This newsletter provides updates on highways maintenance and improvement schemes, as well as other

news for your parish.

IN THIS ISSUE:

Grass cutting update

M1 J19 Improvement Scheme update

M1 J22 progress

A50/New Parks Way roadworks update

NHT survey

Community Speed Watch

Highway forums

News for your parish

Get in touch

Grass cutting update

Further to the grass cutting statement in the July 2015 newsletter, we are pleased to be able to provide

an update on the steps that are being taken to improve the urban grass cutting service.

On 7 October 2015 Leicestershire County Council’s Cabinet approved a range of measures, including:

Increasing the number of standard urban cuts

from five to six (rural cuts remain unchanged

at two).

Introducing a variable cutting frequency, to be

responsive to the early season peaks in grass

growth.

Introducing ‘live’ monitoring for enquiries and

service delivery.

Introducing additional lawnmowers and

cutting gangs, when appropriate.

The payment for parishes making their own grass cutting arrangements will also be increased in 2016,

to fund the additional urban cut.

All of these changes will be introduced at the start of the 2016 grass cutting season.

Issue: December 2015

The grass cutting schedule can be found online at

www.leics.gov.uk/grasscutting. We would be grateful if

you could check the timing of any scheduled cut in your

area before contacting the Customer Service Centre

(CSC) to report a missed cut.

The CSC will refer customers to the new central hub

within our Highways and Transportation service. This

hub is a pilot scheme which monitors operational issues

in real-time in order to provide a more reactive and

streamlined response to enquiries.

M1 J19 Improvement Scheme update

The scheme, which began in 2014, will improve

junction 19 of the M1, along with sections of the M6

and the A14 within the counties of Leicestershire and

Northamptonshire. Once completed, it will relieve

congestion, improve journey reliability and boost safety.

What’s been done so far

The M6 to M1 southbound link road opened on

22 September. The 250 metre viaduct – the first

completed section of the scheme – now carries

M6 eastbound traffic over the forthcoming M6-

A14 link road onto the M1 southbound.

The A14 to M6 westbound link road opened on 17 October. The link road means drivers do not

need to use the interchange roundabouts, removing a significant proportion of the traffic and

improving journey time for some of the 142,000 vehicles that pass through the junction every

day.

The A14 to M1 northbound link road opened on 13 December. Traffic (which previously passed

through the two roundabouts at the Catthorpe Interchange) has transferred to a newly-

constructed 280-metre flyover.

More information on the scheme can be found at: www.highways.gov.uk/m1-junction-19-improvement-

scheme.

M1 J22 Improvement Scheme update

Major works to improve junction 22 of the M1 have started as part of plans to boost the Coalville

economy.

The junction connecting the motorway to the A50/A511 is being changed to increase capacity and

reduce travelling times. Works include the introduction of traffic lights onto the busiest four of the five

approaches to the junction.

The road and footpaths will be widened in places, the speed limit approaching the A511 roundabout will

be reduced to 50mph and the road between this junction and the Flying Horse roundabout will be

resurfaced.

The works will be completed in July 2016 and have been planned to support increased levels of traffic

expected from new housing developments in the Coalville area.

Most of the work will be carried out overnight to avoid lane closures during the day and minimise traffic

delays.

More information on the scheme can be found at: www.leics.gov.uk/m1_j22_improvement_scheme.

Glenfield Turn/County Hall roundabout roadworks

Work on the Glenfield Turn/County Hall roundabout

continues into 2016. This is part of the wider Leicester North

West Major Transport Project (LNWMTP), a joint

Leicestershire County and Leicester City Council scheme.

Phase 1 of the project involves similar works to three

junctions: the A50 Glenfield Turn/County Hall roundabout,

the A50/A563 New Parks Way roundabout and the A563

Aikman Avenue junction.

Once complete, the works will provide additional lanes, new

traffic signals, better pedestrian and cycle crossings and

new cycle lanes - resulting in improved journey times for all.

What we’ve done so far

The inner ring of the Glenfield Turn/County Hall roundabout, Gynsill Lane, and the eastern central reserve carriageway have all been widened.

The splitter islands on Gynsill Lane, Championship Way and Station Road have been altered.

New kerbs have been installed on the western central reserve, the corner of Station Road and

the A50 Groby Road outbound exit.

The infrastructure for new pedestrian crossing facilities, traffic signals and street lights has been installed.

What’s coming up next

Removal of lane restrictions (December)

To minimise traffic disruption during the festive period, all current lane restrictions on the A50

approaches to the Glenfield Turn/County Hall roundabout have been lifted until Sunday 3 January.

Full road closures (January)

To allow for resurfacing, full road closures will be in place on all approaches to the Glenfield

Turn/County Hall roundabout on the weekends of 15 - 18 and 22 – 25 January 2016, from Fri (8pm) to

Mon (6am).

Diversion routes will be clearly signed and traffic marshals will be on duty to provide advice if needed.

FAQs and a map of the diversions can be found at: www.choosehowyoumove.co.uk/nwleicester.

More information on the scheme can be found at: www.leics.gov.uk/nwleicester-overview.

NHT survey

Leicestershire County Council has participated in the annual National Highways and Transport (NHT)

Public Satisfaction survey since 2008. This national survey, undertaken by Ipsos MORI, has now been

established for eight years and attracts participation from a broad range of authorities across the

country.

This survey is part of the Environment and Transport department’s continuing effort to understand and

respond to the needs of its customers. The analysis of the survey results, and the ability to trend and

benchmark highways and transport services, has allowed the county council to monitor its performance

on a number of highways and transport issues at a national and a local level.

The county council is one of 27 authorities to have taken part in all eight years.

In the 2015 survey, Leicestershire received 1,242 returns, a response rate of 22%.

Our third Local Transport Plan (LTP3) contains 12 customer satisfaction Performance Indicators (PIs)

covering a broad range of highways and transport services. The table below shows satisfaction for the

last three years, together with our targets, direction of travel and net satisfaction (the difference

between those who expressed satisfaction and those who expressed dissatisfaction).

On the whole satisfaction with highways and transport services has improved, with nine of 12 PIs

recording higher satisfaction than in 2014.

This is despite the condition of all classifications of Leicestershire’s roads being at their highest

recorded levels and amongst the best in the country. Comparatively Leicestershire has the highest

satisfaction score for all county councils taking part in the survey.

The questionnaire also asks respondents how satisfied they are with local highways and transport

services overall, the table below shows our 2015 survey result together with our comparative ranking

against other county councils (27) and all authorities (87) taking part in the survey:

In recognition of increasing pressures on council budgets a new question was incorporated into the

2015 survey. From a choice of 11 services, respondents were asked to select up to five services that

would not be acceptable to reduce, and up to five services that it would be acceptable to reduce. The

three services respondents most selected as not acceptable to reduce were:

roads

gritting

road safety

The three services respondents most selected as acceptable to reduce were:

public rights of way

cycle paths and facilities

bus and community transport facilities

The detailed data available from the survey will continue to be analysed and be used to help inform

evidence based decision making processes when delivering highways and transportation services in

the coming years.

NHT Performance Indicator 2013/14 2014/15 2015/162015/16

Target

Target

Achieved

Direction

of Travel

Net

Satisfaction

Overall satisfaction with the condition of roads 34.0% 34.6% 38.4% 35.0% Yes -7.7%

Overall satisfaction with street lighting 65.8% 58.8% 61.3% 60.0% Yes 39.7%

Overall satisfaction with pavements and footpaths 67.9% 62.7% 66.9% 68.0% No 45.9%

Overall satisfaction with the local Rights of Way network 51.1% 49.4% 50.8% 52.5% No 36.4%

Ease of access to key services (all people) 78.8% 77.3% 79.1% 79.5% No 68.0%

Ease of access to key services (people with disabilities) 62.7% 70.4% 73.6% 66.0% Yes 59.2%

Ease of access to key services (no car households) 72.5% 73.6% 72.9% 74.0% No 52.6%

Satisfaction with local bus services 53.5% 56.6% 60.2% 55.0% Yes 40.7%

Satisfaction with local PT information 38.6% 37.4% 45.2% 42.0% Yes 25.1%

Satisfaction with cycle routes & facilities 44.4% 39.1% 43.9% 46.0% No 22.0%

Satisfaction with traffic levels and congestion 42.6% 38.4% 37.7% 42.0% No -6.1%

Satisfaction with safety on roads 64.1% 60.4% 58.4% 66.0% No 33.7%

2015/16CC Rank

(27)

All rank

(87)

Net

Satisfaction

Satisfaction with highways and transport services overall 51.1% 4 32 25.2%

The full results from the NHT survey can be found at: http://nhtsurvey.econtrack.com.

2015 has been another successful year for this popular community based engagement scheme.

Nine years ago this partnership initiative started to operate in Leicester, Leicestershire & Rutland using the voluntary efforts of local residents and supported by the Leicester, Leicestershire and Rutland Road Safety Partnership. Management and administration of the schemes is carried out by members of the Road Safety Education team at Leicestershire County Council and Leicestershire Constabulary.

The number of schemes has risen each year and 2015 saw nine new parishes taking up schemes. 7000 offenders (who were subsequently reported to the police) were recorded by 33 schemes.

Community Speed Watch (CSW) incorporates poster campaigns and a pledge system linked to direct action using radar speed guns and Vehicle Activated Signs, all under the supervision of the county council. The use of the radar devices does not lead to prosecution but drivers receive official warning letters from the police.

Each scheme allows volunteers to gather evidence on speed related issues in their community, by monitoring and recording motorists in certain locations. This sometimes highlights however, that the

problem may not be as originally perceived, for instance the speeds may not be as high as thought and instead the issue is related to another matter such as parking.

Bev Kearns a Parish Councilor in the Thrussington area said;

“The speed watch was a great success in our village as it showed the villagers which roads cause the main problems we have in speeding and enabled us to be able to use the information to produce a scheme for hopefully solving the problem”.

The CSW schemes are based on education and influencing drivers’ behaviour but they are dependent on volunteers being prepared to put in time and effort to run the schemes. It is also reliant on parish councils to support the volunteers and act on the information that is gathered in the most effective way for the community.

All of the volunteers receive training in the use of the equipment but also the principles behind the scheme. In addition full support and guidance is provided by the CSW team at Leicestershire County Council.

More information can be found online at: www.bealocalhero.com.

Community Speed Watch

Highway forums

The next forums are:

LOCATION VENUE DATE/TIME

Charnwood

Committee Room 1

11 January 2016 (5:30pm)

Blaby

Council Chamber

19 January 2016 (5:30pm)

Hinckley & Bosworth

De Montfort Suite

28 January 2016 (2pm)

Oadby & Wigston Council Chamber

4 February 2016 (2pm) 4.30pm

Melton Council Chamber 1

25 February 2016 (4:30pm)

North West Leics Council Chamber

16 February 2016 (4:30pm)

Harborough Council Chamber

23 February 2016 (4:30pm)

Please check the website for more information and for any changes to the dates

of the meetings www.leics.gov.uk/highwayforums

News for your parish

Walking in a winter wonderland

Most people in Leicestershire live within 500 metres of a footpath.

Visit:

www.choosehowyoumove.co.uk/explore-on-

foot for information on self-guided walks in

Leicestershire and to download routes for

walks around the county.

Information is also published about groups

and guided walks, as well as links for

ramblers and other walkers. An online map

of the county’s rights of way is available at:

www.leicestershire.gov.uk/roads-and-

travel/cycling-and-walking/where-you-can-

walk-in-leicestershire-rights-of-way.

New Local Walks publications include collaborations between county, parishes and volunteers such as

at Misterton with Walcote, Hathern and Carlton. Any parishes or local walking /heritage groups wishing

to revise and update their formerly published Parish Walks publication should email

choosehowyoumove@leics.gov.uk.

The mobile library service is changing

From 1 January, the revised service will run monthly, bringing books, audio books and more to all

corners of the county.

Books borrowed before January 2016 will not

have to be returned until the next library visit.

Users of the new service will see the free loan

period for books issued at the mobiles

increased to a month.

There have also been a number of stop

changes.

More information and updated timetables can

be found at: www.leicestershire.gov.uk/leisure-

and-community/libraries/mobile-library-routes.

Get in touch

Web: www.leicestershire.gov.uk

Twitter: @LeicsCountyHall

Phone: 0116 305 0001

Email: highwayscustomerservices@leics.gov.uk