham Road Cycle Lane Extension
The extension of the Old Shoreham Road cycle lane was announced on the evening of Thursday May 7th, 2020 for implementation by Sunday 10th May 2020.
This was implemented without reference to the ETS committee, nor all the affected councillors, and without any consultation with the electorate, or any transport groups (other than Sustrans).
It does not meet the government's criteria for a "Covid Cycle Lane" as there is little public transport using this section of road.
Since its introduction the use by cyclists is minimal, mainly as a result of the route being hilly and not linking anywhere of any real interest. The remaining single lane used for other traffic is seeing increasing traffic and subsequent congestion at junctions as government “lock down” restrictions are relaxed.
It seems there has been no active monitoring of traffic flows in the Old Shoreham Road or in adjoining roads, nor any measurement of emission levels to identify whether or not this is a net improvement to the local environment.
This petition requests that the council removes the temporary cycle lane extension from the Old Shoreham Road between The Drive and Hangleton Road and does not reinstate it until a full planning review and consultation with all affected parties (including residents) is performed.
Lead Petitioner – Peter Challis
(ii) Make Old Shoreham Road Cycle Lane Permanent and Establish a City-wide Cycle Network
Around 30% of households in the city do not have a car. Given current advice to avoid public transport, walking and cycling are obvious options. With the reduced traffic in lockdown, there has been a huge rise in the number of people cycling but many people who wish to cycle feel unsafe doing so in dense, fast-moving traffic, such as that found on the Old Shoreham Road. The solution to this is segregated cycle lanes.
Cities that have invested in cycle networks, such as Copenhagen, have seen a big rise in cycling and a drop in car use. This means that streets are less congested, the air is cleaner and people who have no alternative but to use a car can get about more quickly and easily. Although isolated cycle lanes on key roads are better than nothing, we will not see a large shift from car to bicycle use until there is a full network.
Lead Petitioner – Chris Williams
4. PROCEDURE:
4.1 The petitions will be debated at the Council meeting in accordance with the agreed protocol:
(i) The Lead petitioner for each petition will be invited by the Mayor to present the petition and will have up to 3 minutes in which to outline the prayer of the petition and confirm the number of signatures;
(ii) The Mayor will then open the matter up for debate by councillors for period of 15 minutes and will first call on the relevant Committee Chair to respond to the petitions and move a proposed response. The Mayor will then call on those councillors who have indicated a desire to speak in the matter, before calling on the relevant Committee Chair to respond to the debate;
(iii) An amendment to the recommendation in paragraph 2.1 of the report or to add additional recommendations should be submitted by 10.00am on the day of the meeting; otherwise it will be subject to the Mayor’s discretion as to being appropriate. Any such amendment will need to be formally moved and seconded at the meeting;
(iv) After the 15 minutes set aside for the debate, the Mayor will then formally put:
(v) (a) Any amendments in the order in which they are moved, and
(b) The substantive recommendation(s) as amended (if
amended).