Have your say on easing road and rail travel

Growth Without Gridlock – that’s the slogan underpinning priorities for improving Kent’s transport infrastructure.

The Local Transport Plan 4, as it is snappily titled, is Kent County Council’s answer to the aging, overwhelmed road and rail networks and constrained town centres threatening to turn the gateway to continental Europe into a glorified car park.

With the county’s population set to swell with an additional 293,300 by 2031, upgrades are necessary to protect growth and to encourage investment.

Maidstone is no exception, with officials noting high pollution and a legacy for traffic problems set only to increase in the future.

The ongoing Bridges Gyratory scheme will solve some problems but will do little to help pressures on the A229 and A274 corridors in south and south eastern parts of the town and on the A20 corridor in the north west.

To add insult to injury, when Operation Stack is implemented Maidstone faces isolation from the M20, effectively shutting the A20 as traffic diverts.

The County Town’s rail offerings are noticeably lacking, with no direct service to the City of London and snail trains to Victoria.

Meanwhile, up and coming Weald towns like Staplehurst and Headcorn are enticing affluent City workers with direct services via Tonbridge and Sevenoaks.

Even bus links are similarly inward looking, focusing more around serving the town centre and hospital.