Improving our roads to drive our future

Transcription

1 Improving our roads to drive our future

2 Improving our roads to drive our future From April 2013, Island Roads will begin upgrading, enhancing and maintaining the Isle of Wight s 804 kms of rural and urban roads, 756 kms of footpaths, 29 kms of cycle ways, over 12,000 street lights, 200 bridges, public car parks, signage, CCTV and street furniture. This will include enhancement and resolution of some of the more challenging projects which are present as a result of the Island s unique geology. Island Roads, is is made up of VINCI Concessions, Meridiam Infrastructure and Ringway and is working in partnership with the Isle of Wight Council to deliver the highways maintenance service from 1st April Island Roads is a local business, employing local people, to provide a highway service which reflects local priorities. We aim to provide a highways service which not only enhances, but also enriches the whole Island to ensure the Isle of Wight continues to be an inspiring place to live, work and visit. Over the next seven years, you can expect to see many improvements to the Island infrastructure. Greater attention will be given to street cleaning, local community and environmental initiatives and the overall appearance of the Island by maintaining and managing the highway to a high quality, whilst continuing to provide an excellent winter service. This is not a quick-fix solution we are investing in the Island for the long-term. You should expect to see high quality work which will enhance safety, but more importantly, will remain that way for much longer with less need for repeat maintenance. Island Roads will work closely with local communities through dedicated District Stewards and District Response Teams. The District Stewards will be on hand to ensure that residents and businesses understand as much as possible about the work planned to be carried out in their streets and areas, well ahead of time. This will minimise disruption and maximise the benefits of this unique investment in the Island. District Stewards will develop local knowledge and ownership for their patch, to ensure that our works take into account the unique Island landscapes and community priorities. If you want to find out more about what will be happening in your local areas, or if you have any questions, please visit the website at Repairing our roads, footpaths and cycle ways Working to improve and repair the 804 kms of road, 756 kms of footpaths and 29 kms of cycle ways across the Island will begin in April We will publicise the exact dates for all the specific activities nearer the time. The aim is to encourage greater accessibility for all and more importantly, raise the standards of all our roads, footpaths and cycle ways. The smoother surfaces will not only make for a better driving, walking or cycling experience, but will also make getting around the Island easier, as well as reducing general wear and tear to vehicles. Unavoidably, there will be some disruption during this work. There will be times when you may not be able to use certain roads, footways or cycle ways but we will try and reduce this as much as possible by minimising works during the busy tourist season. We will also provide advance information of our works programme. Our dedicated District Stewards and teams will be on hand throughout the works to liaise with local communities, answer questions and deal with any issues. We will work closely with the utility companies that provide gas, electricity, telephone and cable services to cause as little disruption as possible. Importantly, we also aim to work with you using a team of volunteers known as Lay Assessors, who will provide us with direct feedback about how we are doing. Providing a secret shopper role if you like! Improving the Street Scene The appearance and cleanliness of the Island s streets and public spaces is one of the most important parts of the new highways service. We want the Island to be one where businesses thrive and where people want to live, visit and relax. Our surroundings are very important to our perception of places. The new service is geared towards making this much better. With new equipment and new ways of working, we want to engage with local neighbourhoods, communities and districts to keep our streets and public spaces as clean as possible and ensure that seating, bins, lighting, signs, all work together to reflect the heritage and character of towns and villages across the Island. The Island Roads teams will work in partnership with local people, forums, businesses and key organisations on the Island to promote new ways of improving the street scene. After all the major investment is completed, we expect that the refreshed and renewed Island will be a place to take real pride in and look after well into the future. Expect to see high quality work which will not only enhance safety, but more importantly, will remain that way for much longer reducing the need for repeat maintenance.

3 Lighting the way to a brighter future Supporting the Eco Island vision Work to enhance or replace the 12,068 street lights across the Island will begin in April We know that street lighting is very important to residents, businesses and visitors alike. Good reliable lighting not only makes it safer for road-users and pedestrians, but also supports crime detection and reducing the fear of crime. Island Roads appreciate that the Isle of Wight boasts award winning beaches, unspoilt, spectacular scenery, a rich historical heritage and that almost half of the island is classed as an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. Lighting is one of the greatest consumers of energy and the greatest emitters of carbon. To minimise this, Island Roads will be replacing all street lights within the first three years of the new contract, converting the lights to energy-saving, carbon efficient LED lamps. This will free up public service funds by reducing energy costs. Due to the efficient nature of LED lighting, they are also more reliable and require less maintenance once installed, meaning less lights out and disruption on your street. Island Roads will operate a central management system which allows us to control the lighting levels and the times when lighting is on for individual streets. This will help us all to continue to improve energy consumption and curb carbon emissions, while also providing street lighting that meets the needs of individual towns and villages and respects the Dark Skies commitments in place to protect the Island s unique environment. Any work we do will be sympathetic to this. We are committed to measuring and managing our service in terms of best value and sustainability, through the monitoring of carbon and water consumption/footprint. We want to make a positive contribution to the natural environment on the Island. Our proposals have been developed to deliver a considerate contractor approach which means that we take cleanliness of our sites, the sustainability of our materials and the helpfulness of our teams to heart. Our District Response teams will operate a fleet of lower carbon vehicles and our main office in Daish Way, Newport will make use of solar energy, water harvesting and the latest design technology to minimise our carbon and water footprint. Island Roads will be replacing all street lights within the first three years of the new contract, converting the lights to energy-saving, carbon efficient LED lamps. A Local Approach Delivering broad social, environmental and economic benefit is central to how we operate as a business. We invest in our people, systems and processes and we are committed to supporting sustainable, long-term local employment and regeneration opportunities within the communities wherever we work. By developing skills and expertise across the Island, supported by local specialist teams; we will develop a resilient Island-based local highways industry. We will build capacity and opportunities on the Island through investment in people and infrastructure. Our Apprenticeships, Scholarships, and trainee opportunities will encourage young people and those traditionally excluded from the workforce into long-term employment opportunities. Our Schools Partnership Programme will establish links with local people and encourage future engineers.

4 Providing a district focused service The Isle of Wight Council has divided the Island into six Districts, based on geographic and political boundaries. This provides us with clearly defined areas across the Island that we are responsible for enhancing to the same high quality standards. Using our District Stewards, we will provide a visible presence in communities, a key contact and link between the highways service and local people. All of our teams will be linked through our systems to ensure effective response to local priorities and customer enquiries. Each district is unique and will have its own special considerations, particularly in terms of geology and geography. We will implement solutions which respect these special characteristics; in particular, we have developed solutions to some long-term geotechnical issues across the Island, such as Undercliff Drive and Bouldner Road. Island Roads will provide a 24/7 response through a dedicated operations Hub located in our main office in Newport, which will connect all of our teams across the Island. The Hub of it all Island Roads will provide a 24/7 response through a dedicated operations Hub located in our main office in Newport, which will connect all of our teams across the Island. Additionally, the Hub will support customer feedback and response. Island Roads will provide a dedicated telephone number and website, as well as utilise social media, to ensure that you can contact us directly about any part of the work we are doing and the service our teams provide. The Hub will support a CCTV Control Room, alongside works scheduling and programming teams to ensure a direct, informed response to requests for information and works around the network. Our systems will help us to provide accurate programmes of works and keep you informed about the works we have scheduled in your area, thus minimising disruption and to maximise the benefits of this unique investment on the Island. Let s talk Island Roads is committed to building a long-term relationship on the Island after all we will be part of the Island for the next 25 years. We hope that residents, businesses and visitors alike will come and visit us at our Visitor Centre when it opens next year at Daish Way in Newport. We strongly believe in two-way communication. As well as providing clear information to residents and businesses about the work we are doing and planning to do, we also welcome feedback. At Daish Way, during office hours, there will always be somebody on hand to help answer your questions. Additionally, our mobile visitor centre will shortly become a familiar sight on the Island as we travel around each district so we can reach those of you who cannot get to Newport. For further information about this, or indeed any other part of the project, please visit: The mobile visitor centre will also support our programme working with local schools becoming a mobile classroom so that we encourage young people to get involved in engineering, or at least discover and get involved in this exciting project as it reaches out across the Island. For those interested in getting involved, we will be recruiting volunteer Lay Assessors local people who will act as secret shoppers whose role will be to let us know how our teams are really doing in each area.

5 About Island Roads Island Roads is made up of VINCI Concessions, Meridiam Infrastructure and Ringway and is working in partnership with the Isle of Wight Council to deliver the highways maintenance service from 1st April Island Roads is a local business, employing local people, to provide a highway service which reflects local priorities. We aim to provide a highways service which not only enhances, but also enriches the whole Island to ensure the Isle of Wight continues to be an inspiring place to live, work and visit.