News | Transport


downsmail.co.uk ‘Town grinding to a halt’


IF YOUwant an honest, gritty viewof the traffic inMaidstone, just ask a taxi driver. Mark Jones moved to the town


15 years ago to set up Sapphire Cars. Back then, he lovedMaidstone.


But now he says political apathy, short-sightedness and an obses- sionwith building homeswithout the necessary investment in infra- structure is bringing the county town to its knees. Sapphire’s 39 drivers used to


average four journeys an hour, ac- cording toMr Jones, but nowthey struggle tomake two, and are re- porting late arrivals for the first time in the firm’s history. He said: “We have drivers tak-


ing an hour and a half to travel a mile, not just at rush-hour, but at all times of the day.” Mr Jones has become so frus-


trated, he has now invited traffic officers from both the borough and county councils to spend a day in his cab to find out, first- hand, the traffic nightmare being created. Mr Jones said: “For the first


time,we have a driver shortage in Maidstone because of the lack of earning potential and the stress of driving in these conditions, and I amturning awaymorework than I’mtaking on becausemy cars are stuck in traffic.” He says the increase in houses


and traffic across the region – as well as major work on the M20 – is having a catastrophic effect on both the town’s economy and en- vironment. “Pollution from standing traffic is killing our clean air. The Wheatsheaf junction is choking with fumes that exceed the EU limit, and yet even more houses are planned for Park


Mark Jones with staff at Sapphire Cars inMaidstone


Wood.” Mr Jones blames a lack of


joined-up thinking and house building – especially on traffic sen- sitivesites likeRockyHillandLower StoneStreet–anddescribesthecoun- cil’s hopes formodal shift as a “pipe dream”. “Ican’t tellyouofanewroadthat’s


been built in recent years; but build- ing apartmentswith no parking like those for Ringlestone, and adding roundabouts to feed more vehicles onto the same stretch of road will neverwork.We need investment in ringroads, another crossingover the river, and flyovers, or the borough will grindto ahalt.” Mr Jones (58), fromBarming, be-


lievesnewroads andmore, cheaper, parking are a priority, not £3.1m schemes to“prettyup”GabrielsHill


and Week Street and a “failed at- tempt” toimprove traffic flowsover the river. He said apathy and arguments


between the borough and county councilmust be put aside, adding: “I understand the need for new homes, butwehave built only 5,000 of the17,600homesapprovedinour Local Plan. “There is no point blaming each


other – serious joined-upthinkingis needed.More homes shouldmean more business, but people are sim- ply being driven away by the con- gestion, leaving us to pick up the pain.” Downs Mail passed Mr Jones’


offer to shadow him for a day to borough and county traffic plan- ners. Therewas no response at the time of going to press.


No roomto invest MARK Jones says that, fromJan- uary, his Pudding Lane business is directed to replace taxis with hybrid vehicles. He said: “It all seems about the


money, without the support. I have to stick to laws regarding minimum wage, workers’ pen- sions, and now I’m being asked to invest in hybrid vehicles. “What the authorities don’t


seemto realise is that, as a busi- ness, we cannot keep being squeezed and still invest when we are not being given the infra- structure in which to function. Equally, if vehicles were able to move, rather than endlessly idling in queues, the pollution problemwould be lessened.”


‘I’d love tomove’


HEATHER Kirkpatrick (pictured) has worked for Sapphire Cars for 15 years. She lives at Boughton Monchelsea and says her four- mile journey into town now takes nearly 90 min- utes. She said: “We


have 200 houses being built in Boughton, with only one shop.


Ten of my neighbours have sold up and moved in the last six months, and I now dream of moving. “I rarely go out, and certainly


don’t come intoMaidstone any- more because of the roads and the lack of and cost of parking.”


School parking fines Bus change concern


PARENTS face fines of £100 and points on their licence for parking outsideHollingbourne school. Hollingbourne Parish Coun-


cil has recently received nu- merous complaints about cars parking outside the school in Eyhorne Street and the head, Helen Bradley-Wyatt, has called on parents and others to park considerately. However, Maidstone Bor-


ough Councillor Patrik Garten has takenthematter further and arranged to have “school keep


22 Maidstone February 2019


clear” signs put up, which will allowtrafficwardens to enforce the parking arrangements. Cllr Garten said: “Once the


signs are in place, the borough council’s parkingmanagerwill arrange for our civil enforce- ment officers to include Hollingbourne Primary School in the patrol schedule to im- prove levels of driver compli- ance through enforcement.” The yellow “keep clear”


markingswill also be inspected and refreshed where faded or worn.


TRANSPORT campaigners have lobbied KCC over planned changes to a bus route that runs through Hollingbourne to Maid- stone via Leeds and Otham. Mike Fitzgerald, chairman of


the East of Maidstone Transport Group, wrote to the authority with serious concerns over pro- posals to stop the number 13 serv- ice short at the Sutton Rd Morrison’s. Passengers would then have to change buses to com- plete their journey into town. Mr Fitzgerald said the


timetable, due to start in the sum- mer, was “re-jigging the current


service routes… with an inter- change that does add extra jour- neys but does nothing to attract new users, while lengthening journey times.” Hewent on to accuse the council


of “dabbling with the service and offering no innovation or fresh thinking to grow a new rural bus service that is sustainable”. He added: “This isnot apilot and


itmixes commercial andsupported services,whichmakes itdifficult to see howto go to tender.” Hollingbourne Parish Council


says the route has become “a life- line tomany residents”.


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