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City Hall Desk - 2200 reports from Londoners help to curb shoddy practice - Six major utility companies commit to endorse the Mayor’s roadworks pledge
City Hall is claiming in a new report that disruption to Londoners caused by roadworks have dropped by "nearly 40 per cent". Boris Johnson the Mayor of London who is seeking re-election this year from Londoners said in a statement "battle to rid the capital's streets of disruptive and unsafe roadworks has made progress over the last 12 months according to the latest figures from Transport for London."
According to City Hall there were nearly "4,000 fewer roadworks on Transport for London’s roads between last April and the end of 2011 when compared to the same period in 2010, a fall of 13 per cent. That helped cut the hours of serious disruption caused by planned roadworks by 182 hours, or 39 per cent, when compared with the previous year."
The Mayor of London, Boris Johnson, said:
“Roadworks are a colossal nuisance for Londoners and a great cost to our economy. I am pleased to report some progress in our drive to reduce the disruption they cause, however there is still plenty more to do and we will continue to push everyone involved in roadworks on the capital’s roads to do their utmost to help keep London moving.”
The latest figures show how the Mayor’s roadworks permit scheme is having a greater impact in boroughs where it is used compared to those where it is not. Boroughs using the permit scheme have seen a 17 per cent reduction in utility works compared to a seven per cent reduction in boroughs that do not issue permits.
Transport for London has also detailed how around 2,200 reports have already been made using the new Report IT system that was launched near the end of September for members of the public to report disruptive or badly managed roadworks. Around a quarter of the reports were for roadworks on TfL roads and three quarters for borough roads.
The system has already led to Transport for London issuing two fixed penalty notices against utility companies and to the identification of an over-running works site that led to £1,160 in fines. In total, around 500 Fixed Penalty Notices have been given to works promoters since April 2011, including more than 100 for working without a permit. A further 162 charges have also been imposed by TfL for over-running works by utility companies across London.
By using the Report IT system TfL and the boroughs have been able to take direct action to mitigate disruption due to roadworks. Examples include:
Borough High Street (TfL): following complaints contractors were instructed to tidy up the site, work the full permitted hours, and adopt a new site layout allowing two-way traffic flow
Mortlake Road: TfL applied pressure on National Grid Gas, who were replacing a mains pipe in Mortlake Road, and through extended working hours managed to reduce the duration of the works by three weeks.
A404 in Harrow: A Report It complaint about a noisy manhole cover on the A404 was received by Harrow Council. Harrow identified this as belonging to Thames Water and it was repaired within a day.
Last month the Mayor and Transport for London met with Chief Executives from six key utility companies at City Hall. In a positive and productive meeting the utility companies agreed to work with the Mayor and TfL to develop a revised version of the Mayor’s Code of Conduct that will include more specific targets.
At the meeting the utility companies and TfL agreed in principle to double the amount of joint works they carry out, which could potentially save more than 1000 days of disruption for road users. They also agreed to set a specific target to shorten average works durations.
The Mayor also urged utility chiefs to adopt innovative new technologies such as road-plating and “key-hole cutting” on a more widespread basis to further reduce the duration and disruption of roadworks and help joint working.
In September this year Transport for London reduced the roadworks 'cap' that it operates, which is the maximum number of roadworks it allows on its roads within a four week period, by a further ten per cent from 4,170 sets of works to 3753 sets of works. The cap, which applies to all works on the Transport for London Road Network was first introduced by TfL last year and reduced the maximum number of roadworks allowed to take place at any one time on its roads by 20 per cent. It is felt that the introduction of a similar cap by the London Boroughs on their strategic roads would encourage better coordination between utility companies, and help significantly reduce the amount of disruptive roadworks in London.
Garrett Emmerson, Chief Operating Officer for Surface Transport at TfL said:
“Transport for London have implemented a range of measures during the past year to reduce disruption caused by roadworks and have worked with the utility companies to better coordinate works across London.
“However, there is still much to be done. Throughout 2012, we plan to work with the utility companies to create a revised Code of Conduct as well as work to have all of the Capitals roads covered by a roadworks permit scheme. We also hope to formally submit our proposals for a targeted and avoidable lane rental scheme early next year, which will deliver a real incentive to carry out works more efficiently, making our roads clearer and less disruptive for all.”
For more information about how the Mayor and TfL are working to reduce and coordinate roadworks across London, visit www.tfl.gov.uk/roadworks
photo credit: Natalie Mitrides
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