Agenda item

On a motion from Councillor Saskia Heijltjes, seconded by Councillor Joanna Wright, it was unanimously

RESOLVED that

Council notes:

1.  Statistics from the Department for Transport state that between 2017 and 2021 – the last period with complete data, 15 people were killed and 133 seriously injured by vehicle collisions within Bath and North East Somerset. On average, 292 are injured every year on B&NES Roads and 31 are killed or seriously injured. The number of all reported personal injury collisions on Bath and North East Somerset highways has reduced by 46% over the last decade, however vulnerable road users like cyclists and pedestrians are disproportionately affected.

2.  Bath and North East Somerset’s aspirations on road safety are included in the West of England Combined Authority (WECA) Joint Local Transport Plan 4 (JLTP4), which contains a target: ‘a vision of zero avoidable deaths on locally managed roads by 2036,’ and an objective: ‘Road safety for transport users is improved, particularly for those most at risk.’ Progress against the targets in JLTP4 is monitored through the Combined Authority’s annual Progress Reports. The council’s current and recent efforts to make roads safer include:

?  More than 10,000 children in Bath & North East Somerset will receive some form of road safety education this year;

?  Recent road layout schemes, including the B3114 collision reduction scheme and the London Road cyclist safety scheme;

?  Numerous pedestrian improvements near schools;

?  A programme of 20mph speed limits.

?  Support for Community Speedwatch programmes in collaboration with the Police

3.  As part of any highway scheme, Bath and North East Somerset Council undertakes a series of robust safety audits in line with national guidance, to provide a detailed independent assessment of a scheme. This ensures that safety aspects of design and implementation have been scrutinised and addressed. Reduction in the number and severity of casualties for all road users is supported through the following interventions:

?  Considering the needs of all road users in the design of transport and highway schemes, particularly vulnerable road users

?  Delivering road safety education and skills training to equip people with the knowledge and skills to travel in a safe and sustainable way

?  Working in partnership to build safer communities

4.  Vision Zero is a proven strategy to eliminate all traffic fatalities and severe injuries while increasing safe, healthy, and equitable mobility for all. Key principles include:

?  Safe speeds - encouraging speeds appropriate to the street;

?  Safe streets - designing an environment forgiving of mistakes;

?  Safe vehicles - reducing risks posed by the most dangerous vehicles;

?  Safe behaviours - improving the behaviours of people using our roads;

?  Post-collision response - learning from collisions and improving justice and care for victims.

5.  B&NES council has recently launched the Joint Health and Wellbeing Strategy and Corporate Strategy which set out priorities for healthy communities as well as safe neighbourhoods.

6.  Councils and organisations that have adopted Vision Zero include: Bristol, Kent, Devon, Cornwall, Brighton and Hove, Blackpool, Leeds, Hackney, Transport for London, National Fire Chiefs Council, The AA, and RAC.

7.  The Vision Zero approach is endorsed by international organisations, including the World Health Organisation (WHO) and Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), and is led by an ethical stance that it is not acceptable that people should be killed or seriously injured as a price for mobility. These are avoidable events – not accidents.

8.  Actions that can be taken to achieve vision zero often include:

?  Road Design, including separation of cycle users and pedestrians from vehicles;

?  Enforcement of Speed Limits and the Highway Code;

?  School Streets;

?  Liveable (Low Traffic) Neighbourhoods;

?  Education;

?  A cohesive network of walking and cycling routes

Council believes that:

1.  The vast majority of road deaths are avoidable, and the only acceptable long-term casualty target for road deaths and serious injuries in Bath and North East Somerset is Zero.

2.  It is vitally important to provide consistent, accessible active travel infrastructure for people to use across Bath and North East Somerset, as outlined in the council’s Journey to Net Zero strategy, as it is known that fear of injury suppresses the demand for walking and cycling, adversely affecting children, older people and people with disabling conditions.

3.  Much of Bath and North East Somerset’s active travel infrastructure is disconnected and does not meet the accessibility requirements of a modern diverse society in our region. Projects to create more connected active travel infrastructure across Bath and North East Somerset, providing greater separation of people walking and cycling from those in motor vehicles, such as the City Region Sustainable Transport Fund project “Somer Valley Links”, will reduce casualties and are to be welcomed. By separating people walking, cycling, and using vehicles, casualties will be reduced.

4.  High-quality, consistent road design can reduce road deaths. Local Transport Note LTN 1/20, Cycle infrastructure design, is the current best practice design guideline for all transport schemes and is endorsed by Active Travel England and has been put in place by the UK Government.

5.   There are a number of actions that will require joined-up work with partner organisations. However, there are some steps to reduce road casualties that B&NES Council could report on feasibility of in the short term, these include:

?  Encourage and investigate actions with partners, such as the Police, to enforce 20mph and safer driving practices as part of their operations;

?  Identify the ten most dangerous locations in B&NES and implement coordinated and evidence-based changes to make them safer;

?  Reduce risk through intelligence-led enforcement;

?  Increase further use of bicycles by Bath and North East Somerset officers while at work; accelerate the roll out of school streets;

?  provide a road safety forum for Schools.

6.  The following actions are likely to cost money and, acknowledging the severe constraints upon all local authority budgets, should therefore be costed with a view to future implementation:

?  Speed Limiters in all council vehicles to act as pace vehicles for the whole City;

?  Roll out of ‘vision zero’ training to all council employees who drive as part of their role;

?  Re-deployable average speed cameras at hotspots;

?  A public awareness campaign on Vision Zero BANES with targeted education programmes that change road user attitudes and behaviour;

?  Run an “Exchanging Places” programme to make HGV drivers, bus drivers and cyclists more aware of one another;

?  Investigate the use of safer HGVs based on the Transport for London (TfL) policy;

?  Review and reduce wait times for pedestrians at the ten busiest signalised crossings or junctions;

Council therefore resolves to:

1.  Set a Vision Zero target for road deaths and serious injuries by 2030.

2.  Call upon WECA, as our transport authority, to fund and publish a plan to support achievement of the Vision Zero target adopted in JLTP4, to explore feasibility of bringing the target date forward to 2030, and to work with its constituent Unitary Authorities to promote a joined-up approach to Vision Zero across the region.

3.  Include consideration of this target in all relevant council decisions and strategies e.g. road design and procurement, by implementing LTN1/20 when building any new walking, cycling and road projects, and adopting best efforts to meet LTN1/20 standards when providing diversions around highway maintenance work.

4.  Work with partners and other organisations including West of England Combined Authority, Major Employers, Avon & Somerset Police, Avon Fire and Rescue, South West Ambulance Trust, First Bus, Faresaver, TIER, Developers and residents to achieve Vision Zero.

5.  Recognise the need for ongoing support to implement this motion and ensure that, within the constraints of the approved budget and existing staffing resource, a Vision Zero approach is consistently used at all times.

6.  Request the administration to report back to the relevant Policy Development and Scrutiny Panel on progress towards these steps in 12 months’ time.