Minutes:
Lisa Gillham, District Manager for Tunbridge Wells, KCC, introduced the report.
Paul Mason, for Tunbridge Wells Bicycle User Group, had registered to speak and commented that Kent County Council had a policy of promoting active travel. The waiting time for pedestrians and cyclists at crossings should be removed. 25-30 second waits were not encouraging active travel. The removal of waiting times was permissible as demonstrated by an example in Pembury High Street. Misuse could be avoided by programming a minimum go time for the traffic between stops. Suggestions that there wouldn’t be sufficient notice for drivers were illogical as the stop cycle for drivers would be the same regardless of when the button was pressed. It would not impede traffic flow as the flow was often slow enough that the traffic would simply catch up with itself. Reducing wait times to zero would be easy and inexpensive to implement and have a positive effect to active travel.
Comments were made in respect of the following matters:
· The pedestrian crossing on Mount Ephraim outside Tunbridge Wells Free School was another example where a long wait cycle of 30 seconds deterred its use. School children and others often did not wait.
· Comments would be fed back relevant officers.
· Discussions at the previous meeting asked for further explanation on the rationale behind bell-mouth junctions and members were keen that this not be lost.
· The Kent Design Guide which covered bell-mouth junctions was currently under review.
· Officers had visited the junction of Halls Hole Road and Bayhall Road following a recent accident and a review was ongoing.
RESOLVED – That the report be
noted.
Supporting documents: