Agenda and minutes

Apologies for absence were received from Oliver Sells QC, Marianne Fredericks, Alderman Alison Gowman, Deputy Clare James, Alderman Gregory Jones QC and Alastair Moss.

There were no declarations of interest.

To agree the public minutes and summary of the meeting held on 17 October 2017.

RESOLVED – That the minutes of the meeting held on 17 October 2017 be agreed as a correct record subject to the following amendments:

6d)       Temple Area Traffic Review

In response to a suggestion by a Member that Middle Temple Lane be included in the review, officers agreed that traffic entering and leaving the lane could be monitored.

Report of the Town Clerk.

RESOLVED – That the list of outstanding references be noted and updated as appropriate.

Parking for Motorcyclists

It was agreed that this item could come off the OR list as the issue had been included in the Transport Strategy for 2018. Officers advised that details of what would be included in the strategy would be reported to the next meeting.

Two Way Cycling in Seething Lane/Muscovy Street

It was agreed that this item could come off the OR list as had now been resolved.

Report of the Chamberlain

The Sub-Committee received the annual on-street parking accounts 2016/17 which were required to be reported to the Mayor for London.

Members noted the following:

-       The surplus arising from on-street parking activities in 2016/17 was £6.313m;

a total of £3.421m, was applied in 2016/17 to fund approved projects; and

-       The surplus remaining on the On-Street Parking Reserve at 31st March 2017 was £20.121m, which would be wholly allocated towards the funding of various highway improvements and other projects over the medium term.

RESOLVED – That the contents of the report be noted before submission to the Mayor for London.

The Sub-Committee considered a Gateway 5 report which was a high priority of the Aldgate and Tower Area Strategy and included public realm enhancements and highway changes in association with the hotel development at 100 Minories.

RESOLVED – To receommend

1) Give authority to start work on Phase 1 (S278 works) at a total estimated implementation cost of £453,229;

2) Approve the design for Phase 2 (Option2) to progress to Gateway 5 at a total estimated cost of £67,695 to be funded from TfL Local Implementation plan 2017/18;

3) Provide officers with the authority to undertake all the necessary processes to implement the proposed traffic changes and legal agreements associated with the project.

The Sub-Committee received a Gateway 6 report relating to the City Wide Pedestrian Model.

RESOLVED – To

1)            Note that both the Planning and Transportation and Resource Allocation Committees have approved the allocation of £60,000 of TfL funding for further development of the pedestrian model;

2)            Authorise officers to extend the project budget by £55,000 in order to procure WiFi data from Telefonica, and to commission Space Syntax to use this data to update their model in the Eastern City Cluster area. This will be entirely funded by TfL; and

3)            Note that the procurement route will require sole source waivers in order to procure services directly from Space Syntax Ltd and Telefonica.

The Sub-Committee received a report summarising the findings of the City wayfinding signage review and detailing the options appraisal undertaken by consultants Applied Wayfinding.  

RESOLVED – To approve proposals to

1)            Introduce Legible London as the core wayfinding system in the City of London to improve the experience of walking in the Square Mile; 

2)            Progress the scheme development phase to inform the gateway 5 report;

3)            Work with internal and external stakeholders to promote existing - and develop new - digital wayfinding products;

4)            Promote awareness of the benefits of cues & clues that can assist intuitive wayfinding and placemaking, particularly in visitor destinations such as Culture Mile.     

The Sub-Committee received a report concerning Islington’s Controlled Parking Zone which provided the data collected before and after the implementation of their changes in order to monitor the impacts of their scheme on the City’s highway network.

Officers advised that analysis of that data had  shown that there had been an increase in parking displaced onto the City’s street, however there were still plenty of parking spaces available within the City and no comments or complaints had been received from the City community.

RESOLVED – To note the monitoring outcomes and accept Islington’s Controlled Parking Zone changes.

The Sub-Committee considered a Gateway 5 report concerning proposals for the reinstatement of the highways surrounding the Liverpool Street & Moorgate Crossrail ticket halls.

RESOLVED – To

1.            Note that officers will be entering into a legal agreement with CRL for them to cover the staff, fees and works costs expended by the City in constructing the reinstatement works around the Liverpool Street and Moorgate ticket halls, as agreed by Members in June/July 2017; 

2.            Approve the implementation of the highway works with at an estimated total cost of £2.4m at Liverpool Street and £2.3m at Moorgate, subject to the final detailed costings being approved under delegated authority by the Director of the Department of the Built Environment in conjunction with the Town Clerk and Chairman and Deputy Chairman of the Streets and Walkways and Projects Sub-Committees;

3.            Delegate authority for any adjustments between elements of the budgets to the Director of the Built Environment in conjunction with the Chamberlain’s Head of Finance provided the total approved budget of is not exceeded. This includes access to an agreed Crossrail-funded contingency sum;

4.            Authorise Officers to seek relevant regulatory and statutory consents, orders and approvals as may be required to progress and implement the scheme (e.g. traffic orders); and

5.            Note that whilst the areas immediately surrounding the new Crossrail ticket halls will be completed by December 2018, the full reinstatement projects are unlikely to be completed until 2022.

The Sub-Committee received an update on how the Bank on Safety experimental scheme was initially performing against the approved key success criteria.

The Chairman reported that the London Taxi Drivers Association (LTDA) had written to him again regarding the impact on the taxi trade, and they had also been monitoring ranks and journey times both before and after the scheme which they would be sharing with the CoL in due course.

The Chairman advised that he had agreed to meet with the LTDA together with officers, however he had stressed that the scheme was only half way through its trial period and was still subject to further monitoring to assess whether it had met its objectives.

Members raised a number of questions regarding possible exemptions for taxis carrying blue badge holders, whether or not the scheme had caused problems elsewhere, and how cyclists and buses could be made to reduce their speeds.

RESOLVED   - To note the progress made to date on monitoring the Bank on Safety experimental scheme and that a further report be received in summer 2018.

The Sub-Committee received and noted a report detailing the major highways works for 2018 and outlining how disruption would be kept to a minimum in line with statutory duties.

The Sub-Committee received a report concerning the City Lighting Strategy which sought to improve the quality, efficiency, sustainability and consistency of lighting for the whole City, providing a holistic approach to lighting and helping to ensure a safe, vibrant and pleasant night environment for businesses, residents and visitors.

The Strategy also considers the negative consequences of artificial lighting and how a healthy and sustainable balance can be achieved between light and darkness within the City, maintaining safety and security considerations as paramount.

RESOLVED - That the draft City Lighting Strategy be approved for public consultation to be initiated in January 2018.

The Sub-Committee received a report detailing the CoL’s Highway Maintenance Efficiency Plan.

RESOLVED - To

1)            Receive this report;

2)            Receive a further report early next year regarding the Government’s new Code of Practice for Well-Managed Highway infrastructure;

3)            Receive and consider a third report later next year that considers the quality standards, performance levels and funding streams for highway & public realm maintenance the City wishes to adopt in the longer term.

There were no questions.

There were no items of urgent business.

MOTION – That under Section 100A(4) of the Local Government Act 1972, the public be excluded from the meeting for the following items of business on the grounds that they involve the likely disclosure of exempt information as defined in Part I of Schedule 12A of the Local Government Act as follows:-

RESOLVED – That under Section 100A(4) of the Local Government Act 1972, the public be excluded from the meeting for the following items on the grounds that they involve the likely disclosure of exempt information as defined in Part 1 of Schedule 12A of the local government Act.

There were no non-public questions.

There were no non-public urgent items of business.