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Street Scene - Who, What, WHY??
For anyone new to Street Scene, you might wonder what is it? Given that it now seems to be in charge of reducing and monitoring A-Boards around the country.
Well it seems to have come from The Audit Commission who looked into Councils management of local streets. They looked into people's concerns and came up with recommendations of how local councils could improve on their service delivery - their focus was on what people wanted to see improved. Surprisingly not once in the 58 page commissions report on Street Scene were A-Boards considered, NOT ONCE! From that it can only be concluded that people were not bothered about A-Boards being either a hazard or a concern.
What people were concerned about walking on the streets were:
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Box C The Top ten consumer concern about walking on the streets |
- Cracked or uneven pavements (44%)
- Dog mess (43%)
- Too much traffic, busy roads (30%)
- Vehicles parked on pavements (27%)
- Bicycles ridden on pavements (20%)
- No pedestrian crossings (19%)
- Pavements dug up (17%)
- Uncleared snow/ice/leaves (15%)
- Litter and rubbish (11%)
- Narrow pavements (11%)
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The Scope of the review
Waste management and Cleansing Services, including street cleansing, refuse collection, fly tips, abandoned cars, recycling sites, public conveniences, graffiti and fly posting removal.
Highway services, including highway maintenance, traffic management, street lighting and street furniture.
Car parking services.
Grounds maintenance including weed removal.
Integrated services.
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Box D Service specific ways to increase user focus
1. Recycling Banks, giving information about locations on website,
improved signage,
encourage community commitment to keep sites clean.
2. Car Parking
Keep public information up to date
Make methods of payment flexible
Ensure pricing structures are not over-complicated
Review charging policies
3. Street Cleaning
Scheduling cleaning
Weekend cleaning when the use of town centres is highest
Sweeping main roads before 8am
Stop-shops giving information about schedules
Employing parish litter pickers, saving time and money
Using offenders on community service
Cleaning shrub bed more regularly than just when pruning
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Wardens
The use of Street Wardens was suggested as a single point of contact. Their role places more emphasis on caring for the physical appearance of the area. They tackle environmental problems, such as litter, graffiti and dog fouling and are also intended to deter antisocial behaviour, reduce the fear of crime and foster social inclusion.
It seems clear that the report was inteded to focus on what people wanted to see improved ie. cleaner streets, well maintained roads and pavements, more pedestrian crossings, no graffiti. Nowhere in the report are A-Boards mentioned. Why don't councils focus more on what people actually wanted, improve the roads, grit the pavements, and clean and tidy public areas. Busy bodies bossing around the traders is a far cry from what the commission actually intended, but it seems for the Councils this seems a cheaper "DO SOMETHING" and gives them the power they seem to crave!
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