Item 9(1) Report to the Executive for Decision 18 July 2005 Portfolio: Subject: Report of: Strategy/Policy: Corporate Objective: Planning and Transportation Review of Bus Shelters Chief Planning and Transportation Officer Maintaining and extending prosperity Purpose: To review the provision of bus shelters within the Borough, in support of public transport services. Executive summary: A review of the Council’s stock of non-advertising bus shelters has been carried out and is detailed in the Executive Briefing Paper. Current usage of all shelters has been assessed, in consultation with the bus company and options for the removal/replacement of a number of shelters that are little used are set out. The report advises on the contractual arrangements for maintenance of the bus shelters. A priority-based approach to the provision of new shelters is also proposed. A report on this matter was considered by the Planning and Transportation Review Panel, on 22 June 2005 and the Executive will be advised of any comments arising. Recommendation: (a) (b) (c) That the Executive approves that only minimal maintenance be undertaken on the low-use, poor quality shelters set out in Table 1 of the Executive Briefing Paper, with each shelter removed when no longer safely serviceable. That the Executive approves that the maintenance and cleaning contract for bus shelters remains with Primesight at the present time, and that officers continue to ensure the provision of an effective maintenance regime through liaison with the contractor. That the Executive approves that the additional allocation for new shelters be used to provide shelters at the highest priority locations as identified in the bus shelter request list in Appendix B. Reason: To enable the effective management of the bus shelters within the Borough, within available resources. Contact: Andy Viccars, Head of Engineering &Transportation E-mail – aviccars@fareham.gov.uk (Tel: 01329 824591 ) xpt-050718-r17-avi.doc 2 Item 9(1) Cost of proposals: The annual budget for maintenance of street furniture and bus shelters is £10,000, with an allocation in the Capital Programme 2005/6 of £30,000 for the provision of new shelters. The proposals set out in the Executive Briefing Paper provide a prioritised approach to the allocation of these annual budgets. Appendix: A: B: Schedule of Council owned bus shelters Bus shelter request list Background papers: None Reference Papers: Executive – 6 September 2004 – Item 10(1) – Bus Shelters Contact: Andy Viccars, Head of Engineering &Transportation E-mail – aviccars@fareham.gov.uk (Tel: 01329 824591 ) xpt-050718-r17-avi.doc 3 Item 9(1) Executive Briefing Paper Date: 18 July 2005 Subject: Review of Bus Shelters Briefing by: Briefing by the Chief Planning and Transportation Officer Portfolio: Planning and Transportation SUPPORTING INFORMATION Background 1. At the Executive meeting on 6 September 2004, Members considered a report on the condition and maintenance of bus shelters. It was resolved at that meeting that: (a) an additional £15,000 be allocated to fund improvements to the Council’s stock of bus shelters with effect from the 2005/06 financial year, subject to the Council’s final budget position; (b) the Scrutiny Board be asked: (i) (ii) (iii) (c) 2. to carry out a review of existing bus shelters to assess their general condition, cleanliness and suitability; to determine the continued need for those shelters that are not well used; and to review the current contractual arrangements for the maintenance of the shelters that are owned by the Council; the ‘List of Bus Shelter Requests’ be amended to include the request by Councillor Mrs Eastman for improvements to the existing shelters near the Portchester Crematorium. On 10th January 2005 the Executive resolved to include an allocation of £30,000 in the Capital Programme 2005/6 for bus shelters as set out in paragraph 28 of that report. That was agreed by Full Council on 24th February when it was resolved:…..that the recommendations of the Executive be accepted and accordingly:….the capital programme as set out in Appendix A to the report to the Executive on 10 January 2005 (reference xps-050110-r09-kth) be Contact: Andy Viccars, Head of Engineering &Transportation E-mail – aviccars@fareham.gov.uk (Tel: 01329 824591 ) xpt-050718-r17-avi.doc 4 Item 9(1) approved, subject to the inclusion of new schemes detailed in paragraph 28 of that report…. 3. The total funding for bus shelters for 2005/6 is as follows:(i) Annual budget for maintenance of street furniture and bus shelters of £10,000. (ii) 2005/6 Capital Programme allocation for new shelters of £30,000. Introduction 4. This report now looks at the above issues and also considers the list of requests for new shelters. 5. The Council currently owns a stock of 98 bus shelters which are located along bus routes throughout the Borough. In addition to these shelters, the advertising company, Primesight has 44 advertising shelters. An agreement with the Council allows Primesight to site their advertising shelters at agreed locations across the Borough, in return for which, Primesight maintains the Council’s shelters. 6. The main provider of bus services in the Borough is First, although Solent Blue Line, Stagecoach and TGM provide some additional routes. EXISTING BUS SHELTERS – CONDITION, CLEANLINESS AND SUITABILITY 7. A review of all non-advertising shelters has been carried out by officers visiting each shelter, carrying out a condition assessment and assessing the usage of each shelter with the bus company. Appendix A to the Executive report lists all of these shelters and includes comments on their condition. In general, this is an ageing stock, with many shelters in excess of 30 years old and reaching the end of their life. Whilst the recently-constructed shelters respond well to cleaning, the older shelters are often in fairly poor condition, with glazing panels having been replaced with solid, galvanised steel panels or opaque fibreglass panels, and roof members with corroded and rusted surfaces. These older shelters will not be economically maintainable, either at the present time or in the near future; they are also unsuitable for relocation due to their poor condition. BUS SHELTERS PROPOSED FOR POSSIBLE REMOVAL/REPLACEMENT 8. Officers have met with First to look at shelter usage and to seek that company’s comments about the popularity of existing shelters and where the bus company considers new shelters should be provided. From this information, officers have identified low-usage shelters. Appendix A gives details of all Council-owned shelters and identifies a number of shelters which have very low usage and are in poor condition due to their age. These low usage, poor quality shelters may not warrant continuing maintenance expenditure and, if no longer structurally routinely maintained, could release maintenance funding to be spent on the better-used shelters. Possible options for these shelters are as follows: Contact: Andy Viccars, Head of Engineering &Transportation E-mail – aviccars@fareham.gov.uk (Tel: 01329 824591 ) xpt-050718-r17-avi.doc 5 (i) (ii) (iii) (iv) 9. Item 9(1) continue to maintain stop maintaining and remove when unsafe remove as a priority replace Any decision on possible shelter removal needs to be carefully considered against the Council’s previously-agreed policy of aiming to provide a bus shelter at each bus stop in the Borough. The low use, poor condition shelters and those proposed for possible removal, are identified in the following table:Table 1 - Shelters with low usage and no longer economically maintainable Shelter no 19 Ward Fareham North 34 Fareham West 41 Stubbington 43 Stubbington 51 Titchfield 74* Park Gate 78 Sarisbury 79 Sarisbury 89 Sarisbury 90 Sarisbury Location Funtley Hill west side - outside the old Church Longmynd Drive north side east of Justin Close Newgate Lane east side - south of Woodcote Lane Rowner Road south side - east of Peel Common roundabout Catisfield Lane north side outside The Limes A27 Bridge Road south side west of Locks Road Barnes Lane east side - south of Bridge Road Barnes Lane west side - south of Bridge Road Botley Road east side - opposite Swanwick Lane Botley Road east side - opposite Burridge Road * Shelter proposed for possible removal. The remaining shelters are suggested for minimal maintenance and removal when no longer serviceable and safe in accord with Option (ii) in paragraph 5 above. The reasons for possible removal are shown in the table in Appendix A. BUS SHELTER MAINTENANCE 10. The contractual arrangements between the Council and Primesight include a requirement for Primesight to maintain the glazing panels in the shelters and also to carry out a full clean of the shelters. This includes removal of fly posting and graffiti, on a 12 week cycle. The contractor does not fund structural repairs, as that falls to the Borough Council. There have been some concerns regarding the contractor’s response times to requests for glazing repairs and also the quality of some repairs. Prior to September 2004, Primesight was reluctant to replace frequently-damaged glazing panels and also suggested that the Council should consider removing regularly-damaged and vandalised shelters. The company’s records identified seven shelters which had been Contact: Andy Viccars, Head of Engineering &Transportation E-mail – aviccars@fareham.gov.uk (Tel: 01329 824591 ) xpt-050718-r17-avi.doc 6 Item 9(1) repaired more than three times in a 12-month period. These shelters were at: Centre Way Locks Road east side - south of A27 Linden Lea - west of The Hillway White Hart Lane south side - west of Myrtle Avenue Warsash Road - west of A27 Locks Road west side - north of Home Rule Road Blackbrook Road north side - east of Highlands Road 11. Because of the way in which this information was presented to officers by Primesight, it was not possible to verify that repairs had been carried out to the claimed frequency. Similarly, the cleaning regime appeared to be sporadic and difficult to verify. 12. In September 2004, Primesight carried out a major programme to replace all damaged and missing glazing panels. During the early part of 2004, the Centre Way shelter had been subject to a series of vandalism attacks with several glazing panels being smashed. Primesight had replaced some of these panels with 3 mm polycarbonate but these panels were clearly inadequate against sustained attack. Officers therefore carried out a trial on this shelter using 8 mm polycarbonate glazing panels to assess their effectiveness against vandalism. The trial appeared to show that the thicker panel was, indeed, successful. Primesight has subsequently followed suit and iscurrently using 8 mm panels for all repairs and replacements. The level of damage due to vandalism has now dropped, presumably because of the thicker panels now being used, although there continues to be a persistent level of localised graffiti. When officers are aware of this, the incident is reported to the Police. Most of those shelters listed above as recommended by Primesight for removal, have now been fitted with the new, thicker glazing panels. A number of glazing panels have suffered from scratching and burning, most notably to the new shelters within the Whiteley area. The worst-damaged panels have been replaced by Primesight. 13. Primesight’s overall performance has greatly improved and the shelters are much cleaner than before. The Agreement states that Council-owned shelters should be cleaned on a 12 weekly cycle. Discussions are continuing with Primesight to improve the notification to the Council of works due or completed. Since September 2004, the level of complaints from the public has dramatically reduced. Complaints about damaged roofs are still being received but the shelter structure, roofs and steel panels are the responsibility of this Council. 14. The annual budget for maintenance of Council-owned street furniture, which includes bus shelters is £10,000. . The street furniture budget covers the following items: bus shelter maintenance and renewal; bus stop poles; bus stop hardstandings; roadside benches; cycle racks. Contact: Andy Viccars, Head of Engineering &Transportation E-mail – aviccars@fareham.gov.uk (Tel: 01329 824591 ) xpt-050718-r17-avi.doc 7 Item 9(1) 15. Approximately 75% of the maintenance budget has in previous years been spent on shelter maintenance. For the current financial year 2005/06, 75% of the maintenance budget equates to about £77 per shelter per year. The effect of removing maintenance expenditure from the 10 shelters identified earlier in this report, would effectively increase expenditure to about £85 per shelter. This would clearly represent a slight improvement on the current position, but with most of the Council’s bus shelters now more than 30 years old and approaching the end of their service life, a shelter replacement programme would need to be considered in due course. However, the costs of removing the 10 identified shelters would be around £5,000 in the current year, and it might be preferable to minimise maintenance on these shelters until they are no longer serviceable, whereupon they would be removed. NEW SHELTERS 16. The Council receives requests for new shelters. There are currently 23 shelter requests on the list, as shown in Appendix B, to the Executive report. There are also 19 shelters identified in Appendix A as needing replacement as a high priority. Requests for the new shelters in Appendix B have been given a rating and included in the schedule in priority order, in the light of comments by bus operators, which have been based on drivers’ perception of the number of passengers boarding at each stop. If there is a need to change priorities, the schedule will be reported to members when the Traffic Regulation Order and Traffic Investigation programmes are reviewed each year. 17. A budget of £30,000 has been provided in the current financial year, for new bus shelters. This should be sufficient to fund eight new shelters and it is proposed to use this budget to provide shelters at the sites requested on the list attached at Appendix B. 18. Some shelters are provided by external funding, either from Hampshire County Council or from developer contributions. Where developers are funding shelters, the contribution is set at a level to include a commuted sum for ongoing maintenance, but that is not the case for County-funded shelters. FINANCIAL 19. The annual budget for maintenance of street furniture and bus shelters is £10,000. The Capital Programme includes an allocation of £30,000 in 2005/6 for new shelters. The financial information is set out in the respective paragraphs above. CONSIDERATION OF PROPOSALS 20. The proposals set out above were considered by the Planning and Transportation Review Panel on 22 June, and the views of the Panel will be reported to the Executive. Contact: Andy Viccars, Head of Engineering &Transportation E-mail – aviccars@fareham.gov.uk (Tel: 01329 824591 ) xpt-050718-r17-avi.doc 8 Item 9(1) 21. The views of ward members on how the low usage, poor condition shelters should be dealt with, and the approach to new bus shelter provision have been sought. Members’ responses were considered at the Planning and Transportation Review Panel meeting on 22 June 2005 when the matter was considered. 22. Hampshire County Council’s views are also being sought on the proposals and its response will also be reported to the Executive. CONCLUSIONS 23. A review of the Council’s stock of non-advertising bus shelters has been carried out. Current usage of all shelters has been assessed, in consultation with the bus company, and options on how to deal with a number of shelters that are little used, are considered. There are no low-use shelters identified for relocation because of their structural condition. It is proposed that only minimal maintenance is undertaken on the low use, poor quality shelters identified in Table 1 above, with the removal of each shelter when it is no longer safely serviceable. 24. The Executive Briefing Paper considers Primesight’s maintenance performance, measures against its contracted responsibilities and proposes that the maintenance performance is now much better than had been the case previously, although there is room for improvement. 25. A prioritised approach to the provision of new bus shelters is also proposed. Contact: Andy Viccars, Head of Engineering &Transportation E-mail – aviccars@fareham.gov.uk (Tel: 01329 824591 ) xpt-050718-r17-avi.doc