Traffic Management Committee Meeting

A meeting of the Traffic Management Committee was held on Wednesday, Oct 2nd, 2019 at Eccleshall Community Centre at 7pm.

1). Present were:- Councillor L. Dale (Chair);Councillor J. Leather; Councillor P. Jones; Councillor R. Langford;
Councillor E. Amos;
Mrs S. J. Worden (Clerk)

Apologies:- Apologies were accepted from Cllrs. Stenning, and J. Jones

2). Minutes of the meeting held on Wednesday July 3rd, 2019:- The minutes, which had previously been noted by the Council were agreed and signed.

3). Matters arising from the Minutes:- There were no matters arising.

4). To confirm the agenda for the next meeting with highways:-
The next meeting is scheduled for the 15th October at 10am at the Community Centre. A draft agenda has been circulated to all members.
The agenda will be updated to add a question regarding responsibility of Highways for hedge cutting, especially where signs and traffic lights are being covered and causing safety issues.

5). Update on the installation and rotation of Speed Indication Devices:–
All of the posts are now installed, and Mr. Jones is looking to start the installation in the next week or two, with a date to be confirmed.
The Clerk will look to complete set up of the units ahead of this date. Cllr. Langford offered to help with the ongoing data collection.
Feedback from Speed watch team on key speeding areas:- the report on key speeding areas was noted and thanks given to the speed watch team for their work.

6). Consideration of updating of the Zebra crossing in the town centre:- Some areas have zebra crossing poles that have the black and white posts that are lit in addition to the orange beacons. It was queried whether those could be installed at the Eccleshall crossing. Initial enquiries to Highways advised that these units are not used in Staffordshire. The committee resolved to enquire further to see if there is likely to be any move towards these units in the future and if this could be considered for Eccleshall.

7). To consider a Parliamentary report to propose ban for parking on pavements:– The points in the report were noted, and the committee will await further developments.

8). County Council plans for gritting provision in Eccleshall:-
The County Council has provided notification of planned gritting provision for the area, and the location and frequency for the filling of grit bins.
It was noted that in Croxton, the only gritting is completed on Langot Lane, and not the steeper roads that can become impassable. The grit bin is located at the bottom of the hill rather than further up when it is needed, and the last request for a refill was not completed until the following summer.

9). Correspondence:-
Resident issue regarding use of pedestrian access between Fox Hollow to Redhill by a motorcyclist:- The committee noted the issue and that any enforcement would need to be undertaken by the police. The resident has reported it to the Police.
Resident request for additional road markings (roundels/sharks teeth) on Newport Road. This was noted and will be raised with Highways at the meeting.
Resident concerns about speed on A519, when approaching drivers turning right into Meadow Lane on a blind bend (ST21 6QT). This was noted and will be raised with Highways at the next meeting.
Resident enquiry about provision of electric car charging points in Eccleshall. The committee is concerned that the County Council have not yet applied for the grants that are available to provide car charging points and funding is on a first come first served basis. The committee resolved to recommend that the Parish Council write to Mr. Philip Atkins of Staffordshire County Council to ask if an application for grant funding has been made, and if not, what are the reasons for this. The committee would also like to know what future plans have been made for Eccleshall. The committee suggested that the resident also write.
Resident concerns regarding cars parked between the Methodist Church and the Co-op car park entrance and flooding along Stone Road. The concerns were noted, but also that the presence of these cars acts to slow traffic along the road, which is advantageous.

The Committee noted the recent flash floods in Eccleshall and resolved to contact Mr. Archer to ask what reports and photos had been submitted by the Flood Action Group. Flooding had also occurred by Johnson Hall on the Newport Road and Cotes Heath to Moorfield Industrial Estate. It was resolved to add this to the Highways agenda, to ask of their plans to unblock the gullies.

7). Items for next meeting:-
Any items for the next meeting can be forwarded to the Clerk.

8). Date of next meeting:- 8th January 2019, Eccleshall Community Centre, following the meeting of the Planning Committee.
There being no further business, the Chairman declared the meeting closed at 7.30pm.