Speed Limit Review Report

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A decision made (22/10/2009) regarding: Speed Limit Review Report.

Decision Reference: MD-T-2009-0097
Decision Summary Title :	Speed Limit Review Report		Date of Decision Summary:	20 October 2009
Decision Summary Author:	Director of Transport		Decision Summary: Public or Exempt? (State clauses from Code of Practice booklet)	Public
Type of Report: Oral or Written?	Written		Person Giving Oral Report:
Written Report Title :	Speed Limit Review – Report of Working Group		Date of Written Report:	20 October 2009
Written Report Author:	Director of Transport		Written Report : Public or Exempt? (State clauses from Code of Practice booklet)	Public
Subject: Speed Limit Review – Report of Working Group and Summary of Consultation Responses
Decision(s): The Minister: Approved the report of the Working Group (Appendix 1 of attached report) and agreed to forward it to the Greffe for presentation to the States as an ‘R’; Endorsed the Summary of Consultation Responses (Appendix 2 of attached report) and agreed to forward it to the Greffe for presentation to the States as an ‘R’; Decided to await the Law Officers advice before drafting a proposition to amend the current speed limits policy in line with the recommendations of the Working Group; and Approved the purchase of 12 ‘smiley/grumpy’ speed signs from the Community Safety Fund at an estimated maximum cost of £48,000.
Reason(s) for Decision: The Minister supports the recommendations of the Speed Limit Review Working Group which should now be made public. The consultation responses document needs to be widely circulated to ensure anyone who has contributed to the process has the opportunity to see the outcome of the consultation exercise. A proposition to amend the current speed limits policy cannot be lodged until legal advice on whether a “default” Island wide speed limit can be enforced on roads where there is no centre white line. The Community Safety Grants Fund has sufficient monies remaining to fund the purchase of ‘smiley/grumpy’ signs as recommended by the Working Group and this is within the remit of the Fund.
Resource Implications: There are sufficient funds in the Community Safety Grants Fund to purchase the ‘smiley/grumpy’ signs.
Action required: Forward the Speed Limit Review report and the Summary of Consultation Responses to the Greffe for presentation as ‘Rs’. Circulate the Summary of Consultation Responses to those groups and people listed in the Consultation Best Practice document. Arrange for the purchase of 12 ‘smiley/grumpy’ signs.
Signature:		Position:
Date Signed:		Date of Decision (If different from Date Signed):

Speed Limit Review Report

TRANSPORT & TECHNICAL SERVICES

SPEED LIMIT REVIEW – REPORT OF THE WORKING GROUP

Purpose of the Report

To seek the Minister’s approval to the Working Group’s report into the review of speed limits and agree that it be presented to the States as an ‘R’. In addition, to approve the summary of consultation responses and that the Community Safety Fund be used to purchase one ‘smiley/grumpy’ speed indicator sign for each Parish.

Background

Following a proposition of Deputy Gorst (P166/2008), the States approved the following on 2 December 2008:

to request the Minister for Transport and Technical Services –

(a) to establish a Review Working Group to review the implementation, operation and suitability of the current Speed Limits Policy (P.1/2004) as approved by the States on 15th March 2005;

(b) to appoint 3 States members as members of the Review Working Group of whom at least 2, including the Chairman, shall not be Ministers or Assistant Ministers, with the Working Group to receive appropriate assistance from relevant officers; and

(c) to present the conclusions of the Review Working Group with any associated recommendations for change to the Assembly before 30th June 2009 (subsequently amended to 30 September 2009).

In March 2009, the Minister for Transport and Technical Services (TTS) appointed the following members of the Working Group:

Constable of St John, Graeme Butcher (subsequently appointed as Chairman by the Working Group)
Constable of St Saviour, Peter Hanning
Deputy Ben Fox
Deputy Kevin Lewis

The report of the Working Group is attached at Appendix 1. The report shows the process of consultation the Group carried out, the conclusions from that review and a series of recommendations, some of which relate to the Group’s terms of reference and some which the Group feel were important although not specifically within its remit.

Discussion

The recommendations of the report which relate directly to the Group’s terms of reference are as follows:

A simplified structure of speed limits should be introduced as follows:

An island wide maximum speed limit of 40mph for cars (30 mph for certain vehicles such as those over 3.5t laden weight)
A lower limit of 30mph in urban/built-up areas and roads with no centre line.
A 20mph limit in Green Lanes, housing estates and distinct residential areas and part-time at schools.

The definition of a built-up area should have regard to the built-up areas as specified on the current Island Plan.

An Appeals Panel to be set up to consider decisions made by the TTS Minister which the Connétable or the Police do not agree with. The TTS Minister remains the person responsible for speed limits on all roads, so all decisions of the Appeals Panel which overturn that of the TTS Minister would have to be formally approved by the TTS Minister.

The Group felt that this simplified structure, together with a more defined definition of a built-up area where a 30mph limit would apply coupled with an Appeals Panel, would overcome much of the criticism of the current policy. The report does identify, however, that this policy, if adopted, would change some current limits. For instance, parts of St Clement which are now 40 mph and also some village centres which are 20 mph would become 30 mph.

The proposal to implement a default limit of 30mph on roads where no centre line exists does rely on Law Officers advice that this is feasible. The Law Draftsman has indicated that it is possible to inscribe in law but the Law Officers advice is still pending. If the advice suggests that such a default limit is not workable, signing these roads will be practically impossible so the legal advice is critical to progressing this element of the proposed policy.

The Group also recommended the greater use of ‘smiley / grumpy’ signs and the consultation results indicated that the public felt this would be useful in drawing a driver’s attention to their speed. In addition, the data collected by these machines can be used to target areas and times for surveillance. The Group suggested that the Community Safety Grants Fund could be used to fund this initiative with the Parishes responsible for managing and regularly moving the signs. It is estimated that each sign costs approximately £4,000 but, if 12 were purchased (one for each Parish), it is likely that some discount would be possible. This proposal does fit within the remit of the Community Safety Grants Fund and, if the four current grants are approved, there will be a balance of £101,480 remaining to fund these purchases.

In order to change the current Speed Limits Policy, a Report and Proposition would need to be lodged and debated in the States. It is suggested that this report be presented to the States as an ‘R’ pending the legal advice on default speed limits (see Paragraph 3 above). A proposition can then be drafted having regard to that advice.

A summary of consultation responses is attached at Appendix 2. This is required under the Consultation Best Practice and needs to be widely circulated to ensure everyone who contributed to the process has access to the results. This document also needs to be presented to the States as an ‘R’.

Recommendation

The Minister is recommended to:

Approve the attached report of the Working Group (Appendix 1) and forward to the Greffe for presentation to the States as an ‘R’;

Endorse the Summary of Consultation Responses (Appendix 2) and forward to the Greffe for presentation to the States as an ‘R’;

Await the Law Officers advice before drafting a proposition to amend the current speed limits policy in line with the recommendations of the Working Group; and

Approve the purchase of 12 ‘smiley / grumpy’ speed signs from the Community Safety Fund at an estimated maximum cost of £48,000.

Reasons for Recommendations

The Minister supports the recommendations of the Speed Limit Review Working Group which should now be made public.

The consultation responses document needs to be widely circulated to ensure anyone who has contributed to the process has the opportunity to see the outcome of the consultation exercise.

A proposition to amend the current speed limits policy cannot be lodged until legal advice on whether a “default” Island wide speed limit can be enforced on roads where there is no centre white line.

The Community Safety Grants Fund has sufficient monies remaining to fund the purchase of ‘smiley / grumpy’ signs as recommended by the Working Group and this is within the remit of the Fund.

Actions Required

Forward the Speed Limit Review Report and the Summary of Consultation Responses to the Greffe for presentation as ‘Rs’.

Circulate the Summary of Consultation Responses to those groups and people listed in the Consultation Best Practice document.

Arrange for the purchase of 12 ‘smiley / grumpy’ signs.

Resource Implications

There are sufficient funds in the Community Safety Grants Fund to purchase the ‘smiley / grumpy’ signs.

Written by:	Director of Transport

Approved by:	Acting Chief Officer

Attachments:

Appendix 1 – Report of the Speed Limit Review Working Group

Appendix 2 – Summary of Consultation Responses