Crockenhill: extra rumble strips go in this week

One of the measures intended to reduce speeds and improve safety in the centre of Crockenhill, in particular in the approaches to the Main Road - Cray Road - Broadway junction, was the installation of granite sets. Their purpose was to highlight to drivers that they were coming in to the centre of the village, reinforcing the message of the 20mph zone and additional signage.

The sets were installed in the spring, but residents' reaction was to be distinctly underwhelmed; the sets are relatively small and unobtrusive. I therefore agreed at the time with Kent Highways and the Parish Council that the sets would be reinforced by rumble strips. These are already in place in the Green Court Road (leading in to Broadway) approach to the junction, having been placed as a trial alternative late last year. They are undoubtedly more visible, and the combined effect is a much stronger one; they will now be introduced at the other two approaches.

Kent Highways had promised that the installation would take place in the early part of the summer holidays, and have now announced that there will be a road closure in Eynsford Road/ Main Road tomorrow (Monday 31 July) to carry out the works. Those in Cray Road will be carried out under a partial closure using traffic lights, and should also be in place this week.

Works moving ahead in Gibsons Place

The works that I described in a February post to tackle the flooding problems around Gibsons Place have taken place in two parts. Proceeding to the second stage was very dependent on Kent Highways reaching agreement with the management company for the development, and those works - as shown in the picture - are now well under way.

The first stage of the works was to put a large containment area into the road, with pipes bringing water from the previous, flood-prone gullies and into this storage space. Even on its own, this first phase has had a significant effect, as can be seen from the significant reduction in flooding even in recent periods of heavy rain.

The current phase involves installing further pipework from the High Street to the existing head wall. This is proving to be tricky work, with a lot of utilities to be navigated, and has had a significant impact on residents' access to parts of the development. This should be eased once the works get to the archway towards the back of the development, which (with two crews working on it) should be achieved within a week, weather permitting.

Two pipes will run from the containment area to a catch pit (to remove much of the silt in the water), at which point a single pipe will take the water to discharge into the river. As previously reported, there will be a flap over the end of the pipe to prevent water flowing back into the system when river levels are high.

The works already carried out have had a significant effect, and hopefully the completion of the second stage of the project should see a lasting resolution to this long-standing problem

Eynsford: more measures introduced near the school

As I posted back in February, the installation of yellow lines in front of Alton Cottages was to be followed by a number of additional measures to reinforce their effect.

Some of these have now been carried out. Additional bollards have been installed - on both the Alton Cottages side of the road, and at the dropped kerb near the junction with Priory Lane - to prevent vehicles mounting the pavement, presenting a hazard to children and parents, and also blocking a key crossing point. A sign warning approaching drivers of pedestrians crossing at this point has also been installed. Now Kent Highways has issued a Statement of Works notice that the pavements of either side of this same stretch of road will be resurfaced. Hopefully this will make areas such as the footpath in front of Alton Cottages, currently in poor condition, much more usable for parents and children as part of a good route to school.

Some other plans, such as possible bollards installation further south in the village, need more work, but these measures represent a modest but useful further step forward.