Issue - meetings

Councillor Sarah Warren, Cabinet Member for Climate Emergency and Sustainable Travel, introduced the item and gave a presentation which covered the following:

·  What is this Masterplan?

·  Why have we created this Masterplan?

·  Schools Climate Summit

·  What is the Masterplan?

·  Interactive Map of routes

·  What are the next steps in the Masterplan?

·  When and how do the public get involved?

Panel members made the following points and asked the following questions:

Councillor Box stated that the consultation must make clear that it is a shopping list in order to manage expectations. She asked that open updates are given to show working and why things happen. She stated that bike schemes are good but people have concerns about the dangers of roads. She asked if there is likelihood of bike racks on buses. The Cabinet Member for Highways explained that she had had conversations with two major operators, and it is not something they feel they can do at present.

Councillor Box asked about active travel key partners such as GP’s and schools. The Cabinet Member for Climate Emergency that she wants all partners to feed into the consultation. She stated that the plans will be updated – for example if there is funding for an individual route.

Councillor Collins stated that this was exciting work and that it was good to see integrated routes. She state that it was slightly disappointing that the great tool kit does not seem to flow into the plan, it is just routes. Also some roads are heavily used by cyclists but are low on the maintenance list. The Cabinet Member thanked her for the feedback.

Councillor Player asked about working on what we already have. She stated that road conditions are appalling. She stated that on the Lower Bristol Road car park, all of the vegetation has been pulled out. It must be made attractive. The Cabinet Member stated that these points can be checked and while street trees are not in this policy, it is a priority for us.

Councillor Heijltjes asked how the ATM is delivering for residents, she stated that it was too big, had some mistakes, the map is not useful and census data is from 2021 when numbers were skewed due to the pandemic/work from home. She also asked why another expensive report had been done and asked the cost and timeframe for delivery. The officer explained that the report had been written in house. The data is the most up to date that we have and the plan can be adapted, residents can tell us if we have something wrong. The Cabinet Member stated that she is aware that this piece of work is not complete at this stage, legal advice was slightly later than we would have liked. She further explained that this document puts us in a position to have successful bids for funding and the cost is less than implementing any possible cycle route.

Councillor Johnson stated that cyclists are concerned about cars and also about  ...  view the full minutes text for item 84