Milton Avenue update

The new path at Milton Avenue

Work has taken place recently at Milton Avenue for the wildflower meadow planting.

In response to some concerns over the chemicals used, I contacted the council officers in charge of this project for a briefing:

“In order to prepare the ground for the wildflower seed it is necessary to eliminate the existing hardy grass and weeds. This was done with a herbicide application. The Contractor used Rosate 360 in which the active ingredient is Glyphosate. The Contractor has informed us that they erected signs around the area prior to spraying, and that they remained on site until the application was dry – the product is inert and fine to walk on once dry, which would have been a very short time after spraying given the warm conditions. The Contractor has highlighted section 11 of the product data sheet that states:

Skin corrosion/irritation:                               Not irritant. Not classified as a skin irritant under Regulation (EC) 1272/2008

Serious eye damage/irritation:                   Slight irritant. Not classified as an eye irritant under Regulation (EC) 1272/2008

Respiratory or skin sensitization:               The product is not classified as a respiratory or skin sensitizer in animal studies

Germ cell mutagenicity:                                Not classified as mutagenic on the basis of mixture component information

Carcinogenicity:                                                Not classified as carcinogenic on the basis of mixture component information

Reproductive toxicity:                                    Not classified as a reproductive toxicant on the basis of mixture component information

Glyphosate is used by Gloucester City Council in managing weeds and vegetation growth. The bespoke policy can be found here https://www.gloucester.gov.uk/media/5177/herbicide-policy-april-2021.pdf

Any residents who have further concerns would be welcome to get in touch with me via Sebastian.Field@Gloucester.Gov.uk

Traffic calming measures for Tuffley Avenue

The traffic calming measures for Tuffley Avenue that have been previously proposed are now advertised publicly. There are notices and posters on the route with details of how to make any comment you would like to make.

All of the details can be found on the county council website at www.gloucestershire.gov.uk/tros – look in the Gloucester section. The details can also be found at www.gloucester.gov.uk.

The officer managing this project has let councillors and respondents to the previous consolation call-outs that “there has been an amendment made to the original proposal, which is to remove the proposed traffic island at the top of Tuffley Avenue, as this would conflict with school bus movements and introduce two pairs of speed cushions instead between Calton Road and Stroud Road.

We reviewed the up to date collision data which showed an ongoing issue in this section and a design review showed that the most suitable options for reducing loss of control collisions and in keeping with the rest of the scheme were two additional pairs of speed cushions to ensure a consistent approach.’’

Residents can make comments as above or send directly to me, Sebastian.Field@gloucester.gov.uk, or to David Wilson, david.wilson@gloucestershire.gov.uk.