Agenda item

Report Attached

The Committee considered a report that detailed the outcome of a consultation relating to various measures to improve traffic flow and parking in Upminster Town Centre. The report also included a review of existing waiting restrictions, upgrading of on-street parking facilities, provisions for loading facilities for businesses, improving accessibility for passengers at existing bus stops, pedestrian crossing improvements and pedestrian guardrail relocation.

 

The following proposals were detailed in the report:

Existing traffic conditions at St. Mary’s Lane/ Corbets Tey Road / Station Road Junction, Upminster

 

The junction of St Mary’s Lane/Corbets Tey Road/Station Road handles considerable amount of both local and long distance traffic which resulted in long queues of traffic developing on all arms of the junction particularly during the peak periods.  

The above junction was locally known as Bell Corner and it was connected with a major network of local distributor roads.  To the north of the junction, was Station Road which leads to Hall Lane which in turn connects to the A127 Southend Arterial Road, thus providing access to Central London and the M25 motorway. The eastern arm of St Mary’s Lane connects to Brentwood whereas the western arm (A124) connects to Hornchurch Town Centre, Rush Green and continues into the Borough of Barking and Dagenham. In the south, Corbets Tey Road leads to country roads heading towards Ockendon, Aveley and beyond. 

 

Traffic movements at the junction of Bell Corner

In St Mary’s Lane (eastbound approach to the junction) there was one traffic lane which flares to three lanes at the stop line. The first lane permits left turn movements into Station Road, second lane permits ahead movements whereas the third lane permits right turn movements into Corbets Tey Road. In St Mary’s Lane (east side of the junction) there are two traffic lanes, the first lane permits ahead and left (Corbets Tey Road.) movements whereas the second lane permits right turn movements into Station Road. In Station Road there are two lanes, the first lane permits ahead (with a short left turn filter lane) whereas the second lane is for ahead and right turning traffic. Corbets Tey Road has similar traffic movements as Station Road, except lane 2 was for right turning traffic.

 

There were pedestrian crossing facilities provided on all arms of the junction. All crossings are signal controlled which allowed pedestrians to cross in two stages. The bus stops on the west side in Station Road were situated in the existing lay-bys which experience a regular occurrence of illegal parking throughout the day, thus forcing buses to stop in the road which in turn causes delays to other traffic. This provided poor accessibility for passengers particularly disabled people, elderly people or people with push chairs.

 

Site observations and traffic flow data showed that queuing was present during all peak periods but worst after 07:30 in AM peak with queues reaching a total of 24 vehicles in Corbets Tey Road, 26 vehicles in Station Road , 32 vehicles in St Mary’s lane (west) and 27 vehicles in St Mary’s Lane (east). The figures only represents the stationary queue at the time when the lights turn green, therefore, it did not represent the number of vehicles which were part of the rolling queue on the approach to the junction. 

 

Another contributory factor which caused traffic congestion at the junction was due to the close proximity of local schools where parents park inconsiderately when dropping or collecting children from St. Joseph’s Catholic Primary School and Upminster Primary School.

 

Public Transport facilities in Station Road, Upminster

Station Road in Upminster conveyed high frequency of bus services.  Bus routes namely 248 (7), 346 (4), 370 (4), which equates to 15 buses per hour in each direction.  In addition, route 347 provides 2 services every two hours daily, Monday to Fridays. The figures in the bracket indicate number of buses operating per hour in each direction.

 

There was also a school bus route 648 which operates 2 services in the morning and 2 in the afternoon, Monday to Fridays only.

 

   Details of the Feasibility Studies

 

The report informed the Committee that Jacobs Consultancy was commissioned by the Council’s Streetcare Services to carry out feasibility studies for the following measures:

 

i)                   A feasibility study to replace the existing signalised junction of the Bell Corner with a roundabout.

 

ii)                 Change the Method of Control of the traffic signals to improve safety for pedestrians. The problem occurs when vehicles wait in the central turning area at the junction to turn right from St Mary’s Lane (east arm) into Station Road are delayed as they are not aware about the change of the traffic lights and when they move they come in conflict with pedestrians crossing Station Road on phase K as shown on the existing Method of Signal Control at the junction.

 

iii)               Improve the traffic congestion by taking into account the possibility of widening the southern end of Station Road to increase the length of the left turn filter lane.

 

iv)                Review the existing waiting, loading restrictions including on road parking facilities and upgrade them which would economically benefit the area, particularly in Corbets Tey Road.

 

   Proposals for a roundabout

 

Feasibility studies were carried out to replace the existing signalised junction with a roundabout.  A normal roundabout was considered with a 4 metre diameter central island and provision of zebra crossings on each approach arm to preserve the current level of existing pedestrians facilities.

 

         Pedestrian counts were undertaken at Bell Corner during in AM, Inter Peak and PM peak periods as input parameters into the ARCADY program to calculate the likely queues to be generated within the peak periods. The results of the modelling indicated that the roundabout would not operate satisfactorily mainly due to the influx of pedestrians crossing. Alternative options were considered to overcome the problem but the options developed would need more land acquisition which could involve footways and shops at the south west corner of Bell Corner. These options would be very costly and difficult to financially justify the scheme. 

 

         In addition, there are high numbers of pedestrians using the junction and these range from commuters to Upminster Station, bus passengers, shoppers, Upminster Park, school children (Upminster Junior School and St. Joseph’s Catholic Primary School) and therefore zebra crossing facilities would have an adverse impact in developing excessive traffic queues thus reducing the overall capacity of the roundabout. The proposals for a roundabout were consequently abandoned as unfeasible.

 

                     Traffic signal Improvements         

 

                     Four options were modelled to test proposed measures to the operation of the signalised junction of St Mary’s Lane/CorbetsTey Road/Station Road junction. Below is a list of the options identified:

 

           Option A: This option includes the following measures:

 

·        Widen Station Road approach (between St Lawrence Road and the Bell Corner junction) to increase the offside flare length.

 

·        Increasing the radius of the Station Road exit to improve swept path of vehicles leaving the junction. This would also lead to the increase the saturation flows for the traffic travelling ahead from Corbets Tey Road.

 

·        Signal timing optimisation.

 

·        Maintaining the existing staging of the signals.

 

Option B:  This option includes the following measures:

 

·           Maintaining the existing layout of the Bell Corner junction.

·           Running Station Road and Corbets Tey Road in the same stage.

·           Signal timing optimisation.

 

Option C:  This option includes the following measures:

 

·           Maintaining the existing layout of the Bell Corner junction.

·           Running the phase of Corbets Tey Road before the Station Road.

·           Signal timing optimisation.

 

Bell Corner - Existing Method of Signal Control

 

Option D:  This option includes the following measures:

 

·           Widen the Station Road approach (between Roomes Stores to the Bell Corner) to increase the length of the nearside left turn flare.

·           Signal timing optimisation.

·           Maintaining the existing staging.

 

Options C and D combined includes the following measures:

 

·           Widen the Station Road approach (between Roomes Stores to the Bell Corner) to increase the length of the nearside left turn flare.

·           Running Station Road and Corbets Tey Road in the same stage.

·           Signal timing optimisation.

 

          Results of the computer model

 

              In simulating the signalised junction, a traffic modelling program, LinSig was used to model the operation of existing junction.  After validating the model i.e. verifying that the model has been correctly calibrated and is capable of producing valid predictions for various scenarios, the signals were optimised to determine whether any improvements in the signals could be achieved by adjusting the ‘green’ timings which would maximise the traffic flow. 

 

Results of the output of the computer model indicated that there are two options which are financially justifiable to consider. These were optimisation of the signals at the junction and option C which involves allowing the stage for Corbets Tey Road to run before Station Road.  This option would resolve the conflict problems between the traffic turning right from St Mary’s Lane (east) and pedestrians crossing Station Road.

 

It was anticipated that option C would resolve the conflict problems between the pedestrians crossing Station Road and the traffic turning right from St Mary’s Lane (east) into Station Road. Further more, optimisation of the signal timings would improve the capacity of the junction.

 

The proposals to widen the southern end of Station Road (Option D) to incorporate a left turn filter lane were abandoned. This was based on further modelling works undertaken on the junction by applying the projected future growth factors to traffic in the base model to determine the time period the widening will sustain the increase in traffic. The results showed that the widening would not be able to accommodate the increase in traffic beyond 2015, therefore, it was not financially justifiable.

 

          Alternative Measures to Improve traffic

 

As the traffic signals did not have any further potential to sustain the traffic growth in the future and with proposals for a roundabout not viable, therefore, other measures were considered in details such as measures to restrict inconsiderate parking and loading which causes significant disruption to the traffic flow.  These measures were described in details in the report.

 

          Existing parking facilities in Corbets Tey Road, Upminster

 

At present, parking in Corbets Tey Road was by Disc Parking which the vast majority of shopkeepers and businesses considered was out of date and not beneficial to the area, particularly to Corbets Tey Road. As a result, the local shopkeepers and businesses were informally consulted to seek their views if they were satisfied with the current parking arrangements or if they would prefer alternative facilities. 

 

The occupiers expressed their concerns that they were not satisfied with the current Disc Parking Scheme and many felt that the scheme is now out of date. As a result, the shopkeepers feel that they are losing the passing trade and that businesses in Corbets Tey Road have been affected the most as compared with their counter parts. 

 

The results of the informal parking survey indicated that 87% of the shopkeepers would prefer the introduction of on-street Pay and Display parking facilities whereas 13% preferred to retain the current Disc parking scheme. The results of the survey were included in appendix C of the report.

 

Based on survey with the shopkeepers and businesses in Corbets Tey Road, it was proposed to convert existing Disc parking bays to Pay and Display and there were further proposals to provide 10 new bays for Pay and Display.  The total number of Pay and Display bays would be 34. The proposals were shown on drawing nos. QJ019-of-103 and QJ019-of-104.

 

          Review of existing waiting and loading restrictions

 

          The existing waiting and loading restrictions in Upminster vary between ‘At Any’ time (near Upminster Station) to standard parking restrictions applicable between 08:30am to 06:30pm, Monday to Saturdays whereas loading was also permitted during these restricted times. Loading in the road had a detrimental impact on the traffic flows, particularly during peak periods.

 

          The existing bus stops in Corbets Tey Road restricted waiting and loading from 7am to 7pm, throughout the week. It was, therefore, important that the restrictions at the bus stops were upgraded to Clearways. As this was the case, changing the restricted period to bus stop clearways would have little effect on businesses parking in the area as business vehicles should not be parked or load/unload in the existing bus stop facilities and this would bring Corbets Tey Road into line with the bus stops in Station Road, Upminster.

 

          Proposed loading bays in Corbets Tey Road and Station Road

 

The report proposed to provide loading bays for delivery to shops in Station Road and in Corbets Tey Road as a lack of on-street loading facilities had been raised locally. The loading bays would permit loading for maximum 30 minutes with no return within 2 hours. The loading bays would permit free loading and it would operate from 08:00am to 06:30pm, Monday to Saturdays which would be in line with the restricted hours currently in operation on the main streets in Upminster area.

 

It was proposed to provide two loading bays in Station Road, one outside the Roomes Stores (Nos. 45 to 49) and one outside nos. 34/36. See drawing nos. QJ029-of-101.  In Corbets Tey Road, one bay was proposed close to the main entrance to Upminster Park and one outside no 34. The proposals were shown on drawing nos. QJ019-of-103 and QJ019-of-104.

 

 

          Existing parking and delivery arrangements in service road (off Gaynes Road), Upminster

 

          The shop owners of St Mary’s Lane and Station Road, Upminster had brought to the attention of the Council the problems their delivery vehicles experienced when gaining access to their service yards due to inconsiderate parking in the service road. Delivery vehicles sometimes had to wait for considerable time before drivers move their cars.

 

The access for delivery to the shops for 119 to 133 St Mary’s Lane and nos. 1 to 29 Station Road was via an service road. The service road laid between Gaynes Road in the north and to the rear side of shop nos. 119 to 133 St Mary’s Lane, Upminster.

 

          Delivery of goods to Aldi Store, Upminster

 

          Aldi Store in Upminster was open to business between 9am to 7pm, Monday to Saturdays and between 10am to 4pm on Sundays. The store mainly receives deliveries in the afternoons between 4pm to 7:30pm, Monday to Saturdays and sometimes on Sundays particularly during Christmas and Easter times.

 

The Gaynes Road car park had been leased to Aldi Store by the Council, therefore, the operation of the car park was the responsibility of Aldi. The car park was open at 7am and closes at 8pm. The car park operated on Pay and Display, Monday to Saturdays with maximum stay of 2 hours. The car park had a capacity of 100 cars of which 4 parking spaces are allocated for blue badge holders.

 

          There was a private car park for the residents of the flats above the Aldi Store situated immediately south of Gaynes Road car park.

 

          To overcome the problems, it was important to design the parking restrictions to ensure that the delivery period was adequately covered to justify their installation and provide benefits to the shops.  In addition, there were proposals to provide three parking bays for blue badge holders and a loading bay at the southern end of the service road.  The proposals were shown on drawing no. QJ019-of-102.

 

 

          Proposals to improve accessibility for passengers at existing bus stops

 

            At present, buses experience difficulties to gain access into the existing bus lay-bys to pick up or alight passengers due to inconsiderate parking at existing bus stops in Corbets Tey Road and Station Road by the Time Tees Garage.  This forces buses to stop in the road thus blocking the traffic which in turn extended up to the junction. This problem was further accelerated particularly when alighting or boarding school children. 

 

Passengers with disabilities found it difficult to alight or board buses as buses are unable to pull close to the kerb (within 200mm). To overcome the problem, it was proposed to convert the bus lay-bys to clearways. Clearways will reduce the problem of accessibility by allowing buses to pull close to the kerb and safely deploy their ramps. In addition clearways allowed buses to use the stops more efficiently thus minimising the length of time a bus is stationary. The proposals were shown on drawing nos.  QJ019-of- 101/102/103 /104 of the report.

 

   Outcome of the consultation

 

            Following the Approval in Principle by the Council’s Highways Advisory Committee as part of the 2010/11 Transport for London (TfL) LIP programme staff proceeded with the design and consultation on various proposals, including informal discussions with the Upminster ward councillors and local businesses. 

            Approximately 400 letters were hand delivered in the consultation area and the proposals were also advertised in the Romford Recorder (2 September 2011), London Gazette, on the website of Havering Residents’ Association and site notices were displaced at various locations of the affected area. In addition, there were two public surgeries held at the Upminster library where staff from Streetcare Services were in attendance to explain the scheme and answer any questions.  More than 150 people had attended and there was generally a very positive response from business holders and residents.

The closing date for receiving any comments was set for 23 September 2011. Only 34 (8.5%) responses were received and these were analysed carefully and a summary of the consultation is included in appendix A.

The proposals described in the report were associated with improving the traffic flow through Upminster Town centre which was heavily trafficked particularly during peak periods, notwithstanding the immense physical and financial difficulty of major capacity improvements. 

 

Roundabout options simply do not improve traffic flow because of the need to provide crossing facilities and road widening on Station Road would provide only very short term improvements.  The proposed re-phasing and timing adjustments would create a safety improvement and a modest capacity increase for a relatively small cost.

 

Along with the traffic improvements, it was considered necessary to review the existing waiting and loading restrictions, upgrade the existing parking facilities from Disc to Pay and Display, provisions of loading facilities for businesses, improving safety for pedestrians by rephrasing the traffic lights and improving accessibility for passengers at existing bus stops.

 

The results of the public consultation indicted that the existing Disc parking benefits the local residents of Upminster and those in possession of it whereas it does not attract potential shoppers from outside Upminster which is vital for the economic benefit of the area particularly for businesses in Corbets Tey Road.

 

The proposed Waiting and Loading restrictions will not have any detrimental impact on frontagers arising from the ban on parking. There are car parks in the vicinity of the scheme such as Gaynes Road, Hobby Hall car parks, other privately owned by Roomes Stores, Waitrose etc and on street parking. It is envisaged that converting the existing Disc parking to Pay and Display would increase the turn over of parking which is essential for businesses in Corbets Tey Road.

 

It was anticipated that the traffic in Upminster is likely to increase due to Aldi Stores, Marks & Spencer, Waitrose Supermarkets and other planned developments in the future, therefore, the proposed measures will benefit in reducing the traffic congestion. 

 

 

In accordance with the public participation arrangements the Committee was addressed by a resident who expressed her views against part of the scheme.

 

Councillor Linda Van den Hende spoke in favour of the scheme. She felt that the Gaynes service road should be named “Chestnut Road or Close”. She agreed that the issues in the town centre were complex with many people trying to access the network at the same time. She also felt the scheme gave a good balance and created additional parking which was needed and with loading facilities to help traffic flow. She recognised that paying for parking was not universally popular, but a pragmatic and strategic approach was needed.  She also expressed her appreciation to officers for their work.

 

Councillor Hawthorn supported the proposed naming of the unnamed road Chestnut Road or Close.

 

 

During deliberations the Committee raised the following issues:

 

• If officers had considered separating the two arms of St Mary’s Lane into individual movements. In response, the Committee was informed that it was considered and discounted early on as to do this would mean the overall cycle time for the junction would increase, which in itself would create queues and might mean separate pedestrian flows which were currently mixed into the phasing.

• Disc Bays in St Mary’s Lane (East of Bell Corner) – it was explained to the Committee that it was felt locally that these were working fine and therefore officers did not propose a change. A member enquired if some grace could be given to disc holders in the pay and display.
• Bus Stops lay-bys. The Committee was informed that there were no proposals to provide lay-bys. All stops were staying in existing locations.
• Pedestrian Guardrail at Corbets Tey Road  - The Committee was informed that the cost of new hoop type guardrail would be around £8.5 thousand for supply only plus fitting. A member was of the view that it was not worth spending money changing things when we could reuse existing railings.
• The timings of the Puffin Crossing on Station Lane in terms of traffic hold ups. The Committee was informed that TfL had adjusted the green time for traffic beyond the normal limits to try and balance traffic and pedestrian demand.
• A Member raised an issue that he felt the St. Mary’s Lane Puffin Crossing timings were causing issues. The Principal Engineer offered to refer the matter to TfL to check.
• A Member raised asked if the pedestrian “count down” signals could be looked at Bell Corner. The Principal Engineer explained that currently there were 8 trial sites in London, that the service would put a request to TfL for a potential scheme, although the council might be expected to fund the works.

 

Councillor Breading, seconded by Councillor Kelly, proposed that the recommendations be varied so that with No.2, the existing guardrail be reused rather than buy new and that the Head of StreetCare proceed to advertise the conversion of the disc parking bay to pay-and-display on St Mary’s Lane, east of Bell Corner.

 

The Committee RESOLVED to:

 

         

1. Recommends to the Cabinet Member for Community Empowerment that the measures listed in Appendix B (schedules 1A, 1B, 2, 3, 4 and 5) of the report be implemented and the necessary traffic orders are made.

                                                                 

 

2. Recommends to the Cabinet Member for Community Empowerment that the proposals to provide parking along west side of Corbets Tey Road between the two puffin crossings be agreed, including the kerb build outs at both crossings. The proposals were shown on drawing no. QJ019-of-103/104.

 

3. Recommends to the Cabinet Member for Community Empowerment that the proposals to amend the traffic signal phasing and timings at Bell Corner be implemented as set out in the report.

 

4. Recommends to the Assistant Chief Executive Legal and Democratic Services that the service road on the south side of Gaynes Road be named Chestnut Road.

 

5. Noted that the waiting restrictions and provision of three parking bays for blue badge holders in the service road would be the subject of a further report in the future.

 

6. That it be noted the cost of carrying out the works is £150,000. This would met by Transport for London through the allocation for 2011/12 Local Implementation Plan for the Upminster Town Centre Package.