Issue - meetings

Forward Plan Ref: 2020/171

Contact: Eric Owens, Assistant Director Growth & Place Tel: 07799 097637 / Rob Freshwater, Senior Transport Planner Tel: 07775 007926

Report by Assistant Director Growth and Place (CMDE8).

Oxfordshire County Council in its role as Local Highway Authority agreed to take part in a 12-month long trial of e-scooters within the county.  The trial is being managed at a national level by the Department of Transport (DfT) who legislated for their trial use as part of local authority led hire operations on 4 July 2020.  This report (i) provides the Cabinet Member with an update on the development of a rental e-scooter trial for the city of Oxford, and (ii) seeks approval for the rental e-scooter trial to operate in Oxfordshire. It also summarises a preliminary consultation with key stakeholders on the Experimental Traffic Regulation Order (ETRO) measures intended to be brought in to facilitate the use of e-scooters across Oxford. It should be noted that private e-scooters remain illegal and cannot be included in this trial.

The Cabinet Member for Environment is RECOMMENDED to:

a.         note the responses received to the preliminary consultation on the trial of e-scooters

b.        approve an Experimental Traffic Regulation Order to facilitate the use of public hire e-scooters (i.e. electrically powered) on the public highway across the Oxford urban area, including an initial launch within the Headington area of Oxford.

Approved

Approved

Oxfordshire County Council in its role as Local Highway Authority had agreed to take part in a 12-month long trial of e-scooters within the county.  The Cabinet Member for Environment considered an update on the development of a rental e-scooter trial for the city of Oxford and which sought approval for the rental e-scooter trial to operate in Oxfordshire and summarised a preliminary consultation with key stakeholders on the Experimental Traffic Regulation Order (ETRO) measures intended to be brought in to facilitate the use of e-scooters across Oxford. The report noted that private e-scooters had and could not be included in this trial.

County Councillor Emma Turnbull broadly welcomed the introduction of an e-scooter scheme in the city centre but had some concerns about the basis of their use in Cornmarket Street. She supported removal of the time restriction on cycling and introduction of a marked two-way cycle lane down the middle of the paved area. Currently a bit of a free for all she was concerned that the addition of e-scooters might well add to the confusion for pedestrians. Adding a designated cycle lane down Cornmarket would be transformative for cyclists, who currently had to use the narrow Turl Street or run the gauntlet of shoppers along New Inn Hall Street and the side of the Westgate and so while welcoming these measures urged that access to Cornmarket be kept under review.

The Cabinet Member for Environment having regard to the information set out in the report before her together with the representations made to her at the meeting confirmed her decision as follows:

a.         note the responses received to the preliminary consultation on the trial of e-scooters

b.         approve an Experimental Traffic Regulation Order to facilitate the use of public hire e-scooters (i.e. electrically powered) on the public highway across the Oxford urban area, including an initial launch within the Headington area of Oxford.

Signed……………………………………….

Cabinet Member for Environment

Date of signing……………………………