Agenda item

Consideration was given to the report of the Corporate Director, Regeneration and Economic Development which provided details of representations made for the two Transit 15 schemes involving proposed Traffic Regulation Orders for bus lanes at A177 Shincliffe and A177 South Road, Durham (for copy, see file of Minutes).

Transit 15 was a major public transport project which commenced implementation during the final year of the Local Transport Plan 2 (LTP2) and would continue through early years of the successor plan.  Completion of all of the planned schemes comprising the project would see reduced delays and improved reliability for bus services on seven key bus corridors across the County.  A number of schemes had been completed as part of T15.

(i)         A177 Shincliffe Bus Lane

The scheme was located on the Coxhoe to Durham corridor upstream of the traffic signals at Mill Lane, Shincliffe.  Queues occurred in the westbound direction and traffic could tail back as far as High Shincliffe causing congestion and significant delay in addition to presenting a road safety hazard.

It was proposed to widen the A177 to provide a bus lane inbound into Durham from a point east of the traffic signals which would allow buses to pass traffic queuing on the approach to the signals without increasing delays as an inbound lane would still be available for other traffic.

A consultation letter and plan of the proposals were sent to statutory consultees and delivered to 40 properties.  13 responses were received with 7 objecting to the scheme including the Parish Council.  The issues raised included concern over the scheme increasing rat running through the village and that the bus lane was not long enough to be effective.  Following a meeting with the Parish Council, a survey was carried out which established that there were less than 10 vehicles per day diverting through the village to avoid queues.

Following an informal consultation on the proposed Traffic Regulation Order, 14 responses were received including 12 objections.  The objections related to issues over the increased rat running through the village, the effectiveness of the bus lane and the use of funding for the scheme in the difficult economic climate.

The Traffic Regulation Order was advertised in April 2011 and 6 representations were received including 2 from local Members which were detailed in the report.

Mr Wilcox explained that an email had been received from Mr Phillips expressing concerns regarding the cost of diverting public utilities, subsequent revisting and the affect it would have on traffic.  He had suggested that the utilities be confined to the footway.

(i)         A177 South Road, Durham

The scheme was on the Bishop Auckland to Durham transport corridor and was located on South Road in Durham south of the New Inn traffic signals.  Queues occurred in the northbound direction and traffic could tail back as far as the park and ride site near Mount Oswald golf course.

It was proposed to widen the A177 to provide a bus lane inbound into Durham from a point south of the New Inn signals to a point north of the signalised pedestrian crossing at the pedestrian access of St Mary’s College.  The bus lane would allow busses to pass traffic queuing on the approach to the signals without increasing delays for other traffic as a single inbound lane would still be available for other traffic.

A consultation letter and plan of the proposals were sent to statutory consultees and delivered to 9 properties.  6 responses were received, 2 from members of the public, 1 from Elvet Residents Association, 1 from Durham Branch of the Campaign for the Protection of Rural England and 1 from Durham Constabulary.  4 of the responses objected to the scheme.

The main issues raised included concern over the perceived limited benefits of the scheme and the loss of a row of lime trees in the wooded area to the east of A177 where the road was being widened.  The representations were detailed in the report.

Councillor Williams commented that he was alarmed that only 40 residents had been consulted about the scheme.  South Road was horrendous at peak periods and traffic was often back up the the Cock of the North roundabout.

The New Inn traffic was a continuation of the traffic from the Shincliffe area.  Traffic lights had been installed at Shincliffe for road safety and now a bus lane was proposed.  Shincliffe Village would be used as a rat run to avoid the traffic lights and a speed limit of 20 mph was not supported through the village.  The garden centre in Shincliffe generated a lot of traffic and he did not accept that only 10 vehicles used the village as a rat run.  The A177 was treacherous in icy conditions and there were lengthy delays at High Shincliffe.  Only 3 busses used the route in 1 hour.  The X1 was not supported due to the lack of students using the service and another service was being withdrawn from Bowburn.

Mr Bainbridge explained that 40 properties in Shincliffe were consulted whom it was felt could be affected by the scheme and associated construction works.  The bus lane would not affect the pedestrian crossing and the refuge would be maintained.  The bus usage information had been obtained from the public transport unit.

Councillor Foster queried how the scheme was funded.  Mr D Wafer explained that T15 was funded by central government’s regional transport allocation to be used on bus improvements.

Councillor Turnbull commented that he lived in an area which had a bus lane installed which caused more problems especially in rush hour when the traffic was trying to merge at the end of the bus lane.

RESOLVED that

(i)         the Traffic Regulation Order for the implementation of the A177 Shincliffe Bus Lane order be refused.

(ii)        the Traffic Regulation Order for the implementation of the A177 South Road, Durham Bus Lane order be approved.