REPORT TO WOULDHAMPARISH COUNCIL 3 December2013

By the Tonbridge and Malling Borough Councillors

for

Burham, Eccles and Wouldham Ward

Councillors Dave Davis and Roger Dalton

ROAD MARKINGS AND SIGNAGE INTO PILGRIMS WAY DUAL CARRIAGEWAY.

  1. A copy of the KCC proposal is attached which is best viewed electronically in pdf so that you can zoom in on it.
  2. In the second part of November,there was a meeting with Peter Homewood and Andy Padgham of KCC Highways and we went through the proposed enhancement of the markings going into the dual carriageway on Pilgrims Way. The proposals are a major step forward. The highway signage will be a considerable enhancement. Andy Padgham the KCC engineer was keen on the original solid double white line proposal we put forward but this was opposed by the police on regulatory grounds. Instead the road markings will be two prominent white arrows directing road users into the left hand lane going east. We could have challenged the police’s opposition but the advice was to accept what was on offer which could be implemented in weeks. Later if this does not solve the problem of vehicles going up the westbound carriageway or hitting the central reservation then a new project could be started and under those circumstances we would be inclined to challenge the police position possibly through the Police and Crime Commissioner.
  3. As a result of the discussion we decided to go ahead with the proposed scheme. The only difference from the scheme attached will be the inclusion of prominent yellow backgrounds to some of the highway signs which was recommended by the police. We can expect action just the other side of Christmas and before the end of the financial year.

EXTENSION OF SPEED LIMITS BEYOND HALE FARM BEND.

  1. You will recall that an Automatic Traffic Counter, which can determine speed of vehicles, was installed across Pilgrims Way in the area of the Lay-by outside Hale Close to the east of Burham. We now have the results of that traffic count and a summary of the 48 pages of data is below.
  2. The ATC was in place from 24thSeptember to 30 September inclusive and the readings taken for the full 24 hour period.The main results that should concern us are in the table below:

Results Summary
ATC Pilgrims Way, Burham. Carried out between 24th September and 30th September 2013
WESTBOUND / EASTBOUND
No. of vehicles - 19694 / No. of vehicles - 19674
Average Speed – 42.2 mph / Average Speed – 40.8 mph
Percentages of vehicle speeds : / Percentages of vehicle speeds :
Between 30 and 40 mph – 32% / Between 30 and 40 mph – 52%
40 and 50 mph – 45% / 40 and 50 mph – 39%
50 and 60 mph – 8% / 50 and 60 mph – 4%
The remaining percentages are made up from speeds below 30 mph and over 60 mph
  1. Whilst they must be statistically discounted it is interesting to note that the highest recorded west bound speed was between 07:00 and 08:00 on Tuesday 24th September at a speed of 84.8 mph. East Bound the highest speed was 71.1 mph between 07:00 and 08:00 on Friday 27th September.
  2. The Summary of Results above was discussed at the meeting with Andy Padgham and Peter Homewood and it was felt that imposing a 40 mph speed limit was a possibility that would now be investigated by Andy Padgham.