Any county councillor may, by giving notice to the Proper Officer by 9 am two working days before the meeting, ask a question on any matter in respect of the Cabinet Member’s delegated powers.
The number of questions which may be asked by any councillor at any one meeting is limited to two (or one question with notice and a supplementary question at the meeting) and the time for questions will be limited to 30 minutes in total. As with questions at Council, any questions which remain unanswered at the end of this item will receive a written response.
Questions submitted prior to the agenda being despatched are shown below and will be the subject of a response from the appropriate Cabinet Member or such other councillor or officer as is determined by the Cabinet Member, and shall not be the subject of further debate at this meeting. Questions received after the despatch of the agenda, but before the deadline, will be shown on the Schedule of Addenda circulated at the meeting, together with any written response which is available at that time.
Minutes:
Councillor John Tanner
“One of the disadvantages of taking buses out of Queen Street has been increased congestion at certain times of day in St Aldates in my division. I am aware that a Zero Emission Zone could be introduced in the near future which could limit vehicle journeys in St Aldates. However other measures are likely to be needed as well. Will the Cabinet member agree with me that when buses area again removed from Queen Street, albeit experimentally, that changes are also made to improve conditions to St Aldates? These could include:
1) Greater restrictions on loading & unloading and stricter enforcement;
2) Joining up bus routes, so that, for example, buses from Abingdon might travel through Oxford to perhaps Rose Hill and back, rather than turning around in the middle of the city;
3) A pedestrian crossing be installed across St Aldates;
4) Pavements be further widened in St Aldates
5) A bus gate be installed at the bottom of St Aldates to prevent other traffic entering the city centre during the daytime”.
Cabinet Member for Environment
“The paper on Queen Street, to be considered at Cabinet Member Decisions, confirms that an experimental closure would be conditional on identifying a deliverable package of improvements which reduce congestion on the road and footways in St Aldate’s, and other routes where buses are displaced. The report puts forward proposals including loading restrictions and removal of traffic signals at junctions, and subject to further investigation, these and other measures may be required to address concerns raised about conditions in St Aldates, and High Street, during the recent consultation. “
Supplementary question from Councillor Tanner
“Could the cabinet Member for Environment confirm that this would be dealt with as expeditiously as possible in order to ease congestion.”
Response from the Cabinet Member for Environment
“I have noted your comments and although there is no specific timetable for this I will endeavour to provide some dates for this work to go ahead.”
Councillor James Mills
“Back in February the Cabinet Member for Environment approved the recommendation that improvements be made to the zebra crossing at Oxford Hill, Witney. Please can he give an update on how these improvements are progressing?”
Cabinet Member for Environment
“Unfortunately there have been problems with the consultant and developer who were progressing these works. We received this week anew submission for the Section 278 works covering the raised crossing, these are now in the process of being reviewed and it is anticipated that these works will take place in the new year.”
Councillor James Mills
“In Witney there are some areas where road markings which indicate limited waiting or loading bays etc. are worn away to such an extent that they cannot be enforced. As this has such obvious safety implications, please could the Cabinet for the Environment indicate when these markings might be properly reinstated?”
Cabinet Member for Environment
“As you will be aware we have a very limited budget for carrying out the maintenance of road markings and so our officers try to focus the work in the drier parts of the year when the paint will better adhere to the road. In addition, refreshing markings that directly benefit road safety (such as Stop and Give Way markings plus centrelines on rural roads) will always be high up on the priorities. Nevertheless, in view of Cllr Mills’ concerns I have asked officers to liaise with colleagues in the WODC Parking Team to see if some work can be done in the next few months to address those places in Witney most in need of re-lining and so allow the parking restrictions to be enforced by the District’s staff.”