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A Traffic Regulation Order (TRO) is the statutory legal
document necessary to support any enforceable traffic or highway
measure.
When is a TRO used?
TROs are required for a range of restrictions, including:
- waiting and loading
- one-way streets
- speed limits
- weight and width restrictions
- access and turning restrictions
- road and footway closures
- Cycle and bus lanes
- high-occupancy vehicle lanes.
Why do we need TROs?
We need to restrict certain actions on the highway to ensure
safety, accessibility, and minimum disruption to local life. When
these restrictions have a legal status, the Police, or in some
cases Kent County Council, can enforce them.
What form do TROs take?
TROs are mostly permanent legal documents. But there are some
exceptions:
- Temporary Orders (TTROs) may be used when works affecting the
highway require short-term road closures or traffic
restrictions.
- Urgency Orders may be used when works requiring restrictions
must be carried out immediately.
- Experimental Orders are used in situations that need monitoring
and reviewing. These can last no more than eighteen months before
they are either abandoned, amended or made permanent.
How is a TRO created?
To create a formal TRO, we need to follow a statutory
procedure:
1. Consultation:
After the design has been completed, there must be a
consultation exercise. This involves getting the views of:
- the emergency services
- the Freight Transport Association and the Road Haulage
Association
- local councillors and parish councils (where appropriate)
- local public transport operators
- local interest groups such as residents, traders and community
groups who are likely to be affected by the proposals (where
appropriate).
The proposal can then be amended (if necessary).
2. Advertisement:
The next step is to advertise the TRO. This includes at least
one notice in the local press. We will usually display notices in
any roads that are affected. And if appropriate, we may deliver
notices to premises that are likely to be affected. The proposal
should be available for viewing at a nominated council office
during normal office hours for at least 21 days from the start of
the notice. Any objections to the proposals must be made in writing
to the address specified in the notice during this period.
Substantial objections and contentious issues are then reported to,
and considered by, the Executive Member for Transportation and
Planning and/or a relevant committee such as a Joint transportation
Board. The executive member must then decide whether to:
- allow the scheme to proceed as advertised
- modify the scheme
- abandon it.
Any changes to the proposals resulting from objections could
require further consultation. This procedure can take many months
to complete and the advertising and legal fees can be substantial.
For this reason schemes requiring a TRO normally need to be
included in the annual Capital Programme and cannot be carried out
on an 'ad hoc' basis.
3. Making the order:
Provided that all standing objections have been considered, the
TRO can then be 'sealed'. |