Minutes:
The Chair invited members of the public present to put questions to the Select Committee, or to raise issues of concern:
Speed Management Strategy
A resident outlined the following points:
· Concern was expressed that the time allowed for public consultation was less that originally proposed by the Select Committee over 18 months ago.
· The Head of Operations had informed the resident in February 2018 that public consultations were anticipated to be underway within weeks of that date.
· The Select Committee, in July 2018, had stated that it was hoped that the public consultations would be arranged before August 2018.
· The resident considered that the Speed Management Policy had been put in as an appendix to a Road Safety Policy, which had been made available for public consultation via the Area Committees. It was considered that this process fell short of the commitment to public consultation that had been proposed.
· The Speed Management Policy, established via a working group that had not included any representation from the public, is an 80% copy of Caerphilly County Borough Council’s Speed Management Policy produced in 2009.
· Caerphilly’s policy does not have the same impact on rural communities. Monmouthshire is 97% rural. The rural problems regarding traffic speeds differ from the problems occurring in urban areas. Measurement of these problems also differs.
· It is difficult to undertake accurate speed measurements in rural areas. Tubes across the road measure all traffic speeds including bicycles. This can result in a low level of average speed recordings. Therefore, making it difficult for rural communities to obtain a lower speed limit due to the data being skewed.
· The 85th percentile ignores the top 15% of highest speeding vehicles. However, it is this 15% of speeding vehicles that residents are concerned about.
· The Policy does not give enough weight to these facts for communities to be successfully campaigning for lower speed limits.
· The Police are unaware of the traffic issues relating to the area in which the resident lives. Local people know what the problems are. However, under the policy, local people will not be invited to meetings. Local people need to be included in working groups.
· The Policy does not meet the needs of the rural community.
· The Policy needs to have an appeals process.
· The results of consultations should be published including the complaint assessment.
· Amendments from the consultation process need to be included in the Policy.
· Remove reference to ‘complainants’ and re-word appropriately.
Llanbadoc Community Council
The following issues were raised by a representative from Llanbadoc Community Council:
· The representative thanked officers for the work undertaken at Usk Island car park in improving the security there.
· It was hoped that ongoing discussions regarding moving the barrier nearer to the road could be pursued, as it is considered that this will further improve the security at the site.
· The Community Council has submitted a bid to Welsh Government for the resurfacing of Llanbadoc Island car park.
· The representative endorsed the comments raised by the resident in respect of road safety. The Community Council would like to see progress in this matter.
· The Community Council expressed concern regarding the future of the Usk Civic Amenity Centre in terms of the possible closure or termination of days of operation on the site.
In response to the issues raised by the resident and the representative of Llanbadoc Community Council, the following points were noted:
· The Head of Operations had taken account of the points raised by the resident at today’s meeting and those raised at the Lower Wye Area Committee in which the resident had addressed that Committee. The Head of Operations asked the resident to further elaborate on these points, in the form of a note, so that the issues might be incorporated into the draft Policy. Alternatively, The Cabinet Member, with the Head of Operations and the local Member, could meet with the resident to further discuss the issues raised.
· The Cabinet Member stated that he would welcome a meeting with the resident in which the Head of Operations and the local Member would be invited to attend.
· The representative for Llanbadoc Community Council stated that the Community Council would welcome being involved in any meeting pursuing the road safety issues raised. The Head of Operations would liaise with the Community Council representative in respect of this matter, in due course.