Redlands Liberal Democrats

Residents Join Lib Dem Fight for Redlands' Precious Trees

I was really proud yesterday evening when my constituents Colin Eastman (pictured) and Annette Juckes attended a meeting of Reading Borough Council's Cabinet to quiestion Cllr Tony Page, Labour Lead Member for Strategic Planning and Transport on the fate of well-loved trees on Cintra Avenue and Warwick Road.

I have been working closely with local residents Colin and Annette in recent weeks. They have both actively supported our local campaign which we launched over the Summer to get the Council to take extra care of these special trees.

I encouraged them to come along to a Council meeting to help me fight for Redlands' local beautiful environment and they got stuck in!

In response to their expert questioning Cllr Page pledged to replace historic trees on Cintra Avenue "as soon as possible" and agreed to meet with Annette and I to see what more can be done to ensure the survival of strees on Warwick Road.

Well done guys!

I called on the Council to take better care of existing street trees to reduce the need to replace trees further down the line.

We will continue to campaign alongside residents to ensure Labour councillors keep their promises on the environment in Redlands.

News on the University-Hospital area Transport Study

I wanted to update you on the latest news I have about the University-Hospital parking study.

I, along with Cllr Goodall attended a meeting of the steering group yesterday where the following information was made public:-

There were 376 responses to the RBC transport survey: a response rate of 10%.

Therefore, although a relatively high response to a Council transport consultation the views expressed do not reflect the majority of residents living in the area.

92% of respondents were ‘permanent’ residents, 2% were ‘temporary’ residents and 6% were not residents in the area.

47% of the respondents were customers in local shops.
The main frequent travel destination (other than work) was Central Reading as highlighted by 34% of all of the respondents.

9% of all of the respondents travel to London for purposes other than work.

52% of all of the respondents utilised on-street parking within the area.

45% of all of the respondents utilised off-street residential parking within the area.

The most popular bus service was 9/144 as highlighted by 31% of all of the respondents.

Main issue highlighted by 65% of all of the respondents related to on-street parking congestion.

47% of all of the respondents selected ‘Other’. 

The responses of the 47% that selected ‘Other’  of these responses, 37% highlighted parking as an issue.  

122 respondents provided their contact details and indicated that they would like to be part of a neighbourhood working group.
  
RBC will now be setting up resident and stakeholder workshops to start to scope the sort of solutions that residents would like to see put into action. 
 
RBC will also be organising an open public meeting to explore possible solutions to transport problem. 

I will let you know when a date has been agreed.
 
Officers have also been meeting with the hospital and university to talk with them about how they might contribute to solving some of the issues identified by residents. 

This is something we urged officers to do some time ago and we are glad these discussions are continuing.
 
Points to note

So far there has been very little details what any possible schemes might look like or what options they could include.

There was a discussion last night about what it might include - however, due to the Council's protocols I am unable to publish further details.

However, I would encourage residents to keep a close eye on this study as it develops - particularly if they are opposed to the introduction of pay and display/parking meters - something the Lib Dems have long been opposed to in residential areas such as this.

Last night I asked officers if introducing parking meters in the University were part of the Labour administration's plans.

The Labour administration is keen to progress the study and proposals via public meeting/workshops - all part of their 'new approach to consultation', apparently.

To have credibility there must be maximum public involvement as part of this study.

While these are good in principle, I am concerned that not all residents will get to hear about the plans to take part so I have requested that the Council takes advantage of online consultation tools as well.

Any future proposals must not not be forced on residents without their prior consent.

We do not want another Shinfield Road!

We will continue to campaign for maximum public involvement before any decisions are taken or schemes are progressed.

RBC "Self-enforcing" parking restrictions frustrate Redlands residents

A resident contacted myself and highways officers in despair about a local issue earlier this week:

"please find attached photos taken at 11.25am on Sunday 18 September
2011. As you can see there are a host of cars parking on the newly painted double yellow lines at the junction of Cintra and Warwick. Clearly there isno enforcement of the parking restrictions and it seems all of our efforts and council money spent on that has been wasted because there is no enforcement.

Similarly, those yellow lines and the new double yellow lines at the
junction of Christchurch Road and Cintra Avenue are also being ignored at collection and drop off times by Abbey School parents. Again, this is
because there is no enforcement.

Can you explain why there is no enforcement here? Please do not trot out thesame old excuses. I can compare the situation here directly to a visitor to one of our friends in Princes St being issued a parking ticket despite using a visitors permit, scratching out all  the necessary details but omitting to scratch out the year.

Whilst that seems a somewhat petty and extremely pedantic approach by the traffic officer it does completely contrast to the blatant disregard to parking restrictions in our area.   

It seems no-one is taking the concerns of residents in our road seriously.
There has been complete disregard for a remedy to the inconsiderate and/orillegal parking which comprises anti-social behaviour, blocks residents driveways twice a day and which creates hazards to safety and we receive only platitudes. Compare this attitude to the initiatives in Birminghamwhere the council has taken positive to address this issue and taken full consideration of the concerns of residents suffering from such anti-social behaviour.     

Can we please at least have some recognition that residents in Cintra Avenue do actually exist and get some enforcement of parking on those yellow lines? By the way, the act that today is a Sunday should make no difference unless you tell me that it is OK to park anywhere illegally in Reading on a Sunday.'

I can't blame him. 

The picture he sent me (below) shows that people are clearly parking on double yellow lines and on the pavement disregarding the new parking restrictions.

 

I blogged in July about the fact that lack of enforcement of parking and highway restrictions is a real bugbear for residents right across Redlands .

This threatens the safety of pedestrians and other drivers and impacts on the quality of life of everyone living in the area.

My Lib Dem colleagues and I have been actively supporting residents in Cintra Avenue for several months who have been struggling with dangerous, inconsiderate parking.

Our campaign culminated in the introduction of 'no waiting' restrictions (double yellow lines) at the junctions with Warwick Road and Christchurch Road.

Most people would expect that if you parked on a double-yellow line you would expect a ticket...apparently not in Cintra Avenue!

Astonishingly when the matter was raised with officers by my consituent and I this was the response:

'Yellow lines particularly double yellow lines are the most recognisable parking restrictions and mostly self enforceable and we had hoped this would be the case here.Clearly this has not been so and we have raised you concern with our enforcement contractor.  Introducing new restrictions where it has always been free to park may take a little time for people to realise the change and alter their habit. 

From your photos it appears that enforcement will be needed to encourage compliance and our enforcement contractor will visit the area.' 

Anyone living in Reading can tell you that parking enforcement varies widely from ward to ward and street to street. 

We regularly receive complaints about lack of enforcement in particular areas - notably around Erleigh Road and Northumberland Avenue.

When new restrictions are introduced in response to serious problems residents have a right to expect regular and enforcement activity will take place.

If it does not this risks undermining public confidence in the highways authority e.g. the Council.

This lack of consistency in approach to tackling parking nuisance is not acceptable. 

I have raised the latest issues in Cintra Avenue with officers and hope this will lead to an improvement for residents in the future.

One size doesn't fit all for New Road

Since their installation in June 2010, I have received mixed opinions about the effectiveness of New Road's Access Only signs and some of the residents questioned their location and lack of illumination. Officers said that these signs would be in place on an experimental basis and their effectiveness would be discussed at TMAP in 18 months. 

TMAP Meeting

  On the 8 September 2011, there was a TMAP meeting to, once again, discuss these signs.

In the report, Council officers suggested that these signs should be removed as there wasn’t adequate funding to pay to have them illuminated and because of a police objection.

At the meeting I pointed out that these signs should be left in place until there was a better alternative. Indeed, New Road is in the University and Hospital area parking review. In the past, I had conversations with the head of Transport at RBC and she believed it would be possible to have a residents parking scheme on New Road which would allow parking on both sides of the road. I feel that this would be the best option that could ultimately fix the problems that residents encounter on a daily basis. But of cause, Cllr Benson and I will only support a scheme if the majority residents want it.

Pay and display

 During the last election Reading Labour made wild and untrue accusations about secret Lib Dem plots to install pay-&-display meters on various roads.

Although officers had suggested these to us, we were not convinced that residents would like them and would only ever support their installation after a full and proper consultation (something Reading Labour have proved themselves to be unable to do). So it was interesting to hear at this meeting, the Chair and Labour Cllr Gavin practically singing their praises and suggesting that pay-&-display meters were now fine.

Outcome

The meeting ended with this item being deferred to the next meeting. Officers said they would go away and cost the installation of illumination and try and source funding for their installation. Officers also stated that despite the locations of the signs, Hospital and University workers must have become aware of the restriction by now.

Finally, the Lib Dem member of the panel pointed out that these were an experiment and yet no data was presented regarding their effectiveness.

 

University - Hospital Area Study - September Update

I thought it might be helpful to give you a a brief update on the University-Hospital Area Study which is now underway.

I attended a meeting of the Steering Group a few weeks ago and helped influence the shape of the consultation following the many comments I had received from residents.
 
If you live in this area of Redlands you should by now have received a leaflet from Reading Borough Council called 'Managing our Transport - Improving Our Neighbourhoods - Traffic Study'.
 
This is an initial consultation to gauge residents views and will help scope the study, and if you excuse the pun - its direction of travel.
 
It is important that as many residents as possible complete the survey: the deadline for responses is 12 September.
 
If you haven't received a copy of the leaflet please visit www.reading-travelinfo.co.uk/travelinformation/transportconsultations and complete it online.
 
What happens next?
 
The Council's Transport Management Advisory Group is meeting on 8 September at 6.30pm and one of the items on the agenda is this study.
 
Officers are recommending that Councillors note progress and progress the design and negotiation of potential solutions in consultation with local residents, the University, Hospital, Ward members, schools and local groups.

We have been lobbying the Council for maximum resident involvement in this study to avoid another Shinfield Road situation and I notice I have succeeded in getting the Council to put residents first in the report - a small victory for greater resident involvement!  But the key issue will be in how the Labour administration responds to residents views.
 
We are monitoring the study closely to ensure that residents views' are given due consideration.

One aspect of the report does cause me some concern, however.

 5.5 of the report to TMAP  talks about the 'multiple benefits' of introducing on-street pay and display - one of the 'options' being considered by officers.

Lib Dem councillors have made clear throughout discussions around this study of our opposition to the introduction of pay and display charges in residential streets.

I was reassured by senior officers when I posed the question a few months ago that the new Labour administration did not want to introduce new on-street charges - it is clear officers would still like this component included to so we will be keeping a close eye on this.
 
TMAP Meeting - 8 September.
 
The meeting on 8 September is at 6.30pm in the Council Chamber at the Civic Officers and open to the public if you would like to attend to listen to the debate.
 
My colleague Cllr Glenn Goodall is attending the meeting nd will be available to raise any issues - please contact him on glenn_goodall@hotmail.com
 
We will keep you updated as the study progresses.

 'If the consultation and engagement processes confirm that parking issues are the priority in the area, it is proposed that a plan for area-wide parking management be progressed, with appropriate and enforceable restrictions, which may include resident permit parking, no parking (where there is insufficient road space for moving vehicles/ pedestrians), and pay and display. The latter would have the multiple benefits of ensuring better enforcement, tackling parking abuse, increasing turnover of spaces for people visiting the hospital and encouraging people to consider their transport options. Funds raised can implement positive changes, such as new bus stops or pedestrian crossings that contribute towards meeting other transport objectives of both the Council and the University and Hospital.'

Lib Dem councillors have made clear throughout discussions on this study of our opposition to the introduction of pay and display charges in residential streets.

I was reassured by officers a couple of months ao that the new Labour administration had no plans to introduce them.

However, it is clear officers would still like this component included. I am investigating this!

My colleague Cllr Glenn Goodall will be attending the meeting on 8 September along with our Transport Spokesperson, Cllr Ricky Duveen.

The meeting on 8 September is at 6.30pm in the Council Chamber at the Civic Offices. The meeting is open to the public if you would like to attend and to listen to the debate.

We will keep you updated as the study progresses.

Lib Dems win overdue repairs to Redlands roads

Officers have confirmed today that after a long battle by Redlands Lib Dem Councillors Carnarvon Rd, Donnington Road & Donnington Gardens are set to be resurfaced in the coming weeks.

These roads have very badly damaged road surfaces - with a number of potholes which makes life difficult for local residents, drivers and cyclists.

My ward colleague Cllr Glenn Goodall has been raising the state of these roads with the transport department and lead councillors (mainly Labour) for several years , and for years these streets were overlooked by Labour.

When Cllr Richard Willis was the Lead Member for Transport he agreed that these roads should benefit from the additional funding to repair potholes.

At the June full Council meeting Cllr Goodall raised the issue again with the new Labour Lead Member for Transport - Cllr Tony Page:

Councillor Goodall to ask the Lead Councillor for Regeneration, Transport and Planning:

'Will the Lead Councillor for Transport please outline which of the many roads with worn-out surfaces in Redlands will benefit from additional government funding which has been made available to repair potholes, and detail the timetable for this work to be carried out?

REPLY by Councillor Page (Lead Councillor for Regeneration, Transport and Planning):

The Minor Roads Surfacing programme for 2011/2012 includes three roads in Redlands ward.

The roads are Donnington Gardens, Donnington Road and Carnarvon Road. The programme is scheduled to commence in mid-July and take about four weeks to complete subject to weather.

In other roads where potholes meet the nationally accepted intervention levels for action,these will continue to be repaired as part of the ongoing maintenance regime

Officers today confirmed the details of the resurfacing works:-

Donnington Gardens: Surfacing works will start on the 27th September and last 1 day. The lining is due to be carried out on Monday 3rd October and the ironworks will be raised during the week commencing 15th October. The surfacing work will be carried out under a road Closure.

Donnington Road: Surfacing works will start on the 28th September and last 1 day. The lining is due to be carried out on Wednesday 5th October and the ironworks will be raised during the week commencing 1st October. The surfacing work will be carried out under a road Closure.

Carnarvon Road: Surfacing works will start on the 28th September and last 1 day. The lining is due to be carried out on Wednesday 4th October and the ironworks will be raised during the week commencing 1st October. The surfacing work will be carried out under a lane closure and temporary traffic management.

In addition Montague St will receive repairs:

Montague Street: Surfacing works will start on the 22nd September and last 1 day. The lining is due to be carried out on Thursday 29th September and the ironworks will be raised during the week commencing 10th October. The surfacing work will be carried out under a lane closure and temporary traffic management.

As councillors who have been calling for this work we are very pleased to see the Labour-run Council finally take action on these overdue repairs.

One of the reasons this has been possible this Budget year is because of the additional funding the Coalition Government has awarded councils including Reading to deal with potholes as a result of the severe weather at the start of the year.

Action on Parking nuisance - Hexham Road & Hadrians Walk West

It has been brought to our attention that some drivers are parking inconsiderately in parts of Hexham estate which is causing a real nuisance for residents. One wrote to us and said: 

'[problems] include on Hexham Road parking all over the pavement which means people cannot get through especially at weekends, at nights and early mornings.'

We have also had reports of up to 6 cars parking 'at all angles' on Hexham Road.

Problems like this can create local tensions so it is important that they are tackled before they become serious problems.

I brought this problem to the attention of the local Neighbourhood Officer Ashley Blackwood last week who has responded by saying where cars can be traced back to properties tenanted by Council tenants tenants will be reminded of section 3.3.22 of their tenancy agreement regarding appropriate places for them to park their vehicles.

'Should they fail to adhere to the terms of my letter I will take the appropriate action to address the breach.'

It is more difficult for officers to take action where cars belong to people living in private rented properties but if problems continue we will encourage them to raise the issue with letting agents.

In Hadrians Walk West residents are reporting cars parking on the grass rather than the road. in addition we have had reports of delivery vehicles from a variety of companies driving along the Walk. Residents are understandably concerned about threats to pedestrian safety.

I have raised these issues with RBC to see what action can be taken.

Due to among other things an increase in rental properties over the years parking is at a premimum on Hexham estate but the Council has worked hard to improve parking for residents following lobbying by ourselves.

If you live in the area and are having problems please do get in touch and we will do our best to help.

Hospital & University Neighbourhood Traffic Study - Have Your Say!

The Council's Transport Department has launched the initial stages of its consultation around the proposed University-Hospital area traffic study that I have blogged and written to residents extensively about.

From the Council's website: 

'Reading Borough Council wants to work with residents to improve transport throughout Reading in line with the strategy set out in its Local Transport Plan.

Our vision is to improve the local environment and provide better connections to the places people want to go easily, swiftly, sustainably and in comfort.

The aim is to prioritise residents and deliver wider benefits to the health, education and economy of Reading by making changes that improve road safety, and manage traffic and parking.

Through this study, we will work with residents and other stakeholders to implement transport measures that achieve the study aim and benefit people who live, work and visit the area identified in the plan.

This area of Reading has large amounts of both private and rented housing as well as the Royal Berkshire Hospital and the University of Reading, which are two of the most significant places that people want to go to outside of central Reading. They attract high numbers of staff, visitors, patients and students, and are major contributors to the local economy, as well as being key institutions of health and education.

Reading Borough Council wants to minimise the impact traffic has on residential areas and improve the transport infrastructure within this area.

To achieve this, transport investment is now being targeted at this type of area. We need your help in identifying traffic and people movements as well as the priorities we need to tackle.'

I attended a meeting of officers and councillors a few weeks ago to discuss the consultation and ways in which we can involve local people most effectively.

I had a big response from residents to consultation letters I distributed earlier this year asking for views which led me to call for maximum public involvement and prioritisation of the issues that matter most to residents living in the area.

It is vital that the Council listens to the views of local residents and does not proceed with any changes to traffic and parking arrangements without ensuring they are supported by local people. It is also important that any proposals however well-intentioned do not make local roads worse.

Consultation leaflets are being distributed to all residents living in the area. Responses are requested by the Council by September 12.

Residents can also respond online here. We would like to encourage as many residents as possible to take part in this important consultation to ensure their voices are heard.

Illegally parked cars in Redlands - enforcement required

 

 
A few weeks ago a constituent sent me and others the following message about parking problems on Addington Road and Erleigh Road in Redlands:

"Just like to say these are the cars parked on double yellow line during my
nursery walk to school at 11.30 am approx in the morning and 3.00 pm in the
afternoon.

The white van has been parked on the pavement most of the day.

Red post van parked at the bus stop in the morning.

In the afternoon whitevan still on the pavement, car being unloaded and black car on the opposite side of the road.

And another car near the church parked on double yellowlines, these are all parked in dangerous positions when there are spaces in the side roads now the students have left, all these cars on double yellow lines make the crossing less safe."

I raised these issues and had the following response from RBC Parking Services:

'I can confirm that the above roads are part of the normal enforcement by Reading Borough Council.'

Ongoing lack of enforcement of parking restrictions is worrying but hardly news to residents or ourselves.

It's fair to say we get more complaints about this area of the Labour-run Council than almost anywhere else.

We will be pressing for more effective action to reduce this kind of inconsiderate, dangerous parking in the ward as part of the University-Hospital area parking study.

In the short term officers have agreed to my request for additional enforcement visits to the area to tackle problems.

Council bows to pressure for more resident involvement in University-Hospital Area Parking Study

I wanted to give you a brief update on the latest news relating to the University-Hospital area parking study gleaned from a couple of meetings I have attended this week.
 
As you know we have been lobbying hard for more resident involvement in the process and it appears this message is finally getting through to the Labour administration of the Council.

Last month I represented residents views to the Council  on the study and was disappointed to hear the Lead Councillor fail to guarantee that residents would come first in the search for traffic solutions.

Officers have told me that the new administration of the Council is committed to encouraging and strengthening the ways in which it consults and engages with Reading.

We welcome this change of heart by Labour councillors and admission that previous attempts to involve residents properly see One Way IDR, Shinfield Road etc were completely inadequate - something we have pointed out at regular intervals for many years.

I will leave others to speculate about the Labour administration's motivations for doing this, but what matters to us as ward councillors for areas is whether it delivers better services, decisions and outcomes for residents.

As councillors we will be approaching the consultation process around the study with caution, given there are clearly no easy solutions to a number of the longstanding traffic problems residents face in the area, and given the Council's recent track record in 'solving' road safety and traffic issues - ergo Shinfield Road.
 
You may have seen in the news that Reading Council has won funding for sustainable transport from the Coalition Government (just under £5m).

This is fantastic news  which could contribute to aspects of this study including increased walking and cycling opportunities etc.

It is likely that the study area will be increased to include the streets between Eastern Avenue and Alexandra Road.

This is good news and something that we have previously requested.

For clarity I have outlined the process the Council will follow on this study below:
 
Summer 2011

• Steering Group meeting to agree study  area and forms of communication (Steering Group includes Cllrs, Hospital, University, RBC officers) and forms of communications .
• Initial discussions with the Redlands NAG to ask them to participate in the consultation/engagement process
• Newsletter to residents setting out study process and inviting residents to a meeting hosted by the NAG.

Autumn 2011

• Exhibitions both in local venues and on-line inviting residents to participate in study and the identification of problems/issues.
• Open NAG meeting with feedback from exhibitions and brief overview from officers.
• This to be followed by workshops to discuss problems and solutions.
  Residents invited to be involved in future workshops to refine ideas and develop workshop.
• Steering Group meeting to agree outcomes of work and consultation to date.
• Report to Cabinet/Traffic Management Advisory Panel  on final consultation process and introduction of measures.

We will do our best to ensure local residents are involved but the final decision on the agreed scheme will ultimately rest with the Lead Member for Tranport and the Labour Cabinet.

We will keep you posted as the study progresses to ensure the voices of all residents in the study area are listened to by the Council.