Agenda and minutes

Venue: Town Hall, Moorgate Street, ROTHERHAM. S60 2TH

Contact: Debbie Pons, Principal Democratic Services Officer 

Items
No. Item

32.

Minutes of the meeting of the RMBC Transport Liaison Group held on 5th July 2017 pdf icon PDF 38 KB

Minutes:

Consideration was given to the minutes of the previous meeting of the Transport Liaison Group, held on 5th July, 2017.

 

Agreed:- That the minutes of the previous meeting of the Transport Liaison Group be approved as a correct record for signature by the Chairman.

33.

Matters arising from the previous minutes

Minutes:

Further to Minute No. 22 (removal of “Robin Hood” from the name of Doncaster-Sheffield Airport), it was queried why “Sheffield” was included in the name?  The Chair agreed to raise the matter at forthcoming meeting of the Airport Consultative Committee.

 

Further to Minute No. 23(a) (use of disabled travel passes by South Yorkshire Freedom Riders), a member of the public raised the question of the Board’s assistance in reinstating the ability of Rotherham senior citizens being able to use their concessionary travel passes from 9.00 a.m.

 

The Chair clarified that the structure of the new Combined Transport Authority meetings still had to be established but the issue would be raised once a meeting took place.  However, it was emphasised that it was a commercial decision for the bus operators and not within the remit of the Transport Liaison Board.

 

The Passenger Transport Executive further clarified that the National Policy for concessionary travel was from 9.30 a.m.  In the past the four South Yorkshire districts had paid additional payments to the operators to provide a 9.00 a.m. start, however, a decision had been made to bring South Yorkshire into line with the rest of the country with concessionary travel available from 9.30 a.m.

34.

Questions on Transport Issues pdf icon PDF 30 KB

Minutes:

The Transportation Advisory Board noted the details of various questions on transport matters and the responses to those questions, submitted by Councillors, as listed below:-

 

1)    cable car in the Rotherham-Sheffield area;

2)    bus services 111 and 112 at East Dene and Herringthorpe – punctuality of services

3)    Cortonwood – traffic congestion;

4)    bus service X78 – route of bus service through Kimberworth.

 

Agreed:- That the details of the questions and responses be noted.

35.

South Yorkshire Passenger Transport Executive - Update

Minutes:

The Transport Liaison Group discussed the following issues:-

 

(a)  Tram-Train Construction Works – the works at Rotherham Station were now complete in terms of bridge height.  The work for the Tram-Train was expected to be completed in the Spring/Summer of 2018

 

(b)  Rotherham Passenger Transport Interchange – possible location of temporary interchange on Forge Island from April 2018 for twelve months

 

(c)   Service Changes – there was a minor change to the 220 and 19 due to the cessation of the Bright Bus service (to accommodate school children from St. Bernard’s and St. Pius schools)

 

(d)  The majority of the Rotherham network contracts that the Transport Executive issued to operators (primarily evenings and Sundays as well as the 220 and 227) were due to expire in April 2018.  Contracts for tender would be issued in October

 

(e)  There had been an issue around the Waverley and Treeton areas in getting children to and from Aston Academy but this had now been resolved   

36.

Bus Operators - Update

 

(1)       First Group

(2)       Stagecoach

(3)       Rotherham Community Transport

Minutes:

(1)  Stagecoach

 

Nothing to report.

 

(2)  Rotherham Community Transport

 

Nothing to report.

 

(3)  First Group

 

No representative was present at the meeting.

37.

Railway Operators - Update

Minutes:

No representative was present at the meeting.

 

Concern was raised at the lack of attendance at the Group by Northern Rail.

 

A comment was made regarding Rotherham Central Station and the problem of trains not operating early on a Monday morning following the weekend station closure for development works.

 

SYPTE agreed to feed back the comment to Northern Rail.

38.

Doncaster-Sheffield Airport - Update pdf icon PDF 1 MB

 

Minutes of the meeting of the Doncaster Sheffield Airport Consultative Committee held on 13th July, 2017

Minutes:

Consideration was given to the minutes of the most recent meeting of the Doncaster-Sheffield Airport Consultative Committee, held on 13th July, 2017.

 

Agreed:-  (1)  That the contents of the minutes be noted.

 

(2)  That representatives of Doncaster-Sheffield airport be invited to the next meeting to give a presentation on operational updates.

39.

Sheffield City Region - Transport Strategy Refresh

Minutes:

David Budd, Assistant Director for Transport, and Lyndsey Whitaker, Senior Economic Policy Manager, Sheffield City Region, gave the following powerpoint presentation on the Transport Strategy Refresh:-

 

-          The current SCR Transport Strategy (covering 2011-2026) was published in April 2011 and identified 26 polices under 4 goals

 

-          The refresh would streamline the policies into a smaller number of core policies and produce a more outcome focused Strategy

 

-          The existing Strategy pre-dated the establishment of the Combined Authority, Transport for the North and the HS2 announcement

 

-          The scoping exercise for the refresh process was conducted early in 2017 with the SCR Transport Prospectus published in May, 2017, as an interim plan.  A working group had been established consisting of local authorities and Transport Authority with 3 workshops (28 partner and stakeholder organisations) held in June-August 2017

 

-          The draft vision “By 2040 we will be a forward-looking City Region with integrated transport connections that support economic growth and improve quality of life for all”

 

-          Draft goals:-

Support inclusive economic growth

Create health streets where people feel safe

Improve the quality of our outdoors

Promote, enable and adopt different technologies

 

-          Draft Policy – Economic, Social, Environmental and Technological

 

-          Draft Outcomes – increase productivity, increase the percentage that commute by public transport, reducing tailpipe carbon, increase footfall in town and city centres and secure additional investment in transport research and development

 

-          Next steps – approval to consult from SCR Transport Executive Board and Combined Authority Board, public consultation and analysis therefrom, implementation plan drafted, Strategy amended and refined, publication of SCR Transport Strategy and implementation with the Strategy implemented as from April 2018

 

-          Public consultation principles – must be open to all, thorough and robust, promotion of consultation, events, presentations and feedback

 

-          Strategy implementation  - implementation plan will identify transport projects and schemes which will deliver the SCR Transport Strategy policies and outcomes

 

Discussion ensued with the following issues raised/clarified:-

 

·           The aspirational target of increasing the percentage of the population that commuted by public transport to 33% resulted from the evidence based research that had taken place that stated current travel to work/car share was not sustainable - 76%.  It formed part of the Integrated Public Transport Network Study work to identify improvements in the transport network that was capable of moving large volumes of people efficiently

 

·           The word “vision” meant different things to Members/Officers as opposed to members of the public

 

·           Any suggestions for questions for inclusion in the consultation would be welcomed

 

·           Increase park and ride facilities required to encourage drivers to switch to other modes of transport

 

·           Possible future funding opportunities to work with bus operators to improve the efficiency of vehicles in terms of tailpipe carbon emissions

 

·           Investment had been made in clear technology hybrid vehicles as part of the Fleet Investment Programme

 

·           Parish Councils should be included in the consultation process

 

David and Lyndsey were thanked for their presentation.

40.

Department for Transport - National Productivity Investment Fund (NPIF)

Minutes:

Ian Ashmore, Manager Transportation, Highway and Design, reported that a bid had been submitted for the improvement of the College Road roundabout with an announcement expected in the Autumn Statement.

 

Rotherham’s submission had been rated the No. 1 priority across the SCR and had gone forward in a prioritised list to the DfT.

 

The Board would be kept informed of the bid’s progress.

41.

Highways Capital Programme pdf icon PDF 55 KB

Additional documents:

Minutes:

Matthew Reynolds, Transportation Manager, presented for information the Highways Capital Programme.

 

The work included capital funded interventions on the highway network including, but not limited to, maintenance of the fabric of the highway, street lighting, structures and integrated transport.

 

Discussion ensued on the report with the following issues raised/clarified:-

 

-          Improvements at Whiston Crossroads

-          DfT Safer Roads Fund Project to address specific safety issues on the A634 between Maltby and the Borough boundary of Oldcotes, Nottinghamshire

-          Streetlighting

-          South Anston crossroads

-          Potential traffic implications for proposed fracking at Woodsetts

 

Agreed:-  (1)  That the report be noted.

 

(2)  That the Network Manager be invited to the next meeting to present the Highways Maintenance Programme.

42.

Highways Major Schemes - Update pdf icon PDF 308 KB

Minutes:

Ian Ashmore, Manager Transportation, Highways and Design, submitted, for information, an update on the proposed 2 major transportation projects within the Borough i.e. A630 Parkway Widening and the SCR Innovation Corridor.

 

The report also provided an update on a number of major schemes being implemented in Rotherham which were not delivered by the Council including Tram-Train, Rotherham Transport Interchange refurbishment and Parkway Railway Station.

 

Agreed:-  That the report be noted.

43.

Any other business

Minutes:

There was no other business.

44.

Date and time of the next meeting

 

·           Wednesday 17th or 31st January, 2018 (2.00pm start)

·           Wednesday in April, 2018 (2.00pm start)

·           Wednesday in July, 2018 (2.00 pm start)

Minutes:

Agreed:-  That a further meeting be held on Wednesday, 17th January, 2018, commencing at 2.00 p.m.