This morning I handed the fruits of this Autumn's door knocking to the Chair of Kent County Council, Peter Lake. The petition call for action by KCC to reduce the speed and volume of traffic along four roads in Fant Ward. These roads have no restrictions other than the usual 30mph speed limit, yet are used as a cut through to avoid the Tonbridge Road which is constantly subject to road works. They are Bower Place, Upper Fant Road, Gatland Lane and Glebe Lane.
We knocked on every door of these roads and collected about 350 signatures. As part of the petition we took a poll of ideas that residents would back, from road humps to cameras to a 20mph limit. Everyone wanted something slightly different by there was a great deal of consensus for a 20mph limit. Of course it is not a panacea but it would send a strong message that these roads are residential.
This was all on the back of a bad accident last month in the smallest and narrowest of the roads, Bower Place. The need for action is long standing with a variety of campaigns over the past 20 years. KCC announced in the Autumn that it would be putting some traffic calming in at one end of Gatland Lane, which is very welcome however the rest of the route needs to be addressed. Let us hope that the petition works...
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