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·  Following market testing, remote payment for car parking via mobile phones had been withdrawn from 2017/18 and would be included in the new parking contract which would be in place from 1 April 2018.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 been driven by Government cuts to Merseytravel, which had seen its budget cut from £24m to £19m. Wirral had the most supported bus routes in the City Region because of the isolated nature of most routes on Wirral in that the majority did not cross through over into other Council boundaries. He expressed satisfaction with much of the good work which Merseytravel was undertaking with young people’s passes which had seen a 170% increase in young people travelling on buses. The senior citizen’s pass was also the best system outside of London for the elderly. All the changes to the Wirral bus network would be reviewed in 12 months’ time.

A Member, whilst acknowledging the good work being undertaken, expressed concern for the lack of routes in more rural areas of the Borough which led to some elderly residents’ feeling of isolation.

Another Member referred to the good work being undertaken with regard to improved cycle provision and assisted travel.

In respect of comments on street lighting and the issue that in some wards street lights had been out for over a year, the Assistant Chief Executive commented that he was aware that a considerable number of columns had been condemned, an investment of £500,000 was starting to help to address this but a further £500,000 was being sought to further improve the situation.

The Chair commented that all Members would be aware of the pressure of cuts in services in their own wards and thanked Julie Barnes for her presentation and commended Merseytravel and the officers in Environmental Services for the work they were doing.

Resolved – That the report and presentation be noted.