Why does it take so long to get double yellow lines installed?

Posted on by Louis

When I was first elected to the county council a few residents started to lobby me to get some safety related double yellow lines installed. Some of the first ones will be going in fairly soon on the corner of Athelstan and Camp Hill Road. Why has it taken so long? I asked officers to layout for me the exact process with rough timescales. This is what they gave me:

PRE-TRO (Traffic Regulation Order)

This is difficult to put timescales on but it includes the time taken to investigate the reported problem and, where a TRO is considered to be the right solution, time taken to devise a proposal and agree it with the LM (Local Member). Some LMs like to consult residents before agreeing to a proposal and this will add to the time taken.

“Pending List”

Once a proposal has been agreed, it will be scored and added to the list of proposals waiting to be taken forward (“the pending list”). Prohibition of Waiting Order (double yellow lines) proposals are likely to score higher than other types because they are typically used on junctions or bends where parking has clear safety implications.

A proposal will sit on the pending list until it is allocated to a team member for processing. Allocation is typically on a “one-on/one-off” basis i.e. when a TRO is completed, the officer who was processing it will be allocated a new proposal off the pending list. That will usually be the one at the top of the list but not in all cases. The team processes a large number of TROs related to new developments or other schemes and these must be processed in accordance with associated programmes.

THE TRO PROCESS (PERMANENT TROs)

Stage 1 – initial consultation with the following parties who are allowed 4 weeks to reply:

  • Police (Chief Constable)
  • Parish Council
  • District Council
  • Freight Transport Association
  • Road Haulage Association
  • Other organisations e.g. fire service, bus operators, taxi bodies depending upon nature of proposal

Stage 2 – advert stage report

  • Summarises consultee responses
  • Makes a recommendation
  • Seeks formal approval from local member to advertise proposal
  • 21-day deadline
  • Can involve Cabinet Member in certain circumstances

Stage 3 – advertising stage

  • Legal services arrange for proposal to be advertised in local paper (statutory requirement) and notice on website
  • Traffic management staff arrange for notices to be displayed on site
  • Advertisement invites interested parties to write or e-mail objections
  • 28-day notice period

Stage 4a – no objections

  • Proposals can be implemented
  • Arrange implementation date with Legal Services
  • “Notice of making” published in local paper 7 days before TRO comes into force
  • Gives interested parties 6-week period in which to challenge procedure in the High Court
  • Raise orders on contractor to install signs and markings (see below)

Stage 4b – objections received

  • Objections received in about 21% of cases
  • Objections to Chief Constable for comment
  • Objection stage report to LM
  • Summarises objections, includes CC comments, addresses issues raised and makes a recommendation
  • Three options for recommendation:
    • Implement as advertised
    • Abandon
    • Modify – further consultation required (essentially return to Stage 1)
  • If decision is to implement as advertised:
    • Arrange implementation date with Legal Services
    • “Notice of making” published in local paper 7 days before TRO comes into force
    • Gives interested parties 6-week period in which to challenge procedure in the High Court
    • Raise orders on contractor to install signs (not required for DYL) and markings (typically need to allow contractor 8 weeks turnaround for implementation but consider also variable factors like road space booking, complexity/size of scheme, location, weather and any lighting requirements)
    • Notify objectors

If ever there was an argument that local authorities need their processes streamlined this must surely be it. First step to any improvement though is to shine a light on what currently happens. I will look into this to try and understand the process better and challenge officers – does it really need to be the complicated?