Highways, Transport & Engineering Services Update

1. Highways, Transport & Engineering Services Update • Matt Powell – Network Management Group Manager • Adam Brookes – Traffic Management & Streetworks Team Leader

2. What do we do? • The key delivery areas for Highways, Transport & Engineering Services, managed by Dominic Proud are as follows: • Network Management – Matt Powell (Highways Liaison Officer) • Traffic Management, Streetworks, Road Safety, Public Transport & Car Parks • Engineering Services – Steve Hollins • Scheme design & delivery, Drainage, Structures & Geotechnics • Highways, Transport & Engineering – Mandy Roberts • Carriageway & Footway Maintenance, Scheme design and delivery & Transport Planning

3. How are schemes decided? • Demand for schemes always exceeds the funding available, and therefore schemes have to be prioritised for delivery using the following process: Technical assignment from internal knowledge Incoming Enquiry from Public, Parish, Cllr etc. Prioritise/Implement Value Management strategy. Considers Safety, Benefits, Value for Money, Risk & Condition Job logged on investigation list and reviewed in detail Scheme added to a future years Capital Programme Scheme delivered in year from limited specific budgets. E.g. Dropped Kerbs, small signing and lining jobs Is a scheme justified?

4. What works are planned for delivery this year?

5. Future Work • Extensive traffic surveys were undertaken in July 2016 to educate a wide ranging review of traffic in The Gorge with a view to assessing and providing a list of future schemes for prioritisation. • The early stages of this work are complete, and the following schemes are ready for prioritisation in a future years programme: • Hillside access review – Signing improvements for the hillside area including Jiggers Bank and Legges Way relating to access for through traffic and HGV’s • The Wharfage traffic calming review – Review and alterations to existing traffic calming as part of ongoing maintenance • Speed Limit reductions – Ladywood & Lloyds Head

6. Future Work – Known Issues • The main element still ongoing is a wholesale review of traffic behaviour in The Gorge. Some of the key issues we have been asked to consider include: • Extension of speed cushions along Madeley Road • Traffic Calming along Waterloo Street • Traffic Calming along The Lloyds (to improve conformity to the 20mph limit) • Extension of The Wharfage 20mph zone to cover Buildwas Road and Dale End. • Accident Investigation across The Gorge

7. Future Work – Further Investigation • Initial analysis of the data shows there are only a few locations that require further investigation. • Beech Road – Speed • Buildwas Road - Speed • Jiggers Bank –Collisions • Madeley Road – Collisions • The Lloyds – Speed & Collisions • Waterloo Street – Speed • Wellington Road - Speed

8. Civil Parking Enforcement • Angie Astley – Assistant Director – Customer & Neighbourhood Services

9. What is Civil Parking Enforcement (CPE)? • CPE is the transfer of enforcement for parking, from a criminal matter to a civil matter. Sometimes known as ‘decriminalised parking’. • CPE only relates to on street parking and is only enforceable through the installation of double yellow lines, parking bays, disabled bays etc • To take on CPE powers a Local authority has to apply for powers under the Traffic Management Act which usually takes up to 18 months including the development of a business case through to implementation • Once CPE powers are gained that allows the respective Council to issue a parking ticket, called a Penalty Charge Notice (PCN) this is the new terminology for what we all know as a ‘parking fine’

10. What is Civil Parking Enforcement (CPE)? • Income received from parking tickets is used by Councils to cover the full cost of their CPE enforcement activity (staff) including additional costs such as ICT systems, printing costs, ticket purchase, hand held devices etc.. • Any surplus income has to be reinvested into the local community to improve local transport. • Taking on CPE enforcement powers is not linked to the introduction of any parking charges in off street car parks • Enforcement of off street council owned car parks is already undertaken by the Council

11. Types of Restrictions • These are the main types of restriction that the authority would become responsible for enforcing if CPE powers were gained: • Prohibition of Waiting (double yellow lines) • Restricted Waiting (Single Yellow Lines) • Prohibition of Loading (Kerb Tabs) • Restricted Loading • Limited Waiting • Disabled Parking Bays (If supported by an Order) • No Stopping – Particularly School Keep Clear Markings

12. Other types of Restrictions • Taking on CPE powers does open up the potential for other types of on street parking restrictions to be implemented in Telford, however these are in addition to the standard and would require additional work or further legal orders to enable these to be introduced: • Residents Parking Schemes • Controlled/Restricted Parking Zones • Footway Parking

13. What’s the current situation ? • West Mercia Police withdrew their Traffic Warden service in late 2009 and ‘regular’ on-street enforcement has ceased • Since 2009 the Police have undertaken sporadic enforcement, until a recent pilot in 2014 where Wellington & Newport Town Councils entered into an agreement with the Police to part fund two Police Community Support Officers (PSCO’s) to undertake parking enforcement in each area. • The PCSO’s who are employed and managed by the Police often issued verbal and written warnings during the trial to educate motoristswith penalty notices being a very last resort. • Following the success of the pilot formal agreements between the police and town and parish councils to fund a PSCO for their area are now in place in Dawley, Newport, Wellington, Oakengates and Madeley • .

14. Possible CPE Delivery Models ? • CPE can be delivered in a variety of ways, below are some of the potential options: • Council takes on full responsibility for CPE and employees a dedicated parking enforcement team; • Council takes on full responsibility for CPE and delivers this through multi-disciplinary enforcement officers who can undertake other aspects of enforcement eg litter, dog fouling as well as CPE • Council takes on CPE powers but delegates enforcement to town and parish councils through their PSCO’s with the parishes able to access the Council’s back office systems eg ticketing, debt collection, etc..

15. What are the potential costs of taking on CPE powers ? • Example Only – based on a Council employed dedicated parking enforcement team • 4 Civil Enforcement officers (only undertaking parking enforcement) requiring vehicles, uniforms, ICT equipment and training. • We would utilise our existing external ICT system (used for off street parking enforcement) to perform the penalty notice processing functions • Assumption that officers issue an average of 0.8 tickets per hour of enforcement. We currently issue on average 0.6 tickets an hour on off street car parks.

16. Cost Example • Those assumptions shared in the previous slide create the following model:

17. What factors could affect this? • Ability to attract other funding sources and partnership arrangements to share the costs of implementation • Ticket issue rates and projected income ? • Plateau of enforcement also affecting future income

18. Things to consider when applying for CPE Powers • In order for CPE to be implemented in an area, an Order has to be made by the Department for Transport (DfT), designating the area as a Civil Enforcement Area (CEA). • In a Unitary Authority such as TWC, the Designation Order must include all on-street and off-street parking activities controlled by the council. • There are three main elements that comprise a successful application which TWC will need to consider prior to applying to the DfT for CPE powers; financial appraisal and business case, outcome of consultation and communication and the proposed scope and activities that the designation order should cover. • This process is likely to take 18 months. • If the councils takes on the powers it can then devolve those powers to parish and town council’s, however parish & town council’s cannot apply for the powers directly.

19. Next Steps requested by the cross party Scrutiny • Obtain data from the police on number of tickets issued, enforcement time and costs associated • Explore how many complaints/comments the council and the Police receive about parking enforcement issues • Review delivery models and liaise with other authorities to understand potential delivery options and costs and lessons learnt • Determine appetite for partnership working and partnership funding if the council were minded to consider applying for CPE powers • Consider officer costs and the programme for introduction of CPE from business case development through to operational delivery • Report back on findings in June 2017