Respondent Type - East Grinstead

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Officer Technical Report - 6 Week Report on EATF Pop Up Cycle Scheme in East Grinstead

Scheme Location: A22 in East Grinstead from County boundary with Surrey to Maypole Road (1.7km)

Scheme Scope: Light segregation will be added to the existing cycle lane on London Road. The northern end of the lane will be extended to Felbridge. At the southern end, the lane will be extended to Maypole Road to facilitate connection with the town centre via quieter roads and NCN21.

Build Start Date: 7^th September 2020 Completion Date: 15^th September 2020 Indicative Cost: Exact cost to be confirmed

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Executive Summary

Introduction

In May the government announced £2 billion of new funding for walking and cycling over the next 5 years, with £225 million specifically allocated to the Emergency Active Travel Fund (EATF).

In addition, changes were made to the Traffic Management Act (2004) aimed at supporting the response to Covid-19 and building a green recovery. July saw the publication of ‘Gear Change: a bold vision for walking and cycling’, which describes the government’s vision to make England a great walking and cycling nation. The plan sets out the actions required at all levels of government to make this a reality, grouped under four themes: better streets for cycling and people, cycling and walking at the heart of decision-making, empowering and encouraging local authorities, enabling people to cycle and protecting them when they do.

 The EATF East Grinstead Pop-Up Cycle Lane scheme starts from the A22 County boundary with Surrey to Maypole Road

Initial Findings

 Initial data collections of cycle use across these routes indicate that the number of cycle movements across the cycle lanes has remained relatively stable in some areas and has decreased across other areas since the introduction of the pop-up cycle lanes, with minimal changes to the total number of vehicle movements through the same areas.

 The mean vehicle speeds through the monitored areas, over a 24-hour period are unchanged by the scheme

Site 04 – London Road (near Felbridge Hotel)

Site 96 – London Road (near Felbridge Close)

Number of Cycle

Movements ^Mon ^Tue ^Wed ^Thu ^Fri ^Sat ^Sun

Weekly Total

wc 28Sept20 120 124 84 113 56 91 47 635

wc 5Oct20 108 103 143 101 110 143 128 836

wc 12Oct20 104 85 98 132 126 158 136 839

wc 19Oct20 124 120 83 131 113 102 85 758

wc 26Oct20 119 85 118 62 91 114 78 667

Number of Cycle

wc 28Sept20 91 72 47 52 30 59 19 370

wc 5Oct20 71 76 91 53 61 75 81 508

wc 12Oct20 56 59 62 78 57 68 64 444

wc 19Oct20 75 58 36 60 55 58 44 386

wc 26Oct20 63 31 48 31 44 55 31 303

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Challenges

 There have been 104 individual commenters via email concerning the pop-up cycle scheme in East Grinstead. Of these 11 have engaged in ongoing dialogue. The topics have been detailed within the report but are primarily concerning safety of road users, congestion and traffic behaviour and blocking of emergency services.

1.1 - Stakeholder Consultation Process

Due to the limited time available as set out in the grant conditions, it was not possible to undertake wider public consultation. The Traffic Management Act 2004 has been specifically amended to enable swift implementation of these emergency works. Consequently, consultation was limited to key stakeholders including, West Sussex and District/Borough Council Members; emergency services; bus operators; Freight Services and key WSCC Officers. It was expected that District Officers would undertake the necessary internal consultation with their own Members.

WSCC Members were consulted as follows:

Location Consultation Keeping You Informed

East Grinstead 28/07/2020 26/08/2020

1.2 - F&RS, SECAMB and Police Consultation

We remain in regular contact with all three emergency services and are closely monitoring the impact on blue light services. Although concerns have often been raised by the public regarding emergency vehicles being unable to navigate the scheme at busy periods, this does not reflect the regular feedback from the Emergency Services

Emergency Services sit on the weekly ‘Safe Space’ working group. Some concerns have been raised that response times may be hindered due to the implementation of the pop-up cycle schemes and we are continuing to closely work alongside the emergency services to monitor this.

Safe space working group meetings are held every Thursday, with representatives from the ambulance service confirming that there have been no specific concerns over the East Grinstead scheme in previous 7 days.

2.1 - Casualty Data

Casualty data was reviewed before design and implementation of the route to compare with data for the duration of the route whilst live. Data for the first 6 weeks of route is not currently available but will be presented in future reports under this section. It is understood there have been no reported accidents.

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2.2 - Safety auditing & Inspections

Road Safety Reviews were undertaken on the 7^th of October by an independent qualified Road Safety Auditor. The review team also included a representative from Sussex Police and the WSCC Cycling Development Officer.

No significant issues or concerns were identified, and some minor design adjustments have been actioned

3.1 - Air Quality

Air Quality Monitoring Review

West Sussex County Council are yet to receive the latest air quality data from East Grinstead;

however, it is not anticipated that the pop-up cycle scheme has negatively impacted on the air quality in the area.

3.2 – Traffic counts Traffic Flow Counts

Traffic flow counts have been used to determine the number of vehicles using the vehicle lane alongside the pop-up cycle lane. Site 04, along London Road typically sees an average of 26,500 vehicles using this road during weekdays and Saturdays with 19,000 vehicles typical for Sundays. The graph below details the change in vehicles using this road, with minimal changes in road vehicle numbers since the scheme was introduced. Similarly, for Site 96 on London Road, vehicle numbers across the week has remained at similar levels since the scheme was introduced.

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3.3 – Cyclist counts Cycle Counts

As with vehicle counting, it was paramount to capture the number of cyclists using the pop- up cycle lanes across the sites in East Grinstead.

The tables below show the number of cyclists using the London Road cycle lane near the Felbridge Hotel and the percentage change in number of cyclists using the cycle lane. The numbers of cyclists per week utilising this part of the scheme has dropped from a peak of 839 cyclists per week in the week of the 12^th October, to approximately 670 cyclists per week in most recent figures.

Number of Cycle

wc 28Sept20 120 124 84 113 56 91 47 635

wc 5Oct20 108 103 143 101 110 143 128 836

wc 12Oct20 104 85 98 132 126 158 136 839

wc 19Oct20 124 120 83 131 113 102 85 758

wc 26Oct20 119 85 118 62 91 114 78 667

Cycles % change from

baseline (28 September) ^Mon ^Tue ^Wed ^Thu ^Fri ^Sat ^Sun

wc 28Sept20 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

wc 5Oct20 -10.0 -16.9 70.2 -10.6 96.4 57.1 172.3 31.7

wc 12Oct20 -13.3 -31.5 16.7 16.8 125.0 73.6 189.4 32.1

wc 19Oct20 3.3 -3.2 -1.2 15.9 101.8 12.1 80.9 19.4

wc 26Oct20 -0.8 -31.5 40.5 -45.1 62.5 25.3 66.0 5.0

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The tables below show the number of cyclists using the London Road cycle lane near Felbridge Close and the percentage change in number of cyclists using the cycle lane. The numbers of cyclists per week utilising this part of the scheme has dropped from a peak of 508 cyclists per week in the week of the 5^th October, to approximately 300 cyclists per week in most recent figures.

3.4 – Drive Through Times & Speed Data

Drive Through Data (Recorded between 20 and 22 October 2020)

WSCC Officers conducted several dash-cam recorded and timed drive throughs of the East Grinstead scheme, in response to public concerns about traffic congestion and travel times:

 The routes were driven at 20 mph at peak times (8-9am & 5-6pm) on multiple days.

 Morning Average Route times were 7 minute 3 seconds in East to West direction.

(Timed over 8 runs)

 Morning Average Route times were 5 minutes 43 seconds in West to East direction (Timed over 8 runs)

 Evening Average Route times were 5 minute 39 seconds in East to West direction.

(Timed over 14 runs)

 Evening Average Route times were 4 minutes 13 seconds in West to East direction (Timed over 17 runs)

 The longest recorded journey was 9 minutes 23 seconds.

 The fastest recorded journey was 2 minutes 28 seconds.

 Total Cyclists within the scheme boundaries over the runs was 27, of these:

o AM – 2 used Pop Up Lane, 1 Cyclists within scheme boundary but on pavement and 3 were outside the cycle lane but within the scheme boundaries.

o PM – 7 used Pop Up Lane, 2 Cyclists within scheme boundary but on pavement and 12 were outside the cycle lane but within the scheme boundaries.

Number of Cycle

wc 28Sept20 91 72 47 52 30 59 19 370

wc 5Oct20 71 76 91 53 61 75 81 508

wc 12Oct20 56 59 62 78 57 68 64 444

wc 19Oct20 75 58 36 60 55 58 44 386

wc 26Oct20 63 31 48 31 44 55 31 303

Cycles % change from

baseline (28 September) ^Mon ^Tue ^Wed ^Thu ^Fri ^Sat ^Sun

wc 28Sept20 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

wc 5Oct20 -22.0 5.6 93.6 1.9 103.3 27.1 326.3 37.3

wc 12Oct20 -38.5 -18.1 31.9 50.0 90.0 15.3 236.8 20.0

wc 19Oct20 -17.6 -19.4 -23.4 15.4 83.3 -1.7 131.6 4.3

wc 26Oct20 -30.8 -56.9 2.1 -40.4 46.7 -6.8 63.2 -18.1

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Fastest Distance

(miles)

Time (mins)

Time (seconds)

Speed (mph)

08:00 - 09:00 Eastbound 1 2 52 21

08:00 - 09:00 Westbound 1 5 07 11.8

17:00 - 18:00 Eastbound 1 2 28 24.3

17:00 - 18:00 Westbound 1 3 20 18

Average Distance

(miles)

Time (mins)

Speed (mph)

08:00 - 09:00 Eastbound 1 5 43 10.5

08:00 - 09:00 Westbound 1 7 03 8.5

17:00 - 18:00 Eastbound 1 4 13 14.2

17:00 - 18:00 Westbound 1 5 39 10.6

Slowest Distance

(miles)

Time (mins)

Speed (mph)

08:00 - 09:00 Eastbound 1 8 01 7.5

08:00 - 09:00 Westbound 1 9 23 6.4

17:00 - 18:00 Eastbound 1 8 13 7.3

17:00 - 18:00 Westbound 1 8 41 6.9

Journey times and speeds through the scheme during busy times are impacted by the scheme and below the range that might be expected. The table above shows actual average vehicle speed and journey times taken from a series of recent timed runs.

Speed Data

The speed limit throughout the area affected by the cycle lane has been reduced from 30 mph to a temporary speed limit of 20 mph. The data captured from the London Road vehicle lanes has showed that the mean speed (across a 24-hour period) throughout the Northbound and Southbound lanes has remained constant at approximately 28 mph for both sites.

Northbound - Mean

Vehicle Speed (mph) ^Mon ^Tue ^Wed ^Thu ^Fri ^Sat ^Sun

Weekly Mean

wc 28Sept20 28 28 28 28 28 29 30 28

wc 5Oct20 28 28 27 27 27 29 30 28

wc 12Oct20 28 28 28 27 27 28 30 28

wc 19Oct20 28 28 28 28 28 29 30 28

wc 26Oct20 29 29 29 29 28 29 30 29

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4.1 – Maintenance

Contractors have responded to reports of issues and damage to the ‘pop up’ infrastructure.

The maintenance costs associated with these repairs are funded by the EATF DFT funding bid.

The maintenance costs associated with this scheme are contained within the appendix.

5.1 - Feedback and Public Comment Database:

All direct scheme relevant communications received are being noted, with a standardised response being sent to customers where appropriate. The East Grinstead pop-up cycle scheme attracted a total of 296 concerns via 104 individuals via email.

Southbound - Mean

Weekly Mean

wc 28Sept20 27 26 26 26 26 27 29 27

wc 5Oct20 27 27 27 27 26 27 29 27

wc 12Oct20 28 27 27 27 27 28 29 28

wc 19Oct20 27 27 27 26 26 28 29 27

wc 26Oct20 27 27 27 27 26 28 29 27

Northbound - Mean

Weekly Mean

wc 28Sept20 25 25 24 24 21 27 27 25

wc 5Oct20 25 25 25 24 24 26 27 25

wc 12Oct20 24 25 24 24 24 27 28 25

wc 19Oct20 24 25 24 24 23 26 27 25

wc 26Oct20 25 23 26 24 23 26 27 25

Southbound - Mean

Weekly Mean

wc 28Sept20 29 29 28 28 27 29 30 29

wc 5Oct20 29 29 28 28 27 29 30 28

wc 12Oct20 27 27 26 26 26 28 29 27

wc 19Oct20 29 29 29 28 26 29 30 29

wc 26Oct20 29 29 29 29 28 29 30 29

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Categories of comments received:

Primarily, safety of all road users was the most frequently reported concern, with congestion being a secondary concern for residents and respondents.

Overall comments review:

Most comments were opposed the scheme due to the narrowing of carriageway for vehicle use and lack of space to pull over to allow vehicles to emergency pass. Large goods vehicles also had to mount pavements to pass according to comments raised. Most comments were concerned that this could lead to creating a road dangerous for all users, including cyclists.

Several observations cited the implementation of the pop-up cycle lanes narrowed the carriageway and caused heavy delays and congestion.

Based on WSCC Officer observations from the drive-through data, average journey times and speeds through the scheme during busy times is below a range that might be expected.

Online Survey Data:

Since the online survey has been live (14/9/20), 742 completed surveys have been received.

The survey data was extracted on 29^th October 2020 for the purpose of this report.

Areas of Concerns

Safety Congestion Blue Light Services Air Quality

Signage Cost & Process Cyclist Behaviour & Use

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Primarily breakdown of respondents as follows:

The survey asked, ‘How often are you likely to be using this new temporary cycle lane infrastructure in future?’

There were 342 responses to this part of the question.

Option Total Percent

Daily 2 0.27%

Weekly 9 1.21%

Monthly 5 0.67%

Less often 38 5.12%

Never 288 38.81%

Not Answered 400 53.91%

The survey asked, ‘Would you support or oppose the A22 East Grinstead (1.7km) temporary cycle lane being made permanent?’

There were 742 responses to this part of the question.

Option Total Percent

Strongly oppose 622 83.83%

Oppose 60 8.09%

Neither support nor oppose 16 2.16%

Support 14 1.89%

Strongly support 30 4.04%

Not Answered 0 0.00%

The survey also gave the respondents an opportunity for written feedback on the schemes.

As of 29^thOctober, there were 250 written comments. A random sample of 198 comments

47

553 34

4 39 65

Respondent Type - East Grinstead

Cyclist (47) Motorists (553) Pedestrians(34) Retail/Business (4) Other (39) No answer (65)

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were selected and the general feedback showed respondents were concerned with the safety of the cycle lane, delays leading to an increase in air pollution, lack of use by cyclists, delays to blue light services and damage to the road/use of poles.

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Appendix Vehicle Speeds

Site 04 – London Road (near Felbridge Hotel) - Northbound

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Site 04 – London Road (near Felbridge Hotel) – Southbound

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Site 96 – London Road (near Felbridge Close) – Northbound

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Site 96 – London Road (near Felbridge Close) – Southbound

EATF Repair & Maintenance

East Grinstead Pop up Cycle Scheme EATF - Repairs &

Maintenance Unit Rate / Day Rate No. of Wands

Repaired Total Cost Unit Rate - £35

Day Rate - £735 8 £1,015

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Traffic data monitoring sites

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Vehicle Speed and Volume Comparison Data

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