London and the Council developed a scheme to introduce traffic signals,. pedestrian crossings and cycle priority measure
PAPER NO.
14-66
WANDSWORTH BOROUGH COUNCIL STRATEGIC PLANNING AND TRANSPORTATION OVERVIEW AND SCRUTINY COMMITTEE – 22ND JANUARY 2014 EXECUTIVE – 27TH JANUARY 2014 Report by the Director of Environment and Community Services on Queen’s Circus roundabout, SW8 (Queenstown) SUMMARY Queen’s Circus roundabout is an important part of the Strategic Road Network. It facilitates access to and from central London, the Vauxhall Nine Elms Opportunity Area (VNEB) and Battersea Park. It also forms part of a cycle superhighway and is on the busiest cycle route in the Borough and one of the busiest in London. The Council’s legal agreements with the developers of Chelsea Bridge Wharf and Battersea Power Station make provision for an improvement to the roundabout, funded by the developers. Transport consultants working on behalf of the Power Station developer have in association with Transport for London and the Council developed a scheme to introduce traffic signals, pedestrian crossings and cycle priority measures and to enlarge the carriageway by reducing the size of the central island. The scheme is intended to assist the management of traffic, pedestrians and the operation of the wider highway network. It would dedicate space for cyclists and provide safe crossing facilities for pedestrians, where there are currently no formal crossings. Section 106 contributions of £1,200,000 have been secured for the project from the Chelsea Bridge Wharf development. The developers of Battersea Power Station would be responsible for the delivery of the scheme and meeting the costs of any balance above the existing s106 contributions. Subject to the requisite agreements, consultation and notices, works could commence in summer 2014 and take approximately 12 months. The Director of Finance comments that Section 106 contributions of £1.2 million have been received for the project from the Chelsea Bridge Wharf development for the improvement of the Queen’s Circus Roundabout. The developers of Battersea Power Station, Battersea Project Land Company Limited, are responsible for the delivery of the scheme. Paper No. 14-46 to be considered by the Finance and Corporate Resources Overview and Scrutiny Committee recommends additions to the General Fund approved capital programme and includes £1.2 million for this scheme, which will be available to Battersea Project Land Company Limited. Page 1 of 8
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Queen’s Circus roundabout
The estimated total cost of the scheme is not yet known, however a Section 278 agreement is currently being negotiated with Battersea Project Land Company Limited to confirm that any cost over £1.2 million will be the responsibility of the developer and to confirm the responsibilities for on-going maintenance of the improved roundabout and surrounding highway. The Section 106 agreement contains a payback clause which means that, if works to the value of £1.2 million are not completed and paid for by the Council by January 2015, any unspent balance may have to be returned to the Chelsea Bridge Wharf developers, unless renegotiated. Following the installation of traffic signals at the roundabout, the Council will after any commuted maintenance period be responsible for the on-going signal maintenance costs, as per a London wide agreement between TfL and London Councils. The cost of the initial consultation with key stakeholders on the proposed works to Queen’s Circus Roundabout will be contained within existing approved General Fund revenue budgets.
GLOSSARY S106
TfL
Legal agreement with development covering financial obligations Transport for London
RECOMMENDATIONS 1.
The Strategic Planning and Transportation Overview and Scrutiny Committee are recommended to support the recommendations to the Executive in paragraph 3.
2.
If the Overview and Scrutiny Committee approve any views, comments or recommendations on the report, these will be submitted to the Executive and/or appropriate regulatory or other committees for their consideration.
3.
The Executive is recommended to: (a)
endorse the design of Queen’s Circus roundabout, as described in this Paper and shown on plan 22524402-05;
(b)
approve consultation on the proposed design, as set out in paragraph 24;
(c)
delegate authority to the Director of Environment and Community Services to approve amendments to the design as
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Queen’s Circus roundabout he considers fitting rising from consultation and further discussions with the designers and Transport for London; (d)
delegate authority to the Director of Environment and Community Services to approve the detailed design, necessary to enable implementation;
(e)
approve statutory consultation, including in respect of the making of Traffic Management Orders, as may be required to implement the scheme; and
(f)
delegate authority to the Director of Environment and Community Services to consider comments and objections in response to statutory notices and consultation.
INTRODUCTION 4.
The build out of the Vauxhall Nine Elms Battersea Opportunity Area will change the volume and type of traffic in the area, which includes an increase in journeys on foot and by bicycle. The highway network will require adaptation to best meet the competing needs of road users, taking account of the need to encourage travel by sustainable modes and restrain car use in an area expected to be served by a transformational improvement in public transport.
5.
Queen’s Circus roundabout provides a free-flowing vehicular environment, particularly off-peak. However, there is no means of intervention to manage queues that can build up during periods of peak flow or to ensure equitable or efficient treatment for all arms. There are no pedestrian crossings at the roundabout. As the developments in the Opportunity Area progress, the volume and balance of traffic at the roundabout will change.
6.
In 2005, the Council secured a S106 contribution from Chelsea Bridge Wharf towards the improvement of the roundabout, assumed to involve making the road around the roundabout wider by narrowing the central island and installing traffic signals. This includes a payback clause if works to the value of £1.2m are not implemented by January 2015.
QUEEN’S CIRCUS ROUNDABOUT 7.
Queen’s Circus roundabout is an important part of the highway network. It is part of the Strategic Road Network, as defined by the Road Traffic Act 2004, which established Strategic Roads in London as the next step down from the Transport for London Road Network in serving high volume traffic corridors.
8.
Queen’s Circus has eight connecting vehicular arms. Queenstown Road and Prince of Wales Drive each have two arms. In addition, there is an access to/from Battersea Park at Carriage Drive South, an
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Queen’s Circus roundabout exit from a local petrol filling station and two local accesses to private property. 9.
In 2011, Queen’s Circus became part of cycle super highway 8, a route from Wandsworth town centre to Victoria. About 1,200 cyclists per week day use the roundabout in the morning peak period (7am-10am) and about 1,000 in the afternoon peak period (4pm to 7pm). It is amongst the busiest cycle routes in London. Cyclists are currently catered for on segregated cycle paths on the footway but have to give way at each of the vehicular arms.
10.
The following issues are identified with the current arrangement: (a) (b)
(c)
(d)
(e)
there is limited means of managing queues that develop or ensuring equitable discharge of traffic around the roundabout; additional traffic arising from the proposed developments increases concern as to whether the roundabout can operate efficiently in the future; the roundabout is not controlled in combination with adjacent junctions and, by extension, changes to other local junctions, such as the junction of Battersea Park Road with Queenstown Road or, indeed the wider network at Vauxhall gyratory, could have knock-on impacts on the roundabout; the current arrangement for cyclists is slow and as such many cyclists prefer to stay on the carriageway, mixing with general traffic; and there are no pedestrian crossing facilities at the roundabout and crossing the road is inconvenient, with pedestrian access to the park considered particularly in need of improvement given the expected increase in pedestrians arising with development. Within the Opportunity Area, the most common mode of travel will be walking.
11.
At the time when Chelsea Bridge Wharf received planning permission, it was considered that an improvement would be necessary to the roundabout and the developer made a time limited financial contribution accordingly.
12.
The legal agreement with the Battersea Power Station developer requires the developer to implement an improvement of the roundabout. The Council would contribute the existing s106 amount to the project with any difference in cost being the responsibility of the developer, subject to a Section 278 agreement currently being negotiated, as stated in paragraph 22.
13.
The legal agreement defines the works for the roundabout as: (a) (b)
widening of the road around the roundabout by reduction of the central island; installation of traffic signals on all approaches and on circulating traffic;
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Queen’s Circus roundabout (c) (d) (e) 14.
laying out of cycle advanced areas at each stop line; installation of pedestrian crossing facilities on all approaches and exits; and environmental improvements.
The legal agreement also provides for improvements to Queenstown Road between Queen’s Circus and Battersea Park Road and at the junction of Queenstown Road and Battersea Park Road, but they are not the subject of current work or this paper.
THE DESIGN 15.
Consultants working on behalf of the developers of the Power Station have been developing a compliant design for the roundabout. TfL also has a statutory interest in Queen’s Circus by virtue of it being part of the Strategic Road Network and by virtue of being responsible for traffic signals in London. At the same time, TfL has been reassessing junctions on the cycle super highways given ongoing concerns about cyclist safety and convenience and fatal and serious accidents involving cyclists at junctions on the super highways. However, it is noted that accidents involving cyclists at Queen’s Circus have reduced since the implementation of the super highway. At an early stage in the design process, TfL made it clear that a conventional approach to designing a roundabout with traffic signals would be unacceptable within the context of their “Better Junctions” review and the Mayor of London’s cycle vision for London. However, the incorporation of greater cycle priority measures risked reducing highway capacity and adding delay to other road users. Further detailed assessment has enabled a preferred scheme to be developed with dedicated cycles lanes and signal phasing. This scheme is shown in plan 22524402-05, which will be on display in the Committee Room on the evening of the meeting.
16.
Discussions with TfL and the developer’s consultants have concluded that the preliminary design is acceptable and, subject to acceptable detailed modelling of future traffic conditions and statutory processes, the benefits of the proposed scheme are expected to be considerable. Most importantly, the scheme could provide a greater degree of control over the operation of the roundabout and wider highway network, and provide dedicated pedestrian and cycle facilities. As is now normal for traffic signals, the signals at the roundabout would respond in real-time to the prevailing highway conditions and be linked to the operation of other signals to optimise the use of the wider network. The impact of future changes to traffic and highway arrangements throughout the Opportunity Area could also be better managed and mitigated if the roundabout were signalised.
17.
Signalising the roundabout could also enable it to play a role in restraining traffic volumes, discouraging non-essential, unrestrained use of cars and affording priority to sustainable modes of travel. It should be noted that consented developments are, accumulatively, Page 5 of 8
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Queen’s Circus roundabout expected to result in a quantum of development (and car parking) at the upper end or above that originally assumed within the Vauxhall Nine Elms Battersea Opportunity Area Planning Framework. 18.
The scheme would provide segregated facilities for cyclists. It would also provide safe crossing facilities for pedestrians, which are considered much needed. The scheme could help accentuate the main cycle route over Chelsea Bridge, avoiding Nine Elms Lane and the main development sites which are expected to be served by very large numbers of construction related heavy goods vehicles over the next few years.
19.
The scheme is predicted to add some delay to traffic, including cyclists, compared with the current uncontrolled arrangement. It is principally the price that is paid to provide signal phases for pedestrians to safely cross the road. Road users are more likely to have to stop at a signal at some stage while negotiating the roundabout, as they are often required to wait at signalised road junctions. These delays are of the order of 30 seconds to a minute for motorists and 10 seconds to 80 seconds for cyclists – depending on which arms the user enters the roundabout and how far around it they need to travel. Accepting that the scheme would add delay to journeys, this could be seen in the context of existing busy signal junctions where the removal of signals might add nominal capacity but at the expense of effective management and safe crossing facilities.
20.
The access and egress to Battersea Park and the minor accesses/egresses to private property off the roundabout are not proposed to be signalised. Officers responsible for the management of Battersea Park have expressed some concern in respect of vehicles being able to conveniently access and egress the park if non-park traffic does not concede to park traffic. This potential issue is proposed to be addressed in the design by appropriate carriageway markings.
21.
There are a few further concerns that have needed consideration:(a)
(b) (c)
22.
the scheme requires the installation of traffic signals and associated equipment, hence impacting on the public realm and visual appearance of the street; ongoing signal maintenance is paid for by councils, resulting in a cost not currently incurred; any future highway works at/near the roundabout would require more complex management compared to that needed for works near a non-signalised junction.
The Council is currently working with the developers of the Power Station and other developers to ensure a coherent and consistent approach to the public realm. The scheme involves lowering the dome of the roundabout, which would enable easier access for maintenance and potential opportunities for art, design, sponsorship, advertising and so on. Public access to the centre of the roundabout is not proposed
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Queen’s Circus roundabout as this would add additional delay to all road users including pedestrians for whom crossing through the centre of the roundabout would take longer than using the proposed crossing points. The Council is currently negotiating a Section 278 highway legal agreement with the developers of the Power Station, setting out the responsibilities of the parties. The developer would be responsible for delivering any approved scheme and for meeting any costs above the amount held by the Council from developer financial contributions. A commuted sum forms part of the s278 agreement currently being negotiated with the developer to cover the additional costs of maintenance of the new highway arrangement compared with the current roundabout. 23.
While the principal of a signal scheme is already agreed through planning agreements, it is proposed the Committee endorse the design of the roundabout as shown in plan 22524402-05.
NEXT STEPS 24.
It is proposed that public consultation be undertaken with key stakeholders, such as local amenity groups, ward councillors and the Police to identify any potential issues or improvements that could be made to the design. It is recommended that authority be delegated to the Director of Environment and Community Services to make changes to the design arising from such consultation or further discussions with TfL.
25.
Subject to TfL auditing and signing off detailed traffic modelling to their satisfaction and, assuming statutory processes are completed, the construction would need careful management. The lowering of the dome and shrinking of the central island would require safe access and a protected working area. Temporary road markings would then be needed to help guide road users when the carriageway is widened prior to the installation of traffic signals. It is anticipated that construction could take approximately twelve months.
COMMENTS OF THE DIRECTOR OF FINANCE 26.
The Director of Finance comments that Section 106 contributions of £1.2 million have been received for the project from the Chelsea Bridge Wharf development for the improvement of the Queen’s Circus Roundabout. The developers of Battersea Power Station, Battersea Project Land Company Limited, are responsible for the delivery of the scheme. Paper No. 14-46 to be considered by the Finance and Corporate Resources Overview and Scrutiny Committee recommends additions to the General Fund approved capital programme and includes £1.2 million for this scheme, which will be available to Battersea Project Land Company Limited.
27.
The estimated total cost of the scheme is not yet known, however a Section 278 agreement is currently being negotiated with Battersea Project Land Company Limited to confirm that any cost over £1.2 Page 7 of 8
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Queen’s Circus roundabout million will be the responsibility of the developer and to confirm the responsibilities for on-going maintenance of the improved roundabout and surrounding highway. The Section 106 agreement contains a payback clause which means that, if works to the value of £1.2 million are not completed and paid for by the Council by January 2015, any unspent balance may have to be returned to the Chelsea Bridge Wharf developers, unless renegotiated. 28.
Following the installation of traffic signals at the roundabout, the Council will after any commuted maintenance period be responsible for the on-going signal maintenance costs, as per a London wide agreement between TfL and London Councils.
29.
The cost of the initial consultation with key stakeholders on the proposed works to Queen’s Circus Roundabout will be contained within existing approved General Fund revenue budgets ________________________
The Town Hall Wandsworth SW18 2PU
A G McDONALD Director of Environment and Community Services
14th January 2014
Background papers All reports to Overview and Scrutiny Committees, regulatory and other committees, the Executive and the full Council can be viewed on the Council’s website (www.wandsworth.gov.uk/moderngov) unless the report was published before May 2001, in which case the Committee Secretary (Mr. M Newton – 020 8871 6488; email
[email protected]) can supply it if required.
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