Agenda and minutes

[To receive any apologies for absence]. 

There were no apologies for absence. 

[To receive any declarations of interest]. 

There were no declarations of interest. 

[To approve the minutes of the previous meeting as a correct record]

The minutes of the meeting held on 26 November 2020 were confirmed as a correct record. 

[To consider any matters arising from the minutes].

There were no matters arising from the minutes of the previous meeting. 

[To consider a briefing note on Digital Technology in Transportation]. 

The Head of City Transport presented a report on the subject of digital technology in transportation.  He stated that the Council had been successful in obtaining European Regional Development Funding (EDRF) to replace all of the City’s streetlights to low energy Light Emitting Diode (LED) lanterns.  The EDRF funding allowed them to make 9,000 of the streetlights smart enabled.  He displayed a map showing the progress of the LED replacement programme to date.  They had replaced about 5,500 units to date, the aim was to replace 27,000 in total using the EDRF funds.  He thought it would take approximately 18 months for the programme to be completed.  The energy saving was huge which helped to support the climate change agenda.

The Head of City Transport remarked that they had developed a new strategy for displaying information on the highway utilising modern LED signage.  They had been useful in relaying information to residents and drivers.  Sometimes the messages displayed were of national importance such as “Stay at Home.” The signs could also be used to influence driver behaviour based on intelligence.  For example, if an area was prone to congestion or poor air quality, they could direct traffic accordingly using the signs.  One of the areas they were hoping to expand on was having information about car park usage displayed on the signs.   The signs could be used to relay road safety information.

The Head of City Transport commented that Wolverhampton currently hosted the Urban Traffic Control Centre (UTC) for the Black Country.  The control room was based in the Civic Centre.  Approximately 150 cameras were monitored and traffic lights could be controlled from the UTC.  Journey times had been logged by detecting mobile phone signals.  This information was very useful in making the road network as efficient as possible.  They had been monitoring traffic throughout the pandemic. 

The Head of City Transport stated that City of Wolverhampton Council had led on the introduction of digital average speed cameras across the Black Country.  There were now two areas in Wolverhampton which had average speed cameras in place.  The cameras had gone live on 1 December 2020.  Whilst it was the responsibility of the Police to enforce compliance with speed limits, the Council had a shared obligation to reduce road traffic collisions and make the City’s roads safer.  They were effective at reducing average speeds and reducing road traffic accidents. 

The Head of City Transport referred to the Council having successfully secured investment of nearly £5 million to provide a full fibre network across the City.  The Council were looking at how they could use the faster broadband speeds to improve CCTV, the traffic management network and parking management systems.  5G could also be used effectively to enhance systems.

The Head of City Transport spoke on active travel routes.  There was over 60km of cycle routes across the City.  He acknowledged that some of the routes were better than others.  The Council had been successful in securing near to £1 million from  ...  view the full minutes text for item 5.

[To consider the Work Programme for the Panel]. 

There were no comments on the current Scrutiny Work Programme for the Vibrant and Sustainable City Scrutiny Panel. 

[The next scheduled meeting of the Vibrant and Sustainable City Scrutiny Panel is on Thursday, 25 March 2021 at 6pm]. 

It was confirmed that the next meeting of the Vibrant and Sustainable City Scrutiny Panel was scheduled to take place on Thursday, 25 March 2021 at 6pm.