BOROUGH OF POOLE

CANFORD HEATH EAST, CANFORD HEATH WEST, CREEKMOOR AND OAKDALE AREA COMMITTEE – 22 JUNE 2011

REPORT OF HEAD OF TRANSPORTATION SERVICES

OBJECTIONS TO TRAFFIC REGULATION ORDERS – BALENA CLOSE, SHERBORN CRESCENT, CHRISTOPHER CRESCENT

  1. Purpose of Report

1.1To consider objections received as a result of the Advertisement of Traffic Regulation Orders for the Area Committee’s Schemes.

  1. Recommendation

2.1Recommendations on those Orders which have prompted objections are included on the attached sheets.

  1. Information
  2. The following Orders have been advertised between 13 January and 10 February 2011 :-

(a)Balena Close – Parking Restrictions

(b)Sherborn Crescent – Parking Restrictions

(c)Christopher Crescent – Parking Restrictions

3.2Representations have been received in respect of all three of these items and these have all been circulated to the Committee members. The representations are summarised, and recommendations made on the attached sheets.

Julian McLauglin

Head of Transportation Services

Background PapersNone

Name and Telephone Number of Officer Contact

Steve Dean(01202) 262071

Location / Balena Close
Ward / Creekmoor
Summary of Proposals / Double yellow lines on both sides for the whole length of the road.
Representations / Overall, 20 letters of objection have been received one of which is a petition signed by 17 employers (representing 9 of the companies in Balena Close) and another is a petition signed by 18 employees of Bofa International.
11 of the objections came from Bofa International or its employees and 5 came from Twickenham Plating.
The objectors feel that the restrictions will cause difficulties for the businesses, their staff and for those who deliver to or service them.
Conclusions / The restrictions were proposed in response to complaints that parked vehicles caused difficulties for large vehicles delivering to premises on the estate. When the issue was considered by the Traffic Panel they recognised that local workers might well value the ability to park on the road, but its primary purpose is to provide access for commercial vehicles.
The section of Balena Close between a Cabot Lane and the first cul de sac is predominantly only 6m - 6.2m wide and contains two sharp bends. Even if parking is allowed on only one side of the road, there is only space for two oncoming cars to pass with care – it is not possible for a car to pass a larger vehicle.
The two arms beyond the junction are slightly wider, varying between 7.1m and 7.5m. It is noted that drivers choose to park on the footways here rather to try to keep the access clear. While the council has imposed restrictions in similar industrial estate roads to keep access clear for commercial vehicles, it would be an appropriate response to the objections to allow parking on one side of these two arms.
Recommendations / Make Order as advertised but omit the proposed restrictions on one side of the two arms of Balena Close as shown on Drg NDR09/53 D
Location / Sherborn Crescent
Ward / Canford Heath East
Summary of Proposals / Extension of the existing waiting restrictions to cover both sides of the western end of the road.
Representations / Two representations have been received.
A parent with children at Ad Astra School has written to object that the restrictions will cause difficulties for parents and will merely displace the parking.
A resident of Yeatminster Road has written to support the proposed yellow lines but subject to the provision of alternative parking space nearby. The resident says that parking is a problem not just at school times but also at the weekend when football is played on the field.
Conclusions / The request has been made because buses find it difficult to get along the road, even now that parking is restricted to just one side. They experience problems at school times and also when vehicles are parked for events on the playing fields.
When this was consider by the Traffic Panel, they noted that the road was only a nominal 6.5m in this area, and this is not appropriate to allow parking and a high frequency bus service.
While it will be difficult to enforce at school times, and there will inevitably be some displacement of parking, it is important to keep the bus route clear.
Recommendations / Make Order as advertised
Location / Christopher Crescent
Ward / Oakdale
Summary of Proposals
Representations
Conclusions / Imposition of no waiting at any time restrictions on the outside of the two bends.
Objections
Three residents have written to object to the proposed yellow lines on the northern bend (i.e. outside Nos 23-27 Christopher Crescent)
The residents feel that there is no need for the restrictions here as there are already restrictions in the inside of the bend, parking does not obstruct traffic and the road is wider here than elsewhere in the crescent. They suggest that if the buses find it difficuly using the route they could be diverted to Fleets Lane or Stanley Green Road.
They suggest that cars rarely park on the outside of the bend and those that do are associated with the houses in that stretch of road. The restrictions will make it difficult for visitors to the houses and for the residents to offload shopping etc.
Support
Both Damory Coaches and Wilts and Dorset have requested the yellow lines as they regularly experience problems getting their buses round the bends. They would need to consider whether or not to operate the routes if these difficulties continue.
The request has been made in response to cases where the buses have experienced difficulties getting along the road.
Two bus routes operate in this area and both are financially supported by the Council as “socially necessary” services. Route 128 operates from Poole to Upton Country Park via Sterte, Christopher Crescent and Creekmoor. It was originally introduced by the Borough in September 2005 following receipt of a 70 signature petition from residents in the area unable to walk to the nearest other bus stops on Wimborne Road. Christopher Crescent in particular has a number of Elderly Person’s Dwellings and their residents rely on the bus to access essential services.
Recommendations / Route 32 provides a direct link from Merley to Poole via Christopher Crescent and most importantly Poole Hospital.
Fully wheelchair accessible vehicles are now used on both services.
Any delay at any point along the route means that the bus will be late for the rest of the journey, and possibly for subsequent journeys too. In addition Bus Companies potentially face penalties from the Traffic Commissioner if they are unable to operate their services reliably. The bus companies may therefore withdraw from these roads if a reliable route cannot be maintained. This would severely inconvenience the many elderly residents in the area that regularly use the bus.
While the carriageway width is slightly wider on the bends, this is because long vehicles need extra clearance to get round a bend than they do on straight sections of road. The removal of parking is required because the longer accessible vehicles have front and rear overhangs. They therefore need extra clearance to get round a bend than they do on straight sections of road.
Drivers can park on the yellow lines to pickup/drop off passengers or to load/unload shopping etc. The remainder of Christopher Crescent is not subject to waiting restrictions and so residents and visitors would be able to park nearby, or indeed, in small service road alongside No 27.
Make Order as advertised

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