News
Reconsider speed limit protocols, KCC urged
KENT County Council has been told it should change its criteria for assessing speed limits on its roads. Using personal injury crash records as a yardstick for imposing speed reductions was like shutting the stable door after the horse had bolted, Maidstone’s Joint Trans- portation Board heard. Without a history of accidents in- volving injury,KCCis not prepared to fund road improvements or sig- nage – a system described as ludi- crous by Coxheath and Hunton Cllr Brian Mortimer. KCC’s Michael Heath said: “Our objectives remain the reduction of personal injury crashes.” More than 1,000 people signed
two petitions seeking a reduction in the speed limit along Lower Road through East andWest Farleigh and residents are calling for action on East Farleigh bridge, after an acci- dent where signalman Doug Cad- dell was hit by a car while trying to close the railway crossing gates. Emergency services encountered
chaos while trying to get to Mr Caddell and residents want to see
Mr Gerard said: “I had never thought it possible for so many cars to pass through this bottleneck in such a short space of time.” “Farleigh Bridge is totally un-
Traffic queues at East Farleigh bridge
traffic controls at the bridge follow- ing incidents of road rage. Network Rail has said it intends to
install automated gates at East Far- leigh as part of the re-signalling of the Medway Valley Line, but no date has yet been set. Station Road – the subject of the Farleighs’ campaign “Rage on Far- leigh Bridge” – was closed for sev- eral hours, causing traffic backlogs after Mr Caddell’s accident. Lib Dem campaigner Jasper Ger-
ard and a team of Lib Dem council- lors undertook a traffic survey at Farleigh Bridge and Rail crossing during the peak period three days later and in just half an hour, wit- nessed more than 250 vehicles pass eachway.
suited to this volume of traffic,” said Cllr Brian Mortimer. “It’s time Maid- stone Council, Kent Highway Serv- ices and Network Rail took the problems seriously.” Sarah Hobbs,whoset up the Face-
book page Rage on East Farleigh Bridge, said: “It is evident that the traffic needs reducing.” Cllr Rob Bird, who proposed a re- duction on Lower Road to 30mph, said: “It is totally unacceptable to have cars travelling at 50mph out- side a school. Our duty is to take ac- tion on road safety.” Cllr Dan Daley said: “It is time
KCClooked at its protocols. What is the cost of a few signs in comparison to the cost of injury or even death?” Mr Caddell was taken to Pem- bury Hospital and transferred to King’s College Hospital, London, where his condition was described as stable as the Downs Mailwent to press.
downsmail.co.uk School report
shows progress EAST Farleigh Primary School has gone from strength to strength, ac- cording to school inspectors. The primary school in Vicarage
Lane was judged by Ofsted to be good in all areas and overall. Parents feel their children make
good progress, while senior leaders work with staff to ensure the quality of teaching is sustained and im- proved, the report concluded. Specialist teaching has meant staff growing in confidence, delivering lessons with a high level of pupil participation, and there is a range of outdoor adventure activities and after-school clubs on offer. Pupils are friendly and their be- haviour is excellent, with the older ones taking on responsibilities in- cluding peer mentoring. The school is safe and bullying rare. There is a positive atmosphere in
all classrooms and the vast majority of pupils make good progress, par- ticularly in writing and maths. An inspection a year ago found
the school required improvement. Now, all that remains for the
school to be outstanding is to im- prove pupils’ progress in reading and ensure that teachers are confi- dent in using new systems to gauge pupils’ progress with regard to their reading skills.
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