News
Cycles part of gyratory plan
PLANNERS are hoping they can retain a dedicated cycle route through the middle of Maidstone as part of a major road improve- ment scheme. A £5.7m scheme to improve the
traffic flows through the town cen- tre is due to start in the next finan- cial year.
Coincidentally, the recent grant-
ing of planning permission to re- develop the Powerhub on St Peter Street includes a condition that the northern carriageway be widened. But that would mean reducing
the width of the footpath on the northern bridge of the A229 to 2.5m – and the loss of the segre- gated cycle route along that stretch. KCC is now looking to see if it
can retain the cycle route as part of the new road scheme. KCC’s head of transportation Tim Read said: “KCC acknowledges that there are limited opportunities for cyclists to cross the river in the town, and the reduced width has raised some concern that the proposalwould be
contrary to the overall Maidstone Council aim of encouraging sus- tainable transport.” The proposal for improving the gyratory scheme would see the building of two new lanes, with junctions controlled by traffic lights, to take traffic directly from Broadway to Fairmeadow and the A229 northbound, without cross- ing either of the existing two bridges. Planners say not only will this re-
duce journey distances, travel times and air pollution but it will increase the capacity of the overall junction by some 10-20% in each of the peak hours, reducing delays for around a quarter of drivers. Commissioning of the detailed design of the scheme is due to start shortly and KCC proposes to carry out further capacity calculations, taking into account the proposed St Peter Street supermarket, and see if the extra capacity being pro- vided by the new schemewould be sufficient to allow the retention of the cycleway.
downsmail.co.uk
Fr Geoffrey Pointer with flower arrangers Annie Bailey and Antonia Graham
Parish says it with flowers
ST PETER’s Church in Button Lane, Bearsted, will celebrate its 30th anniversary with beautiful floral displays telling the story of parish life through the years. Parishioners will welcome visitors to their flower festival from Friday to
Sunday, September 26 to 28. Entry is free and refreshments will be available. The festival celebrates the anniversary of the completion of the building in 1984. Originally, Bearsted didn’t have its own Catholic parish church and mass would be said in various locations, including the Memorial Hall. The number of parishioners grew steadily until in1977, the Diocese of Southwark granted Bearsted and Harrietsham the status of a parish in their own right. Father John Hine was appointed the first parish priest and work began on the church in April,1984. He went on to become a bishop and will return to St Peter’s on November 4 to celebrate mass to mark the 30th anniversary. The flower festival will run from 10am to 4pm on the Friday and
Saturday and from noon to 4pm on the Sunday. For more details, contact Father Pointer on 01622 736100, email
parishpriest@catholic-bearsted.org.uk or visit
www.catholic-
bearsted.org.uk.
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