Report No. Agenda London Borough of Bromley Item No. 6A ES09118 PART 1 - PUBLIC Decision Maker: Environment Portfolio Holder For Pre-decision Scrutiny by the Environment PDS Committee on Date: 14 October 2009 Decision Type: Non-Urgent Executive Key Title: WINTER STRATEGY FOR FOOTWAYS Contact Officer: Peter McCready, Head of Area Management Tel: 020 8313 4942 E-mail: peter.mccready@bromley.gov.uk Chief Officer: Nigel Davies - Director of Environmental Services Ward: All 1. Reason for report 1.1 Members received a report on 1 st June 2009 outlining the impact of the severe winter conditions experienced during February 2009 and how the Borough responded to the emergency. Members requested a follow-on report regarding the strategy for treatment of footways during severe freezing weather conditions. 1.2 This report details the current strategy for dealing with winter conditions on footways. ____________________________________________________________________________ 2. RECOMMENDATIONS 2.1 That the Environment Portfolio Holder confirms the approach to prioritise winter service operations involving snow clearance of footways identified in the schedule of streets for treatment contained in Appendix A, including the addition of pre-treatment of footways approaching the Boroughs schools. 1
Corporate Policy 1. Policy Status: Existing policy. 2. BBB Priority: Safer Bromley. ________________________________________________________________________________ Financial 1. Cost of proposal: Estimated cost £330,800 but final costs are dependent on the severity of weather conditions 2. Ongoing costs: Recurring cost. 3. Budget head/performance centre: Street Services 4. Total current budget for this head: £330,800 for 2009/10 winter maintenance service 5. Source of funding: 2009/10 revenue budget for winter maintenance service ________________________________________________________________________________ Staff 1. Number of staff (current and additional): 69.5 fte (Street Services) 2. If from existing staff resources, number of staff hours: 0 ________________________________________________________________________________ Legal 1. Legal Requirement: Statutory requirement. Highways Act 1980 2. Call-in: Call-in is applicable ________________________________________________________________________________ Customer Impact 1. Estimated number of users/beneficiaries (current and projected): Borough wide ________________________________________________________________________________ Ward Councillor Views 1. Have Ward Councillors been asked for comments? No. 2. Summary of Ward Councillors comments: 2
3. COMMENTARY Background 3.1 The Council as a Highway Authority is required under the Highways Act 1980 to maintain the highway, and has a duty to ensure „ so far as is reasonably practicable ‟ that people travelling on a road are not endangered by snow or ice. The implication of this is that if, for example, a weather forecast provider issues a severe ice warning and the Council does not then salt a known black-spot, the Council could be successfully sued in the event of an accident. 3.2 The responsibility for salting the “ highway ” is not limited just to the area for vehicular traffic but would also cover areas open to the public for foot passage, including pavements and cycleways. However, the legislation does not require an authority to guarantee safe passage, but only to secure this where it is „ reasonably practicable ‟ . 3.3 In order for the Council to comply with its statutory obligations and provide a special defence in the event of action against the authority for damages, the Council needs to be able to demonstrate that it was not practicable to take further action. The Council has a Winter Maintenance Policy and Plan in place to address these responsibilities, and this is reviewed annually to reflect changes to the highway network, road and footway hierarchy and methods of working. 3.4 Early February 2009 saw a sustained period of cold weather and snowfall, which was the heaviest since 1991, and the worst winter weather seen in Bromley for many years. It resulted in significant disruption to travel, to a range of public services, and to businesses across the borough. 3.5 In June 2009, the Environment Portfolio Holder approved the actions taken by the authority during the severe winter weather conditions experienced during February 2009. However Members of the Environment PDS Committee expressed concerns that the footway network was not cleared of snow and ice in a timely manner and requested a review of these arrangements with a follow-on report establishing how the authority should respond to similar crises in future. 3.6 There are operational differences between the management of winter conditions on carriageways and footways, and it is apparent that the public feel that footways should be cleared with the same speed as carriageways. This was compounded by prolonged sub-zero temperatures during the day and night, over several days, which hindered the progress of snow clearance. Many pavements in residential areas were frozen with compacted ice until the weather conditions improved, with thawing occurring days later. This report explains in detail the different operational approaches taken with snow clearance on carriageways and footways. Carriageway Operations 3.7 The total length of the borough‟s r oad network is approximately 500 miles, and 196 miles or 40% of the borough‟s carriageway network receive „priority treatment‟ – this includes all main bus routes, roads leading to transport interchanges, and retail centres. Priority treatment is carried out using the Council‟s fleet of nine universal body and permanently -mounted salt spreaders, equipped with snow ploughs, and this is supplemented with seven demountable salt spreaders that are made available to the contractors. A squad of contractors‟ operatives share 24-hour standby duties to deliver this service and are available throughout the winter season from November to March. 3.8 The Council also has arrangements with local farmers during the winter season, who are equipped with snow ploughs, and clear snow from rural parts of the borough. Provision of funding for this level of service is made from the Street Services revenue budget. 3
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