Asked by: Lord Holmes of Richmond (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to their Bus Services Act 2017: bus open data consultation response, published in January, why the provision of accessibility information “would be too great an implementation burden for bus operators”; and what assessment they have made of the impact of the lack of such information on those with disabilities.
Answered by Baroness Vere of Norbiton - Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)
The Department for Transport consulted with bus operators, passengers and their representative groups to explore the technical feasibility of requiring operators and/or local transport authorities to provide accessibility data for both vehicles and stops. We came to the conclusion that the industry is not yet ready to meet this challenge and therefore have chosen to focus on only legally requiring the core data types for the Bus Open Data Digital Service.
Whilst we do consider accessibility information to be of great importance for public transport users, many operators would need to upgrade their systems in order to openly publish accessibility information, and many operators are not currently in a position to do so.
However, we are working with the industry to support the voluntary and open publication of accessibility information and at a later stage in the programme, after the core requirements have been successfully delivered, return to this important data type and consider whether it would be feasible to legally require the industry to openly publish accessibility information about vehicles.
Asked by: Lord Holmes of Richmond (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of whether current legislation and enforcement around speed limits is working; and what steps they are taking, if any, to ensure that particular design decisions, such as the removal of pedestrian crossings, does not increase the number of speeding vehicles.
Answered by Baroness Sugg
In November 2018, the Department published an evaluation into 20mph (signed only) limits: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/20-mph-speed-limits-on-roads.
It has long been thought that most residents and drivers support 20mph limits, and the study confirms this. The study looked at the enablers and barriers to implementing a successful scheme and found that early engagement and buy-in from other stakeholders, including cross-party support from local councillors; clear articulation of the scheme’s rationale, objectives and outcomes; and tailoring of schemes to local circumstances were crucial to a scheme being accepted by the public and delivered to the anticipated quality, programme and cost.
Design of streets in their care is a matter for local authorities, including installation or removal of pedestrian crossings. It is for them to decide if removing or altering a crossing is appropriate. In doing so they may consider the effect on factors such as traffic flow and speed and pedestrian movements. The Department is currently updating its guidance on designing traffic signals and pedestrian crossings, to be published later this year.
Enforcement of speed limits is a matter for the police.
Asked by: Lord Holmes of Richmond (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they will respond to the Chartered Institution of Highways and Transportation review into shared space; if so, when; and whether they will take steps to implement the recommendations of the review.
Answered by Baroness Sugg
The Government is clear that the needs of the whole community, including disabled people, must be considered by councils looking to introduce any public realm scheme, including shared space.
We are grateful for the Chartered Institution of Highways and Transportation’s report and for their work on this subject. The report makes recommendations for further work, including on guidance. We will consider those recommendations, and set out how we will take them forward in due course.
The report recommends updating Inclusive Mobility and the Guidance on the Use of Tactile Paving. The Department for Transport recently let a research contract to establish the scope of this revision. We anticipate this initial phase to be completed by the end of June.
Asked by: Lord Holmes of Richmond (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government, in the light of the report on shared space <i>Accidents by Design</i>, whether they are considering an immediate moratorium on all existing shared spaces until an impact assessment has been undertaken.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The Government is not considering a moratorium on shared space schemes. It is entirely a matter for each local authority to decide what type of traffic management scheme is needed for the roads that they are responsible for, be this shared space or another type of scheme.