Update on proposals for Brunstane Road and Joppa Triangle. Portobello Community Council intend to carry out a wider consultation soon.

“Joppa Triangle Briefing Note

Please see attached the second briefing note regarding the proposals in the Joppa area.”

Content of the second briefing note:

Briefing Note – Joppa Triangle Traffic proposalsMarch 2020

This briefing note provides further information in respect of proposed traffic management changes in the Joppa area. This is intended to be read in conjunction with the initial Joppa Triangle Traffic proposals briefing note which was issued in January 2020. 

Background

The Council have proposed changes to traffic management in the Joppa triangle area in response to concerns raised by a number of residents about increased volumes of traffic and other local traffic issues. The proposals consider feedback which has been received from the local resident’s engagement event which was held in October 2019 and include the proposed introduction, on a trial basis, of an Experimental Traffic Regulation Order (ETRO). The following information provides answers to some of the questions which have been asked about how the proposed process will work.

How will continued local community and stakeholder groups feedback on the proposal be gathered?

Feedback from the local community event held in October 2019 was used to help develop the current draft proposal.

Local elected members and Portobello Community Council have organised a further drop in event on Tuesday 3 March 2020 to talk about the different transport plans that affect Portobello and the surrounding area. Following this event any relevant feedback from attendees can be used to help inform further development of the draft proposal.

Any comments and/or legitimate objections that are made during the final consultation period associated with the promotion of the ETRO, will be reported to the Council’s Transport and Environment Committee for consideration. The Transport and Environment Committee will be asked to determine whether to proceed with the ETRO as proposed or not.

What are the timescales for promoting the ETRO?

The ETRO will follow the same process to promoting a permanent Traffic Regulation Order (TRO). The formal statutory process to commence the promotion of an ETRO can be initiated under Council delegated powers.

In advance of the draft ETRO being published for public comment, the Council will first consult with statutory consultees such as emergency services and transport bodies.

Following this process to consult with statutory consultees, the ETRO will be publicly advertised in a local newspaper, on street notices, the Council website and tellmescotland website. This formal public consultation period as a minimum must last 3 weeks and any person or body can submit comments and raise formal objections (in writing) to the draft ETRO. Copies of the ETRO will be made available and online at the Council’s Traffic Order consultation page:

www.edinburgh.gov.uk/roads-pavements/view-comment-traffic-orders

As mentioned above, Officers will report any objections received to the Council’s Transport and Environment Committee for consideration.

In cognisance of Committee cycles, the meeting of the Transport and Environment Committee in May 2020 was initially suggested as the earliest opportunity to report on the ETRO outcomes. However, processes involved with reporting to Committee and the statutory requirements to be undertaken as part of the promotion of the ETRO will now result in a report being presented to a Committee meeting occurring after May.

If the draft ETRO is approved by Committee, the Council will advertise the final Order thereafter. Work will then commence to implement the ETRO on-site along with any supporting physical measures such as signage and barriers etc. Legislation dictates that any physical measures implemented on-site in support of the ETRO will be temporary in nature and cannot be installed on a permanent basis.

A broad summary of the key stages of promoting an ETRO are detailed below:

Stage	Event
1	Statutory consultation
2	Place draft order on public deposit
3	Assess objections; finalise ETRO Committee Paper
4	Council Committee considers objections and determine if ETRO should be made
5	Publish Notice of making the Order
6	ETRO commences on site

 

The minimum period to introduce a potential ETRO will be 9 months as the above statutory stages must be complied with.

Will the local community and stakeholder groups be able to make comment on the ETRO once it is operational?

The purpose of the ETRO is to test and monitor operational change under an experimental type approach.  The Council can make amendments, to the initial implemented layout during the trial period, however any changes to the trial will only be made if deemed relevant to supporting the objectives of the ETRO.

Any proposed change during the trial period will be made in discussion with the local community, statutory bodies and any other stakeholder groups as appropriate,

A monitoring and engagement strategy will be developed which will be used to determine the effectiveness of the trial. This strategy will also be used to inform the local community of on-going performance of the trial with updates provided during the trial period.

How will any ETRO be monitored?

A dedicated project officer/team will monitor the effectiveness of the Order while in place and will gather feedback from various sources including the local community and on-street monitoring and surveys.

In advance of the trial, traffic surveys (which will record vehicle volumes, speeds, class etc) within the trial area will be undertaken to establish baseline traffic conditions. A series of further surveys will be undertaken once the ETRO comes into effect.

The data collected from these surveys will help inform the final review process which will be used to determine whether the experimental traffic changes are promoted on a permanent basis via a permanent TRO.

At what point in the 18-month ETRO period will the consultation feedback and the project as a whole be reviewed?

There will be ongoing monitoring of the trial which will support regular reviews to take place.

The maximum duration of an ETRO is 18 months and a review process will be finalised prior to the ETRO being implemented which will be discussed with the local community. If, following discussions with the local community, stakeholder groups and local elected members, an earlier review was appropriate then this can be done in advance of the 18-month deadline. Otherwise, the concluding review will be undertaken towards the end of the 18-month trial.

If the final review is undertaken towards the end of the 18-month period, and the recommendation is to promote a permanent change, then the statutory process for promoting a permanent TRO will be followed. The timescales for promoting a permanent TRO will result in any temporary measures introduced during the trial period being removed and permanent features only re-introduced if the permanent order is approved.

Will a permanent TRO be promoted following the ETRO process?

Should the ETRO demonstrate a requirement for the development of a permanent solution a separate process to promote a permanent TRO will be required. The statutory process associated with the promotion of any permanent TRO will again include consultation and the opportunity to make comment on and object to a draft TRO. Should legitimate objections be received, this will be reported to the Transport and Environment Committee and may trigger a requirement for the process to be referred to Scottish Ministers, which is consequently likely to result in a public hearing.

Any decision to pursue and develop a permanent arrangement for the area, will be made following a full review and evaluation of the ETRO, with further engagement with the local community and key stakeholders.

Briefing Note for Joppa Triangle Traffic proposals final 3 mar 20