One of the first issues that Kemsing Parish Council took up with me after my election last year was the need to replace a Speed Indicator Device (SID) in Childsbridge Lane. A SID was installed some years ago, but eventually became faulty. It was removed and Kent Highways were not willing to replace it.
Following discussion with the Parish Council, it became clear to me that there was still a strong desire in the village to have the SID at this point, so I undertook to pay for it - if it could be installed - from my Combined Member Fund. Even so, it was not quite as simple as that; Kent Highways were not prepared to approve a SID, even one paid for from my Fund, if it could not be justified. In particular, traffic counts and speed checks were needed to see if enough vehicles were travelling at 35 miles per hour or faster to trigger the Device a reasonable number of times.
The traffic count - also paid for from my Fund - took place in early March. Because of the snow (which clearly would distort any speed readings), measurements had to be taken over fewer days than would usually be the case. Nonetheless, the end result was that there were enough speeding vehicles to support the introduction of a new SID, and I was able to tell Kemsing's Annual Parish Meeting that we should now be able to go ahead.
