Residents express their ‘congestion frustration’ at open meeting


Plea to dovetail school bus links enough for cyclists! Town is not flat


“Pent-up frustration”. That is how Cllr David Burton, chairman of Maidstone Council’s regenera- tion scrutiny committee, summed up members’ feelings at the end of a 60-minute Q&A session about congestion. PETER ERLAM reports.


LACK of integration of bus and school timetables is making Maidstone’s traffic congestion even worse. Parents are being forced to


ferry their children to and from school because of poor bus serv- ice scheduling. Bearsted councillor Val Springett, who has a son at Maidstone Grammar School, made the point forcibly. By the time he gets to the bus station in The Mall after school, his bus home “would have left five minutes ago” and he has a half- hour wait. In the morning, he leaves


home at 7.25am for a 7.35am bus, the only one that can get him to school on time, albeit 25


minutes early. She asked: “Is there any dis- cussion to make sure that buses line up with schools to re- duce the number of parent jour- neys that are made?” Referring to Valley Park School, Cllr Springett had been informed by a mum that a sin- gle-decker bus often drives past full at end-of-school time, with pupils left waiting 33 minutes, but that for the rest of the day it is served by a double-decker. The mother had told her: “There’s a whole crowd of us having to fly out in our cars to pick up our kids because the bus has gone past them again, and it’s a half-hour wait in the dark.”


TRANSPORT planners have been accused of “dodging the issue” of providing Maidstone with a ring road. “This needs to be brought to the fore and ad- dressed,” said Cllr Gordon Newton (Downswood & Otham). “How long has this being going on - 20 years


or more? This needs to be sorted out,” he added. Cllr Newton cited Peterborough where ring


roads keep the majority of traffic out of the town centre. “This is where KCC are strongly missing the point. Themessage needs to go back to your highways people: ‘Let’s have a serious look at this whole area of town with respect to ring roads’.


THE widow of the man who brought Safety in Action to Maidstone 20 years ago was in- vited to tea at the Town Hall by the mayor. Cllr Brian Mortimer wel- comed Audrey Puddy whose husband Roy was Maidstone’s health promotion officer. His vision and determination brought the event to life in the early 90s. Audrey was presented with a photograph of Hollingbourne Primary School receiving the Roy Puddy Memorial Cup. The school won the annual, two- weekly Safety in Action event for Year 6 pupils, aimed at de- veloping competence and con- fidence in responsible citizenship and safety skills. It celebrated its 20th year in


2011 and more than 20,000 children have benefited from the event. Cllr Mortimer said: “This


event shows how effective part- nership working between local councils, business and other agencies can provide real bene- fits to our young citizens, which in turn helps make our communities safer. “We are working hard to run Safety in Action in 2012 but be-


Audrey Puddy and daughter Lynn Bieryla received framed pho- tos of the Roy Puddy Memorial Cup 2011 presentation from Maidstone mayor Cllr Brian Mortimer


cause of the additional chal- lenges on public services in the busy run-up to the London 2012 Olympics, the event will be held earlier, from April 30 to May 11, 2012. Audrey was delighted with


the presentation and added: “It is really nice to know that Roy


will always be remembered, and that Safety in Action is still going strong.” Audrey’s daughter Lynn Bieryla, who came over from America where she now lives, accompanied her mother and received a copy of the photo- graph.


KCC transport officer Graham


Tanner said these issues could be looked at. “It’s in the opera- tors vested interest to do that as they are paid per passenger. Where possible, operators will line up their services with schools.” Cllr Springett added


that school finishing times – 3.30pm at MGS – have a “major impact on congestion”. Her son just misses the 3.35pm service so waits 33 minutes for the next No 9, which gets him home at 4.45pm. That compares to 15 minutes


by car to Bearsted. “That’s why a lot of parents


pick children up,” added Cllr Springett.


Highways planners told: ‘Don’t dodge ring road’


“This would relieve a considerable amount of congestion. “This ought to be flagged up – nobody’s lis- tening to what’s said,” he argued. But KCC’s Graham Tanner said a Maid-


stone ring road was “a considerably long way from fruition” in light of government fi- nances and Department for Transport priorities. Cllr Mike Cuming (Bearsted) said that 40


years ago Maidstone used to have a bypass – be- tween what is now M20 junctions 5 and 8 – but now it is “part of the problem”. When the mo- torway is obstructed, there is no alternative route. “This highlights the need for a southern ring road,” he added.


Roy’s vision in safe hands with younger generation


THElay of thelandinMaid- stone does not lend itself to cy- cling. That is the view of Graham Tanner, KCC’s sustain- able transport team leader, as he answered questions about solving the town’s congestion problems. Mr Tanner, who rides to work


from Bearsted along a section of off-road cycleway in Ashford Road, said Maidstone’s topog- raphy was not pedal-friendly, unlike places such as Cam- bridge and Peterborough, which heavily promote cy- cling, and are flat. Also, in comparison with Ashford, where cycleways are being built around new devel- opments, “everything needs retrofitting around what’s there” in Maidstone. Mr Tanner said Maidstone’s “skeletal” cycling scheme was not up to the standard of other parts of the county. But he added: “Perhaps more


could be done to publicise and promote it.” Meanwhile, Cllr Gordon Newton called formore realism in sustainable transport plan- ning. In terms of cycling to work, he wondered if anything had changed in the past 10 years. He does not like ped- dling a bike up the Loose Road, for example. “I jump in the car and drive to East Farleigh [to his stonemason’s business].” He said he would not cycle


there or go by public transport as it would take too long.


Stamps to buffets A MULTI-ethnic buffet restaurant is lined up to oc- cupy the disused former Post Office building in King Street, Maidstone. Maidstone Council granted a premises licence for the two-storey building, which was vacated three years ago, to East andWest Restaurants of Solihull to set up Jimmy Spices, a buffet- style restaurant seating up to 402 people. The licence includes daily opening hours of 10am to 1.30am, with alcohol and other licensable activities until 1am. As Downs Mail went to


press, it was hoped the new restaurant would be open before spring.


Market closure MAIDSTONE Country Mar- ket is closed for the whole of January before reopening on February 2. The market is usually held


every Thursday morning in the United Reformed Church Hall, Week Street, from 10.15am to 12.15pm. For in- formation, contact Sue on 01622 861333.


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