Agenda item

Report of the Town Clerk.

The Sub Committee received a list of outstanding references and the following points were made:

Dockless vehicles: HumanForest (the second operator) began operating in early September 2021 on a trial basis.

A Member commented that a Lime bike has been seen at the staircase at Breton House (Barbican) for several weeks and queried the effectiveness of the company’s bike tracking process. Members heard that the matter would be raised and the findings reported back.

A Member commented that e-scooters were often used on pavements especially in the evening, and raised concerns around the inappropriate use of bikes and e-scooters, and around the level of education in respect of the appropriate use and parking of hired bikes and e-scooters. Members heard that the geo-fencing capability may not be sufficiently precise to prevent pavement use.       

Beech Street: the outcome of the judicial review challenging the legality of the experiment (delivered on 10 August 2021) found in favour of the City of London, meaning that the 18-month experiment was considered meaningful and that it could continue. The experiment is to expire on 18 September 2021, and street notices have been posted to explain that. A safety audit on the central reservations for accessing car parks from either direction has resulted in those staying in place. Data is being collected via cameras for traffic modelling purposes to inform future decisions on a permanent scheme at Beech St. That information is being shared with the Barbican Association, and discussions are being held with the Association on a fortnightly basis as part of the Healthy Streets plans. A Gateway 1 - 2 report is expected to be presented to the Sub Committee in October 2021 for the Barbican – Golden Lane Healthy Streets Plan. Subject to the Sub Committee’s approval, a permanent scheme to address air quality issues and make public realm improvements for Beech St is expected to be presented to the Sub Committee in December 2021, with any public consultation period in respect of that to run till the end of January 2022 with a permanent scheme potentially in place by summer 2022.

A Member asked whether any traffic analysis of right-turning vehicles had been undertaken following a safety analysis of that. 

Members heard that the information had been considered as part of the safety audit and that numbers entering the car park are low, but the situation will be continue to be monitored.

Use of central medians: dialogue is under way between the Department of the Built Environment and the City of London Police in the context of a potential re-design of some of the checkpoints. Further reports are likely to be presented to the Sub Committee.

RESOLVED, that the issue of central medians be removed from the list of Outstanding References.