Purpose

To consider the report of the Cabinet Member
for Environment and Transport detailing the Portswood Broadway
consultation and the next steps for the project

Decision

(i) 
To note that the Portswood Broadway
Transforming Cities Fund scheme second phase of consultation has
happened and is used as an opportunity for stakeholders to express
their views on the proposal, supported by additional information
provided;
(ii) 
To note that a “You Said / We Did” response has been
prepared for the main themes in the consultation results to assist
in shaping a recommendation for the scheme;
(iii) 
To note that there is support for the scheme to limit the amount of
through route traffic using Portswood
Broadway via the use of a bus gate / motor vehicle restriction,
accompanied with measures to limit the impact on adjacent streets
via an Active Travel Zone;
(iv) 
To progress the scheme with the approval for a trial of a part time
bus gate / motor vehicle restriction on Portswood Broadway via an Experimental Traffic
Regulation Order, with measures to limit the impact on adjacent
streets via an Active Travel Zone (ATZ) to be in place ahead of the
trial.  Delegation is given to Executive
Director Place in consultation with the Cabinet Member Environment
and Transport to progress associated detailed design and Traffic
Regulation Orders to enable the scheme trial and Active Travel Zone
to be delivered;
(v) 
To establish a co-design group to inform design decisions for
Portswood Broadway to address issues
raised from the consultation; and
(vi) 
A budget allocation of £500k for the trial is made from the
capital programme budget of £2.9M. This budget would be
subject to confirmation from the DfT on remaining grant award for
the TCF programme.

Reasons for the decision

1. 
To allow the opinions of relevant stakeholders and public to inform
the decision making process for the scheme.
2. 
Compliance with the Southampton City Council (SCC) Corporate Plan
goals – Embed a culture of listening to our residents,
community groups, partner organisations and businesses so their
voices can shape our actions, and A prosperous city –
Southampton will focus on growing our local economy and bringing
investment into our city. The scheme will allow for improvements to
be made to Portswood Broadway as a
district centre improvement project.
3. 
Compliance with the Southampton City Council Local Transport Plan
Connected Southampton – A Connected City: Developing the
Southampton Mass Transit System (Policy C1) – the
introduction of a bus gate / motor vehicle restriction will assist
with the implementation of the Mass Transit System.
4. 
Compliance with the Southampton Council Bus Service Improvement
Plan (BSIP) ambitions, including Ambition 2 Buses are an attractive
alternative, Ambition 6 Buses support sustainable growth in the
City and District Centres. The scheme will make bus travel along
the corridor faster and more reliable.

Alternative options considered

Not to proceed with a trial of the scheme
– subject to discussions with the Department for Transport
via a change control submission, this may allow some of the match
funded Integrated Transport Block grant to be directed to other
transport schemes, noting that s106 contributions are site specific
and cannot be redirected. The majority of SCC match funding would
still be required for schemes already completed / commenced under
the Transforming Cities Fund programme.
 
This would not align with the Southampton City
Council Local Transport Plan Connected Southampton and associated
policies, as bus priority is an essential component to a Mass
Transit System, and with Bus Service Improvement Plan
ambitions.