Agenda and draft minutes

Including any notices of motion and any other items of business submitted as urgent for consideration at the meeting.

Members should declare any financial and non-financial interests they have in the items of business for consideration, identifying the relevant agenda item and the nature of their interest.

If any.

Minute of the Transport and Environment Committee of 15 June 2023 – submitted for approval as a correct record

Transport and Environment Committee Work Programme

Transport and Environment Committee Rolling Actions Log

Transport and Environment Business Bulletin

Motion by Councillor Lang - Reducing the Impact of Utility Works

“Committee:

1.    Notes the ongoing concern within local communities over the impact of significant utility works, which can often result in footway closures, full or partial carriageway closures, temporary traffic lights, and other changes.

2.    Recognises the importance and legal right of utility companies to repair and upgrade their infrastructure but notes the limited powers of local authorities in Scotland to minimise the disruptive consequences of such works and ensure works are completed as quickly as possible.

3.    Notes that some local councils in other parts of the UK are now using a 'per day' charge on utility companies for road and footway occupations in a bid to incentivise the timely completion of works.

4.    Agrees that officers should explore all avenues with Transport Scotland and the Scottish Government, either to maximise the use of existing legal powers or to seek additional powers like those now used elsewhere, to ensure Edinburgh and other councils have the broadest range of mechanisms to reduce the impact of utility works.

5.    Agrees that the outcome of this work should be reported back to committee through the business bulletin.”

Motion by Councillor O'Neill - Reinforcing the Equal Pavements Pledge

1.    “Notes motions from Councillor Claire Miller, ‘Equal Pavements Pledge’ which passed during Full Council on 23^rd September 2021, motion by Councillor Derek Howie on ‘Street Furniture’ which passed during Full Council on 25^th November 2021, and motion by Councillor Lesley Macinnes, ‘Accessibility Commission’ which passed during Full Council on 30^th June 2022.

2.    Understands that by passing these motions the Council agreed to support Transport For All’s pledge, meetings were requested with the Edinburgh Access Panel, and a report was requested looking at the impact of street furniture on ‘blind and visually impaired people, the wider disabled community and parents with buggies […] and how this should be aligned with [Cllr. Miller’s] motion.’

3.    Further notes questions to Full Council on 4^th May 2023 from Councillor Kayleigh O’Neill where reassurance was given regarding strategic context, A-boards, bin scheduling, dropped crossings and engagement with Disabled People’s Organisations (DPOs).

4.    Regrets that the majority of these pledges are not being met and reliable accessibility has deteriorated in recent years despite multiple updates to local and national guidance. This has led to complaints, injuries, discrimination, isolation and, as recent reports have found, insurance claims costing the city over £80,000 since 2018.

5.    Agrees that more work is needed to address access considerations – i.e. surfacing, gradients, barrier-free access, continuity, directions, and crossings – in future guidance reviews and all work streams.

6.    Reaffirms the Committee’s support for the Equal Pavements Pledge and informs the Accessible Streets Roundtable Discussion Forum of this, requesting it consider including the Pledge in its draft terms of reference and the following points as part of its discussions on an Accessibility Commission:

a) How we will continue to ‘Listen, and act’ off the back of engagement with disabled people, across impairment groups, who have been significantly erased from the conversation, and look at how our engagement processes themselves are often barriers to disabled people.

b) How we will work with Planning and Licensing colleagues to ‘Keep it Clear’ and maintain a minimum of 1.5m clearance on all pavements, especially during high-footfall seasons (August and December), with detail on the different street types.

c) How we will ‘Cut the clutter’ and operate a zero-tolerance approach to street clutter, especially during high-footfall seasons, with detail on the different street types.

d) How we will ‘Mind the trash’, reducing the issue of bags of rubbish being left on pavements, especially during high-footfall seasons.

e) How we will address the issue of improper and missing dropped kerbs across the city, with reference to short term solutions for problematic areas, and longer-term plans on how we ‘Drop the kerbs’ and audit our street space for further accessibility concerns.

f) How we will ‘Protect Blue Badge Bays’ and ensure residents or visitors that require accessible parking have full information on where they can park and drive in the city.

g) Finally, how the Council will continue to ‘Work with  ...  view the full agenda text for item 9.2

Motion by Councillor Bandel - Staff Resourcing for the City Mobility Plan

1.    “Notes that workload across the Transport service area has been increasing which necessitated the change from 8-weekly to 4-weekly Transport and Environment Committee meetings agreed at the City of Edinburgh Council meeting in December 2023.

2.    Notes with concern that these increased demands on officer time have not been matched by a proportionate investment in staffing. Further notes repeated warnings by officers that several key teams are under extreme pressure and lacking the staff capacity to deliver projects to agreed timescales.

3.    Regrets that these pressures are causing delays in the delivery of the City Mobility Plan and other key areas of work that are crucial to meeting the Council’s car km reduction targets and achieving its climate target of Net Zero by 2030.

4.    Further regrets the unacceptable negative impact on staff wellbeing the lack of resourcing has been causing.

5.    Requests officers to provide all political groups with information detailing the investment in staffing needed to deliver the City Mobility Plan 2021-2030 on time for consideration as part of the Council’s 2024/25 budget setting process by October. This should include information about how roles should be prioritised for investment / recruitment, taking into account the sustainable transport hierarchy.”