The Cabinet Member considered a policy for dealing with applications to place mirrors on the highway.
Whilst a mirror located on the main road could help those joining the road, the placing of a mirror on the highway brought with it issues that could affect road safety. In addition, mirrors were classified as a road traffic sign and as they were not prescribed in the Traffic Signs Regulations and General Directions, their use on the highway was subject to special authorisation by the Department for Transport (DfT). Requests were assessed by the DfT against stringent criteria.
The responsibility for deciding whether any road traffic sign or mirror was needed to maintain safety at a particular location rested with the local highway authority. Officers had developed a policy for dealing with applications to place mirrors on the highway. For any application to be sanctioned, the Council would need to be satisfied that it met the DfT’s criteria and that any potential road safety issues did not outweigh the benefits to road users. The applicant would be liable for the Council’s costs in dealing with the application.
Councillor L Gilbert reported the comments of the Environment and Prosperity Scrutiny Committee that if there was a genuine issue of safety to all road users at a particular location, the Council rather than the applicant should cover the cost of installing and maintaining the mirror.
The Officers commented that the Council needed to recover its reasonable costs. It was pointed out that if a request came from a Local Area Partnership or parish council, the cost could be met from the minor improvement budget allocated to the LAP.
RESOLVED
That the Cabinet Member for Environmental Services approves the Mirrors on the Highway Policy set out in Appendix A to the report.