8.1.4 Street Works Management

Road works are is essential to maintain the condition of the highway network. We will programme these works so that they minimise delays to road users and inconvenience to local communities.

The Traffic Management Act 2004 provides a range of significantly increased penalties to improve the control of Statutory Utilities' street works. These will allow additional enforcement and encourage a greater focus from the Statutory Undertakers. Further enhancements to the Traffic Management Act will be adopted as they are released.

The County Council is preparing a scheme whereby works of a significant scale will only be allowed to go ahead subject to the approval of a detailed permit application. This will allow the Highway Authority to attach specific instructions and requirements to works of a significant scale and duration. This, in conjunction with the required level of co-operation from the undertaker, should then alleviate the levels of disruption relating to the works. The adoption of a permit scheme will improve the Highway Authority's abilities and powers to co-ordinate works, particularly those with the greatest potential to affect the highway network significantly.

8.1.5 Network Management Duty

Lancashire has made significant structural changes in order to respond effectively to the Network Management Duty. The newly created role of Network Manager brings together, for the first time, responsibilities for highway maintenance policy, including streetworks co-ordination, and traffic control systems to create a framework for stewardship that integrates asset and network management. Complementary highway maintenance and network management strategies are being developed that will expand and mature over the period of LTP2 in pursuit of reduced congestion and disruption.

Demand management measures have consequences for congestion. The Network Manager will therefore have a consultative role in considering such proposals. The following specific action areas are being developed in direct response to the Network Management Duty.

The County Council's Traffic Manager will bring together all the parties with an interest in the highway network. He will work with partners and stakeholders to ensure the safe and efficient use of the network, taking both a day-to-day and a longer-term view. Partners include the Highways Agency and their civilian Traffic Officers (HATOs), District Councils and neighbouring authorities and transport operators. Stakeholders include all those with a right to use the highway, travellers using all modes of transport, transport operators as well as the Statutory Undertakers. The Traffic Manager will draw up and review strategies to allocate roadspace equitably between modes and to deal with obstructions and incidents on the highway, drawing on the elements already established to manage the network.

Responding to congestion and disruption

The UTMC Common Database Management Facility is used to manage data and share information with stakeholders via data viewers, websites and the media.  Variable message signs give information to road users.  The Facility uses the following datastreams:

• ITS applications within the UTMC system eg journey time monitoring using ANPR
• HA network condition information via the TIH
• Use of SCOOT infrastructure, ASTRID and INGRID databases
• Selective vehicle priority.

A strategy integration facility is under development that will recommend and implement diversion strategies in response to congestion incidents. UTMC is used to co-ordinate ITS strategies across Lancashire’s cities and major towns using;

• ITIS data
• SATURN model development for disruption scenarios
• Streetworks co-ordination
• Rapid response maintenance teams.

Proven and innovative management solutions will include;

• ITS, UTMC and SCOOT technology
• Queue management
• Restrictions on turning movements
• Speed management to optimise capacity
• Metering onto major corridors
• Tidal flow schemes
• Car park entry/exit management.

Working with stakeholders

• Raising awareness of the Network Management Duty across the County Council, including influencing the transport activities of other Directorates.
• Working with District Councils through professional contacts, community strategies and other LSP frameworks to consider in the decision making process the impact of the Duty on services such as local Planning, refuse and recycling collection.
• Planning with the Police to reduce seasonal congestion, e.g. Christmas shopping traffic, by sharing data collection technologies such as ANPR and planning complementary Police/civil parking attendant enforcement strategies.
• Action Planning with the HA to develop information exchange, signing, diversion strategies and contingency planning under UTMC principles. Initial focus on M6/A6/A59 corridors.
• Emergency planning under the Civil Contingencies Act, including network management aspects of Site Clearance, HA Contingency Planning, Business Continuity Planning, Winter Service route planning, dissemination and review, and developing ITS systems to display security alert/flood warning messages managed via the UTMC Common Database.
• Controlled access for stakeholders to add data to the Common Database.
• Encouraging stakeholder participation through the ITS Stakeholder Forums, the Life in Lancashire Panel, Traffic Manager meetings, Lancashire Local Committee meetings, Parish Partnerships, Neighbourhood Management and the Community Engagement Strategy.
• The launch of Customer Service Centre.

Working across boundaries

• Establishing a Lancashire-led Traffic Manager meeting with neighbouring authorities
• Participation in the Midlands Service Improvement benchmarking groups
• Exploring the opportunities for joint working with Blackpool and Blackburn with Darwen Unitary Authorities. Themes will include seasonal holiday traffic management, real-time passenger information for cross-boundary bus services, the co-ordination of winter, regulatory and other maintenance activities and strategic diversion strategies using VMS/UTMC.

Developing processes for delivering the Network Management Duty

• Risk management and contingency planning
• Street/highway works management and co-ordination
• Winter Service route review
• Service inspections
• Building on previous involvement with UG544 project to develop quality procedures for planned/unplanned event management under UTMC
• Using the Functional Road Hierarchy in congestion/disruption analysis and prioritisation
• Integrating Functional and Maintenance hierarchy considerations.

8.1.6 Emergency Planning

The risk of a major incident in Lancashire is low but by planning and preparing for emergencies we are better equipped to deal with an incident and protect the people and the environment of Lancashire. The Civil Contingencies Act (2004) defines an emergency as;

• An event or situation which threatens serious damage to human welfare
• An event or situation which threatens serious damage to the environment
• War or terrorism which threatens serious damage to security.

Our role as a Local Authority is to support the emergency services in the case of a major incident. We are on call 24 hours a day and will coordinate the Council's response during a major incident. When the immediate life-threatening period has passed, the Local Authority will play a major role in restoring normality to the community and to the area affected as quickly as possible.

The Traffic Management Act 2004 places a duty upon the Local Traffic Authority to ensure that contingency plans are in place which allow a rapid response to accidents and emergencies and take account of the relative importance of different roads to the various road users.

In this instance, multi-agency contingency plans have been developed and a community risk register is being maintained, with further investigations being undertaken to identify vulnerable, strategic and sensitive parts of the highway network. This work will be used to inform the existing contingency plans and to help assess the implications for the whole transport network including neighbouring authorities’ networks and those routes controlled by the Highways Agency.

In considering arrangements for meeting this duty, we will specifically consider the effects of our actions on the Motorway and Trunk Road network and the measures that could be taken to mitigate any adverse effects. All parties will have to ensure that their arrangements for meeting the traffic management duty are compatible.

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