Filter lanes could cut problems at bottleneck junction
A notorious bottleneck – The Swan junction on the A229, Loose Road – is the subject of this week’s Get Maidstone Moving campaign.
Traffic from Boughton Lane, home to a number of schools, and from Cripple Street, which is sometimes used as a rat-run, joins the heavy traffic travelling between Maidstone in one direction and Marden and Staplehurst in the other.
KCC has attempted to improve the junction in the past year, with changes to the traffic-light sequence, but SMART – the South Maidstone Action for Roads and Transport forum, which is spearheading the campaign – says more needs to be done.
At present, the automatic traffic signals at Loose Road have no turning filters, which causes long queues and a reduction in traffic flow.
SMART, which is made up of representatives from the North Loose Residents Association, Loose Parish Council, Loose Amenities Association and the Valley Conservation Society, and is supported by ward councillors, suggests a change to the lights’ phasing and filter lanes.
It says these lanes could be achieved by using small areas of land set aside for road widening over 70 years ago. There is space in front of the Boughton Parade shops to create a turn-left filter into Boughton Lane for traffic coming from the north, and space on the other side of the road, in front of Loose Bowls Club, that could be used to create a turn-left lane into Cripple Street for traffic from the south.
The filters would remove the need for traffic from all directions to be stopped at the same time to allow pedestrian phases on the signals.
Derek Mortimer, Maidstone council ward member for South Ward, said: “The congestion at The Swan junction is acute and over the last few years we have tried numerous changes to the traffic-light sequencing. But the problem has not yet been solved.
“Improvements are possible. We’ve also previously suggested moving the bus stop by the bowls club on the Loose Road off the highway onto the wide footpath area. That would allow traffic pass while a bus waited at the stop when lights change to green.”