PA Consulting advises DfT on future of Traffic Regulation Orders

Highway authorities in England should no longer have to advertise Traffic Regulation Orders (TROs) in newspapers, say consultants in a report for the Department for Transport (DfT).

PA Consulting says councils should be able to choose how best to communicate TROs to people and that removing the newspaper advertising requirement will save authorities both time and money.

The requirement for newspaper advertising was introduced in 1984. Highway authorities today spend an estimated £49m a year on advertising through newspapers.

The government consulted on removing the need for newspaper advertising of TROs in 2011-12, but backed down because of concern it would damage the economics of local newspapers.

PA Consulting was appointed by the DfT to conduct a wideranging review of the legislative process for permanent, temporary and experimental TROs.

Its final report recommends that highway authorities should make TRO data more accessible in standard formats. “If open TRO data was mandated, thirdparty data users supported the assumption that the market would provide solutions to meet relevant user needs,” it said.

The consultant says there are no legislative barriers prevent

ing the publishing of open TRO data. “However, due to the pressure of meeting other legislative requirements, making TRO data open would not be a priority for highway authorities without a mandate,” say the consultants.

Currently there is “an inconsistent approach across highway authorities to the way [TRO] data is structured, stored and published”.

PA Consulting said: “Some authorities still operate paper

Street closures fast-tracked with experimental TROs

School Streets and Low Traffic Neighbourhoods spread across London A number of London boroughs have announced plans to close residential streets to through traffic using Experimental Traffic Regulation Orders (ETROs) that do not require prior consultation.

The east London boroughs of Newham and Waltham Forest are collaborating on a ‘Low Traffic Neighbourhood’ (LTN) programme of closures in the Forest Gate, Maryland, and South Leytonstone areas. The councils say that this is the first example of boroughs collaborating on such a scheme.

Physical barriers of large planters (‘modal filters’) will be used to restrict vehicular access on some streets. On others, automatic number plate recognition (ANPR) enforcement cameras will be installed.

Newham was asked what influenced its choice of physical barriers or cameras at a particular locations. “The locations with camera enforcement have been requested to be kept ‘open’ by the emergency services (namely the police) for reasons of response time to incidents,” said a spokeswoman.

The ANPR restrictions will apply 24 hours a day, seven days a week and to all vehicles except the emergency services.

Implementation of the restrictions began this month using ETROs. “While in normal circumstances the councils would hold a consultation before introducing a scheme like this, the COVID-19 crisis means action is needed quickly to keep roads safe,” they say.

Residents are being encouraged to provide feedback in an online survey over the next six months.

ETROs can last for 18 months. Objections to the Order being made permanent must be made in the first six.

Meanwhile, another east London borough, Hackney, is implementing an extensive programme of ‘School Street’ traffic restrictions and residential road closures using ETROs. Forty new School Streets are planned, restricting vehicular access at the start and end of the school day, More than 20 traffic filters will close junctions to vehicular traffic, while still allowing pedestrians and cyclists to pass through. The closures make use of wooden planters as well as ANPR cameras.

Hackney said: “Over 40% of traffic in the borough is through traffic with little or no economic benefit to the borough. These plans are aimed at reclaiming Hackney’s roads from this traffic, helping people to walk, cycle and shop locally.” Mayor of the Hackney, Philip Glanville, said 70% of households do not own a car.

Demonstrations have taken place against road closures in the London Borough of Islington.

The south-east London borough of Lewisham has used Temporary Traffic Regulation Orders (TTROs) to close some roads. Some of its closures have upset the neighbouring Royal Borough of Greenwich.

Modal filters and the use of ETROs and TTROs are explicitly endorsed by the DfT’s network management guidance, published in May in response to COVID-19. based systems. Current requirements for publishing TROs, such as making orders available for public inspection in council offices, do not meet modern expectations for data standardisation and accessibility.”

PA Consulting said the process for approving temporary Traffic Regulation Order applications, from organisations such as utility companies, needs speeding up. Highway authorities can take between 6-12 weeks to process an application, it reported.

“Applicants cite this lead time as a reason why services to end users are delayed.” Some participants thought the process could be reduced to three to four weeks by adopting recommendations in the report such as introducing digital signatures and removing the need for newspaper advertising.

The DfT is also recommended to develop new legislation for streetworks and special event temporary TROs to remove “burdensome steps and requirements”.

Brexit lorry parks planned

Communities secretary Robert Jenrick has given himself powers to build truck parks across England to avoid chaotic queues at ports when the United Kingdom finally leaves the European Union.

A statutory instrument laid before Parliament last month enables the government to start construction in 29 different council areas without the approval of local officials.

The instrument is called the Town and Country Planning (Border Facilities and Infrastructure) (EU Exit) (England) Special Development Order 2020.

The government has already started constructing holding facilities for lorries in Kent that will be used to park goods vehicles that have the correct paperwork to enter the EU. The holding pens are a key part of Britain’s plans to avoid border delays from 1 January, when full customs controls will be imposed on goods travelling from the UK, whether or not it reaches a trade deal with the bloc.

PA Consulting advises DfT on future of Traffic Regulation Orders