Appendix 1 – Department’s Response to Review Recommendations (Road Markings)

Recommendation	Response
The Review Board recommends that Officers continue to keep a watching brief on the development of new road marking materials and techniques and carry out trials to evaluate their effectiveness in reducing costs and increasing the durability of road markings.	Since the start of the current contract, and following this scrutiny review we have reviewed how we deliver lining works as part of our larger scale planned works. On these schemes we now use thermoplastic paint. This is a combination of synthetic resin, pigments, and glass beads (pigments give colours and glass beads add reflectivity). It is a cost-effective alternative and cures quickly, is fast drying, has excellent durability and is low maintenance.  Thermoplastic linings are applicable on most road surfaces and the glass beads can increase skid resistance. To date we have used this material on approximately 40 sites and will continue to do so. We will also continue to take a proactive approach to keeping abreast of innovations in both materials and techniques. It will continue to be part of the departments approach this area of work.
The Review Board recommends that the requirement to inspect road markings as part of routine inspections and the categories of road markings important for road safety are included in regular reminders to Highway Stewards and customer service staff.	Noted. This is included in the requirements for stewards to inspect all highway assets during their inspections and is part of the BAU work being delivered.
The Review Board recommends that the responsibilities of the utility companies and Highways England regarding road markings are made clear in the information provided on the East Sussex Highways web site.	The ESH website team are currently reviewing the appropriate place to upload this information to the website as part of the wider work to improve the website usability.
The Review Board recommends that when considering the allocation of resources for highway maintenance and road transport schemes, increased priority is given to funding for road markings to reflect their contribution to road safety.	Noted. As a highway authority our focus and top priority must be maintaining a safe road network for all users. Available funding and resources are allocated accordingly across the services to ensure we meet our policy requirements and maintain a safe network as part of the departments BAU work. Since the review it is worth noting that the additional £0.5 million funding awarded to the department to carry out additional road marking works have now been fully allocated and will include renewing the lining along the A22 Hailsham bypass in the spring 2024 and the refreshment of lining at some 600 roads/sites across the county. This work will resume in earnest in spring 2024 and will likely continue into the 2024/25 financial year.
The Review Board recommends that the parking budget is recharged for all parking enforcement road marking renewal work with immediate effect, and the money used for additional highway road marking maintenance work.	Noted.  The spend on refreshing parking enforcement road markings is relatively small, but where this can be easily identified it will be re-charged to the parking account, this will be delivered as part of the departments BAU work.
The Review Board recommends that: a) should any new Government funding become available for highway maintenance, consideration is given to using a portion of it to improve the condition of road markings in the County (if allowed by the conditions attached to the funding). b) priority is given to renewing road markings that are important for road safety, such as those listed in paragraph 19 of the report, when determining the use of the additional one-off funding in 2020/21. c) consideration is given to including the funding to improve and maintain road marking in the base budget for the core services in the Highways Infrastructure Maintenance contract from 2023 onwards when it is re-procured.	a) Noted. If any new government funding is made available, consideration will be given to using a portion for road markings. (if permitted) b) Noted. This is our current approach as safety critical markings are always a priority. c) Noted. Road marking is included as a core service.