Prior to consideration of this item, Councillor Ron Abbey declared a non-pecuniary interest as a Pledge Champion for Transport and as a member of the Merseytravel Committee.

The Lead Commissioner, Transport, Julie Barnes, introduced a report and gave a presentation on the Connecting Wirral Transport Strategy which set out how the Council would deliver one of the 20 pledges to ensure that:

 “Wirral has safe affordable, well maintained and efficient transport networks for residents to access community services, enjoy our leisure facilities and commute to work”.

The Transport Strategy set out 4 Priority themes to support “Connecting Wirral”: 

·  Priority 1 – Keep traffic moving safely and efficiently

·  Priority 2 – Reliable and affordable public transport

·  Priority 3 – Encourage healthy active travel

·  Priority 4 – Inclusive integrated transport that supports our residents’ needs

Julie Barnes gave an overview of what was in place to deliver the transport pledge and the progress which had so far been made. With regard to priority one she reported on the progress made against the target, which included:

·  The Council had received the top road safety award at the National Transport Awards for its innovative ‘Mind your Business’ project.

·  The Council had completed the replacement of ‘C’ bridge and was on programme for completion of the remainder of the Bridges Replacement programme by the end of March 2018.

·  Following market testing, remote payment for car parking via mobile phones had been withdrawn from 2017/18 and would be included in the new parking contract which would be in place from 1 April 2018.

In respect of priority 2, progress included:

·  The LCR Bus Alliance had been the Transport Partnership of the Year at both the North of England and National Transport Awards.

·  The review of the Wirral Bus Network had been completed.

·  Levels of public satisfaction with overall public transport in Wirral were 2% above the national average according to the results of the 2016 National Highways and Transport Network (NHT) Public Satisfaction Survey PSS survey.

With regard to priority 3, progress included:

·  The Council had secured over £2 million of funding from the National Productivity Investment Fund for Tower Road Civilised Streets Project.

·  Levels of public satisfaction with the Council’s walking/cycling facilities were in line with the national average according to the results of the 2017 National Highways and Transport Network (NHT) Public Satisfaction Survey.

Responding to comments from Members, Julie Barnes’ comments included:

·  The review of the Wirral bus network had been undertaken at the start of the summer 2017 so might not reflect the changes in the recent bus review.

·  She acknowledged the need to improve communications and work on this was being undertaken through social media and through the Council’s Wirral View publication to inform the public of the investment which was being undertaken.

·  A group was being set up involving the Council, Merseytravel and the NHS with regard to looking at the issue of bus routes to hospitals.

Councillor Ron Abbey referred to the fact that the Wirral Network review had  ...  view the full minutes text for item 46