Doubts £16.4m plan will keep the town moving
Not everyone backs scheme to ease Maidstone’s gridlock
Hundreds of people disagree that £16.4 million congestion-busting measures will actually work at a key Maidstone bottleneck.
The public have been consulted on the Maidstone Integrated Traffic Package, unveiled last year by Kent County Council.
It will see major changes at six of the County Town ‘s gridlocked junctions, but the consultation results shows people are split over whether they will work.
Almost 70% of 351 survey respondents disagree with traffic-easing plans for Loose Road near the former Wheatsheaf pub.
In total, 538 people gave their views - much fewer than Maidstone’s Joint Transportation Board expected. Plans for Loose Road near the Wheatsheaf gained the highest number of respondents. It is suggested the pub is demolished and replaced by a garden, at the centre of a whole new traffic light and lane system. But 67% of people disagree with these proposals: a fifth of respondents think the changes might just move congestion further down the road, many don’t want nearby Cranbourne Avenue to be closed and others dismiss plans for the tavern to be bulldozed.
Further along the Loose Road at Armstrong Road and Park Way, Kent County Council suggests widening the road into three lanes for traffic heading away from Maidstone to create a dedicated right-turn lane on to Armstrong Road, among other amendments. More people agree (55%) than disagree (42%) with this, with comments focussing on a need for easing traffic turning right into Armstrong Road. At the junction with Cripple Street and Boughton Lane, a new inside lane will be created, from the ambulance station towards town, and traffic will only be able to turn left onto Boughton Lane, among other changes. Just over 50% of the 186 people disagreed with this and some argue there isn’t an issue with traffic turning into Boughton Lane and changes will cause more problems.
The three other junctions are the A20 Coldharbour roundabout, the Ashford Road junction with Willington Street and the
‘The pub will be demolished, replaced by a garden and a new traffic system’
A274 Sutton Road.
Views on the roundabout, which could be widened into three lanes at certain sections, are split 50-50. Just under half of respondents (49%) oppose the changes at Willington Street - which will see the lane on the Ashford Road travelling towards Bearsted split into two further back from the junction - with 86% voicing at least one concern. And 52% disagree with proposals for Sutton Road, which could see new bus lay-bys on each side and lanes split into two at certain sections. Many feel it is only a short-term solution and doesn’t address the issues.