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ITEM EX8

VISITOR COACH MANAGEMENT, OXFORD

Introduction

1. On 23 July 2002 the Executive considered a report on Coach Stopping Points in St Giles’ and Beaumont Street, Oxford and agreed to allow the experimental traffic order controlling coach stopping in these two streets to lapse, reverting to the arrangements that had prevailed for many years whereby coaches could set down and pick up passengers anywhere loading restrictions were not in force and where drivers deemed it safe to do so.
2. The Executive asked me to report back after considering, in consultation with the City Council and other interested bodies, alternatives to the experimental measures. Subsequently, and following discussion with the City Council, a working group has been established comprising City and County officers to attempt to make progress towards defining these alternatives.
3. This report updates the Executive on the current thinking on the issue and recommends a course of action for managing and monitoring the 2003 season.

Responsibilities

4. Following discussions with the City Council, it is now accepted that the management of coach based tourism is an issue that needs to be driven not by traffic management but by tourism management. In this respect the City Council, through its tourism management function, is lead authority. In various other respects, notably as planning authority, major land owner and off-street car park operator, the City Council is also taking a lead, with the County Council advising on traffic management and on-street parking matters.
5. The officer group which has been meeting since the autumn has made some progress in researching action taken in other historic cities and reviewing existing operational arrangements in Oxford. The City Council’s Tourist Information Centre staff are also involved in revising text of leaflets and other publications aimed at coach operators in order to clarify the existing arrangements and remind drivers of the code of practice for coach based tourism.

Existing Coach Stopping Arrangements

6. Since September 2002 when the experimental traffic order for St Giles’ and Beaumont Street lapsed there have been no formal stopping places for coaches in the City Centre. It is expected therefore that coaches arriving in the City Centre will revert to setting down passengers where drivers consider it convenient and safe, and where loading restrictions are not in force. After setting down their passengers coaches would be required to move on, Oxpens coach park being the only formal parking area available for the duration of the stay.
7. Because the majority of coach parties are destined for Broad Street and the heritage area or for Christchurch the most popular coach stopping locations will undoubtedly remain in St Giles in the north and Speedwell Street in the south where, outside of the morning and evening peak periods, any vehicle can stop to pick up and set down passengers.
8. A coach permit zone covering a large part of the City centre has been in operation for many years. This prevents access to a number of the most sensitive historic streets, mainly in the eastern part of the central area, between 10am and 6pm unless a permit has been issued. Permits are issued to enable coaches to set down passengers less able to walk to their destinations from the usual set down points. The City Council, on behalf of the County Council, continues to issue these on request from its Parking Shop in the High Street and through this system is able to monitor demand for coach access to the permit zone. I would not wish to abandon this scheme, which is understood by coach operators and is reasonably successful in controlling coach access in this part of the of the City centre, without additional protection of these streets in place.

Issues and Options

9. The initial review of visitor coach arrangements in other historic cities sought to identify the systems and methods used which may be applicable to Oxford. Where appropriate this could be followed up by site visits and more detailed discussions with officers from other authorities. Most cities contacted to date offer a limited number of designated pick up/set down points (normally 2-3). In mediaeval cities these points tend to be located further from the main city centre. Most cities report problems of control and parking of visitor coaches and continue to review their management. There seems to be no single city that is held up as having adopted best practice in this field. Canterbury in particular, appears to have suffered from a lack of effective management and experienced a decline in its overall coach visitor numbers.
10. The intention behind the decision to reconsider the issue of coach management in February 2003 was to enable any workable proposals for the coming tourist season, which commences in earnest from Easter, to be put in place in time. However, in the light of discussion with City Council officers and members, it is not felt possible to recommend any significant changes to the status quo for 2003, rather to use this year to develop the medium and longer term plans, informed by results of monitoring coach activity. Further surveys to add to existing information are being planned.
11. A vital part of the review process is consultation. Indeed the Executive wished to ensure all the interested bodies were consulted in seeking to find an acceptable solution to visitor coach management in the City. Consequently a range of groups and individuals are being contacted for their initial comments and ideas, including the Guild of Guides, coach operators, local visitor attractions, businesses, frontagers and environmental groups.
12. To some extent the future options for coach parking in the City Centre are tied into the development concept of the ‘West End’ of the City. Both Councils are involved in identifying potential development sites in the area in order to ensure effective development briefs can be produced to guide future proposals. Sites including Oxpens, Westgate, Albion Place and Worcester Street car park have already been identified. Some of these sites may be appropriate to locate coach parking or pick up/set down points. As the ‘West End’ concept is formalised through this year the scope for coach parking should become clearer.
13. Other considerations being explored include how better to manage coach stopping on the bus priority route around the City Centre, especially Speedwell Street and St Aldates; the role of signing and communications technology in managing coaches between the pick up/set down points and parking areas; and the extent to which relatively minor timing controls and improved enforcement can solve the current peaking difficulties in the high season.
14. The City Council is revising all information sent out and available to coach and tour operators to ensure it is accurate for the coming tourist season. The officer group is also assessing the accuracy and appropriateness of signing into the City Centre from the ring road and I will make recommendations to the OTS Working Party at the end of February as to what, if any, minor changes are necessary. These can be carried out quickly using funding from the Rapid Response budget in the capital programme.
15. The failure over many years to resolve the management of tourist coaches in Oxford to the satisfaction of all concerned demonstrates the complexity of the issue. Strong feelings expressed about the detrimental effects of coaches in streets like St Giles’ are countered by those whose businesses depend on a steady flow of, largely, day trip tourists into the City and who contribute to Oxford’s economic well being. Once options are devised for coach management, based on information gathered through this year, there will be consultation. The exact arrangements for this have yet to be determined but will be done so in discussion with local and Executive Members at both the City and County Councils. A briefing will be arranged as soon as there is sufficient information available.

Environmental Implications

16. The visual and other environmental impact of coaches in Oxford’s historic centre can be serious. However, coaches are a very efficient way of bringing large numbers of visitors into the City centre. A strategy for managing tourist coaches will nevertheless have a clear objective of minimising the environmental impact.

Financial and Staff Implications

17. Work on the development of a strategy for managing tourist coaches in the City is being progressed using existing staff. The potential costs of introducing such a strategy are currently unknown but are being investigated as part of the development work.

RECOMMENDATIONS

18. The Executive is RECOMMENDED to:

1. agree to retain the status quo for tourist coaches for the coming 2003 season;
2. authorise the Director of Environmental Services/Director of Environment & Economy:

DAVID YOUNG
Director of Environmental Services

Background papers: Nil

Contact Officer: Peter Mann Tel: Oxford 815479