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of empty homes across the county brought back into residential use, the need to decimate huge areas of greenfield land for new homes would, in conjunction with brave political decisions to limit the regional population, be virtually removed. An achievement such as this would metaphorically move many more mountains than by digging up precious agricultural land that is valued greatly by local people, who complain because they care about where they live.


Response by Stephen


Work with schools Dear Sir – In response to the bus companies’ complaints about varied school times, I think the buses would be even less reliable if the schools were all the same.


There would need to be a lot more buses running at exactly the same time to accommodate all passengers. Even now, children are unable to sit for large parts of the journey and I know of several examples where children have been told they cannot get on a bus because it is full. My daughter’s bus has driven past her without stopping and is often so late that she has had to give up waiting and return home for a lift to school. Sometimes the buses are a lot earlier


than their stated time but they never wait at the stop until the time they should depart, so anyone who has not arrived early misses their bus. Instead of whining about the schools, the bus companies should be working with them to provide a public transport service that is reliable for all users. I don't think bus companies could cope


with the volume of passengers if all schools needed a bus at the same time. Jackie Dixon, by email


Staggered times safer


Dear Sir – I have been a bus driver for 12 years, also part of a union within the industry. Schools have always finished at different times for the health and safety of the employee and passengers. If all schools finished at the same time, the buses would become overloaded which would mean that passengers would be standing on the platform (front of the bus) which blocks the driver’s vision, making it unsafe to drive. If the schools all finished at the same


time you would find children blocking overcrowded bus stops and standing in the road, which would put them at risk of getting run down. I have written to Arriva, Maidstone Council, Tonbridge and Malling Council and MP Tracey Crouch in the past to ask if more buses could be provided to help children get home instead of them having to hang around the town centre. I live in Snodland and the bus service is


very poor for the number of people who live here. My daughter has only one bus to get her to school on time and if something goes wrong with that she is then late. She has to wait more than half an hour in town to get the bus home, which makes her day longer than most office workers. SimonWickwar, by email


All on the road together


Dear Sir – It makes sense for all school times to be the same so that everybody knows where they stand. People travelling at school opening and closing times will then change their times if possible to avoid making the buses even more crowded. TonyWilson, Larkfield


Driving lessons needed


Dear Sir - I feel I must respond to B Brown’s revelation (Downs Mail, December) that the totally pointless traffic lights at the junction ofWillington Street and Madginford Road are necessary. First let me point out that I was merely agreeing with a previous writer on the subject and feel that she should have aimed her missive in that direction . I will concede the point on the pedestrian aspect being on demand, but take exception to the opinion that these lights are needed to allow traffic to emerge from Madginford Road safely. Everyone I know who has used this junction for the 27 years I have lived in the area has managed it without incident. To cite term time as an excuse when


everybody from national government downwards agrees that school runs should be discouraged rather than aided was a bit of a faux pas. Clogging up our schools with cars twice a day should be discouraged. The vast majority of traffic lights are put


in because a significant portion of the general public has a low skill set when it comes to driving so do find traffic lights of benefit. I suggest advanced lessons are in order


if a junction cannot be negotiated without the aid of pointless traffic lights. John Hartnup, by email


More space such a help


Dear Sir – I have just read the story about MP Helen Grant’s campaign to give pensioners more space to park. What a wonderful idea. I’d like to thank her for taking up the


plight of older folk who have problems with limited car parking spaces. I too need to be able to open the car door


fully to be able to get in and out of our car, and my husband needs to be able to open our car boot to get my walker out without being mown down by other drivers impatient to find a car parking space. We are the wrong side of 65 and would


not dream of using a disabled space because we appreciate that those who need to use a wheelchair or who have limited mobility need these alloed spaces, or parent and child spaces for those with children and their buggies. However this now means we are restricted on where we can visit due to our parking problems. The idea of dedicated wide parking


spaces offered by large retailers, supermarkets and local authority car parks would be wonderful and would make life much easier for more mature folk. Trisha Garrard, by email


Age no excuse when parking Dear Sir – I am heartily fed up with the


abuse and withering looks I have suffered from pensioners as a disabled person of under 65 when I make use of my blue badge and park in a space they think is just for them. If they truly have a disability, they can apply for a blue badge. Wherever they live in the country, the


rules are the same and can easily be found on the KCC website for those living in Kent. As pensioners, they also have the luxury


of being able to shop at less busy times, and could park well away from other vehicles, if they need to have help getting in and out of their cars. Although this would mean they would have to walk just a little further, if they do not qualify for a blue badge, it would mean they are physically able to do this. Those who have given me the looks for parking legally and rightfully, have then often tottered off on high heels, jogged into the nearest pub or gone into dance classes at nearby community centres, all of which have never been a possibility for me and others like me who have been disabled since birth or childhood. Jeanne Gibson, Birling Avenue, Bearsted


J8 link road needed


Dear Sir – I and many others believe something will get built at M20 Junction 8 eventually. It is better to discuss and benefit from it


than to lose out totally if an appeal is granted in the future. A link road for the area, unfortunately not supported, would be positioned far enough away from villages and the argument for "putting off visitors to Leeds Castle" is utter nonsense. We need this road. Jenny Sutton,Willington Street


Pathway must remain


Dear Sir – Iwas a Bearsted resident for 46 years, but was forced to leave due to advanced age and ill health. Iwas appalled to read your report of the desecration of the village green by a homeowner who has closed a public footpath which has been in existence for 170 years. During my time in the village I witnessed the footpath’s use by villagers up to the time I left. During the 60s and 70s it was used by patients visiting Dr Ledward in his surgery at The Limes and more recently visiting the pharmacy which was situated nearby. Had Cllr Sarah Hasket, who lived in the


area, still been alive, this closure would have been stopped before it even got started. The homeowner has rightly been instructed to re-instate the path and if she refuses to do so, contractors should do it to avoid an expensive legal bale. The homeowner should then be invoiced. There is a precedent for this action. Some


years ago, Bearsted parish councillor Kevin Street, chairman of the transport commiee, toured the village to see all the barriers which contravened the Disability Discrimination Act. Leader of KCC Paul Carter then instructed their immediate removal. John Sayers,Waltham, Canterbury John, the footpath has not yet been closed, though this is what the parish council fears may happen after a gate was erected. Response by Stephen


Maidstone East January 2015 31


Comment


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