2. Early 20th century Urban development
Duties traditionally undertaken by Municipal Engineers
up until the end of the second world war
• Planned and provided Roads
• Developed the urban layout
• Designed and built Public buildings
• Addressed Public health through sewars and clean water supply
• Provided Gas and electric supplies
• Graveyards
• Etc.
3. So where are the perceived current roadblocks?
Local Authorities – Engineers?
So what ‘s the problem?
Moving the project from a vision into reality and beyond
• Who is taking the long term ownership of the infrastructure?
• How long is it going to last before we have to spend hard
pressed resources on it?
• What's the potential for dispute resolution?
• Does it address out Economic, Social and Environmental
concerns + Political
5. Project Development Process
Outline Detailed Programmed
planning planning construction
permission permission stage
Feasibility
stage
RCC Bond
application application
process process
Revised process to improve and meet Designing Street’s policy of issuing RCC
in a similar timescale as Planning Permission
6. Project Development Process
Outline Detailed Programmed
planning planning construction
permission permission stage
Feasibility
stage
Technical RCC Bond
approval application application
process process process
Revised process to improve and meet Designing Street’s policy of issuing RCC
in a similar timescale as Planning Permission
7. Welcome to bureaucracy!
PKC Flow diagram of the Road Construction Consent process
Includes Bonds and street naming and numbering
8. Hierarchy of guidance and control
1. Legislation
2. Policy
3. Approved Codes of Practice
4. Code of Practice
5. Guides and advisory notes
Shall, Should and May
9. Hierarchy of policy and guidance
Local Placemaking
Designing Streets
guide (Guide)
(Policy)
Roads Development
Guide (Guide)
10. Legislation concerns
Changed standards in “Designing Streets” is contrary to my long
held understanding, will I end up in court?
Based on Transport research
laboratory report TRL661
Construction Design & Highway risk and
Management Regs 2007 SNH guide to legal
Liability claims liabilities
11. Legislation concerns
Extract from Highway risk and Liability:- “There have been very few
successful claims against local authorities on the basis of design. And it
seems likely that it would take an exceptional degree of negligence to trap a
reasonable user into danger.”
1 Road users are responsible for The first principle treats the road user as an intelligent
their own safety and have a duty being, able and expected to exercise their own
to take the road as they find it. judgment. It is not necessary for the design of a scheme
to take that independence of judgment out of the hands
of the road user.
2 A highway authority should This principle is self evident
avoid trapping reasonable road
users into danger, for example
by introducing hidden danger.
3 A highway authority should not On this third principle, where a highway authority has
act irrationality. made Balanced Decisions, it would be difficult to claim
that it had acted irrationally.
12. VI V IV III II I
Individual Specialist Expert Case-control Controlled Randomised
opinion opinion opinion studies studies controlled
studies
Most street guidance
Manual for Streets Evidence based
Ia Several randomised controlled trials
design
Ib Randomised controlled trial
IIa Well-designed controlled study without randomisation
IIb Well-designed quasi-experimental study
III Well-designed non-experimental descriptive studies, case-control studies, or case series
IV Expert committee reports, opinions and/experience of respected authorities
Expert in this instance means expertise in streets; not just one aspect of a street
Problems with evidence and opinion
Statistical problems Logical fallacies
- Experimental bias – people look for results that *Appeal to authority – trust me I’m a specialist
confirm their beliefs or hypotheses *Special pleading – its new – show me that it
*Regression to mean – failure to acknowledge works – vs its old – show me that it works
random nature of events *Risk compensation – seems safer – I’ll be riskier
*Confounding factors
13. Road evolution and current use
Developments in
transport forms drove
improvements in road
surfaces
14. How things change!
1906 to 2005
Perth street
scenes
Key changes are
surfaces and uses
Places have a
different
atmosphere
15. Understanding the main roadblocks
From Design to Asset Management
From Vision to Adoption and Maintenance responsibility
Public Funding Cuts
Roads Maintenance Backlog figures
16. State of the Scottish Local Roads Network
Data from SCOTS 2010 report
Baseline current expenditure =
5,700Km (11%) in red/amber in 10
years time
Standstill Budget to maintain at
current condition= £167.6million /
year over next 10 years
Decline (10% budget decrease) =
additional 7,300Km (14%) more
red /amber in 10 years time
£5M for each Local Authority per year
19. Modern flexible pavement construction
Load
Load Spreading analysis
PAVEMENT
FOUNDATION
FORMATION
20. Stress and Durability
Stress load on road due to UK artic twin tyre and recently
introduced European super single tyre at 5.5 tonne
21. Rigid and Modular Road construction
Reinforced Concrete
Modular to BS7533 in 13 parts
including pervious pavements.
22. The ethos of standard urban road pavement cross section
Drainage falls apply
regardless of pavement
profile
House
Road
Boundary
Threshold
level Door and vent
2.5%
thresholds
2.5%
2.5%
drainage
Kerb
channel
Air Vents
& DPC Co
nne
Road c tion
Gullies s
Utilities
Sewer
23. Serviceability of roads
• Winter maintenance
• Litter standards
• Dog fouling
• Trip hazards and
compensation claims against
councils
30. Street setting and lighting maintenance
Fold-down street lights to
access lamp replacement
Traditional and modern
design can mix well
31. Understanding the stress on road materials
Braking point at junction
Bus and car constrained route
with too small stone blocks laid
in ineffective mortar
Sheer failure due to
canalisation by bus tyres
33. Utilities in Streets
Statutory duty to supply and maintain
services
Unregulated locations within a road
Relocation costs are expensive
34. Failed high quality road surfaces
Failed high
specification
road surface
Was the cause
utilities or ground
conditions
Results in loss of
reputation and
additional
disruption
35. Current utilities guidance
• NJUG new development cross
section
• RAUC Advice Note 15
Guidelines for Positioning
Utilities apparatus in Home
Zones
• Agreement at RAUCs to revise
in line with renaissance
aspirations
36. Utility defects in high amenity surfaces
Water pipe
burst and
temporary or
are they
permanent
repairs
Local coordination
between road and
utilities to identify
special
engineering sites
37. Street Works
Traffic Signs Manual -Chapter 8
Traffic safety measures and signs for Road works and Temporary situations
• Code of Practice
• Minimum road widths during
works results in road closure
and disruption to traffic
• Consider diversion routes
38. Utilities
Plan Utility and drainage layout at early stage
Extracts from Alan
Baxter's layout for
Poundbury
Can it coincide with
SUDS layout?
Consider extent of
adopted areas
39. Adopted roads are multi-functional
Can developers promote the rear
gardens as the major domestic
amenity location? Design in SUDS or service
collection point
40. Trees in streets
NO TREES, Major issues with trees in streets are
NO FUTURE
Leaf and gum fall blocking drains and
Trees in the urban realm
marking parked cars
Root concerns with utility apparatus and
house foundations
Trees and Design Action Group
November 2009
41. Park trees or road trees?
Asset value of a mature tree is estimated at £77,600
Mature trees can
substantially enhance
a place
Are certain trees more
suited to the road or a
park environment?
42. Parking
Design standards In some locations public transport doesn't
meeting the need of the community
Cars are the only travel option
Space allocations need to be fit for purpose
Over restrictive parking allocations result in
renegade parking and social problems
44. Understand social and environmental changes
Build-in provision for future social
demands – it may prove negligible
cost but add significantly to the
value
High speed Broadband
Alternative power sources for
individual transport needs
Environmental Design guides
may be inappropriate for that
location
A93 Otter fencing
45. SUDS
(Sustainable urban drainage system)
Objective - Minimise the impacts from the development on
the quantity and quality of rainfall runoff, and maximise
the amenity and biodiversity
(SUDS Manual 1.1)
46. SUDS Guidance
SUDS for Roads
The SUDS Handbook
CIRIA Report C697
47. SUDS Guidance
Principles driving drainage design criteria selection Table 3.1 CIRIA C697
• Level of Service 1. Flood protection should provide minimum level
of protection
2. Risks to people and amenity benefits should be
addressed (includes safety)
• Sustainability 1. Drainage system should aim to replicate the
natural rainfall-runoff, (pre-development)
2. Water quality treatment should minimise
environmental impact
3. Maximise ecological benefits
4. Drainage systems aim to use recyclable
materials
• Cost 1. Demonstrate Whole life costs analysis
49. Attenuation ponds
Legislative position - Fencing off ponds
• Case title and date – Tomlinson v Congleton Borough Council –
House of Lords, 2003
• they express a principle which is still valid today, namely, that it is
contrary to common sense, and therefore not sound law, to
expect an occupier to provide protection against an obvious
danger arising on his land arising from a natural feature such
as a lake or a cliff and to impose a duty on him to do so".
50. Sewers for Scotland , Section 7
adoption agreement between Scottish Water and
Local Authorities
51. The way ahead
The society of Senior Officers
in Transportation in Scotland
SCOTS Development Control Group
From 32 Local Authorities, 27 attended, 1 regional
transport authority and Transport Scotland
1. Participate and assist Designing Streets Education workshops
2. Draft national based Roads Development Guide
3. Develop Section 7 schedule format and publish
4. Report best practice on RCC process & Inspection charging
5. Report on SUDS best practice experience and asset costs
6. Report on Bond charges best practice
52. Future developments
National “Roads Development Guide”
(Interim stage = Letter to all Developers Designing Streets is policy and is dominate to
Roads Development guide)
Utility guidance for new developments through RAUCs
“SUDS for roads” due to be issued this year
Section 7 schedules established for individual schemes
Improved coordination and education between all professions, Developers
and Politicians
Integration of RCC into planning system through e-planning
A fundamental ground shift in approach
53. The Elephant in the room
How do we deliver essential infrastructure to facilitate good
development?
Remember the Municipal Engineer
Developer contribution
Access to funding to provide front end
infrastructure
Overall Masterplan approach to developments
Land owner continuing involvement in
ownership of the development
54. The current situation
In-depth guidance exists - if you know -
1. It exists
2. Where it is
Disparate groups working without coordination
Workshop analysis to expose failings and devise solutions
What we really need –
Coordinated approach required across professions, developers
and politicians – workshop approach
55. Efficient process?
A simple guide to access
information that leads to more
detail
The Scottish Urban development
group?
