PWE closure ends, Cotmans Ash Lane closure delayed

Reinstatement works for the emergency water pipe repairs carried out by South East Water in Pilgrims Way East have been completed today. A Kent Highways Streetworks Inspector visited the site earlier in the afternoon and reported that the traffic management items (signage etc) were being collected and the road being used.

The PWE emergency closure has meant that the closure of Cotmans Ash Lane (for BT works) scheduled for the last three days of this week has not taken place and is not doing so. A new date for these works will be published once it has been confirmed.

HWRC consultation: last chance to have your say

Kent County Council launched a consultation on the future use of the booking system for our Household Waste Recycling Centres (HWRCs) on 19 August, and there are now under ten days until the consultation closes. 

The booking system was introduced when we reopened the HWRCs (after their closure in the early days of the pandemic) in May 2020. Views on the system are divided, and have been throughout. Some people dislike the inability to simply fill up their car and turn up at the tip; others like the certainty that they will not have lengthy queues, sometimes (as with the Swanley HWRC) stretching back onto major roads. 

The consultation has generated enormous interest. As of the start of this week, there had been 9,162 responses, easily the biggest response to a KCC consultation in the last decade or so. The outcome will contribute to the recommendations that we will bring to our Environment and Transport Cabinet Committee, for final decision by the Cabinet Member.

You can find out more about the consultation, and contribute to it, here.                         

Road closures in Kemsing

 There are two road closures affecting Kemsing that are coming up this week.

Cotmans Ash Lane will be closed for three days from Wednesday 22 September from 8AM to 6PM. The suggested diversion route is via Row Dow, Birchin Cross Road and Clarke’s Green Road.

Watery Lane will be closed for one day (Thursday 23 September) from 9:30AM to 3:30PM between Heaverham Road and Honey Pot Lane. The suggested diversion is via Honey Pot Lane, Noah’s Ark, St. Edith’s Road and High Street.

Both of these closures are for works being carried out by BT Openreach. 

Road works in Crockenhill and Swanley

A brief update on the utility works that have been contributing to huge traffic disruption in Crockenhill and Swanley.

Thames Water's permit for their works in the centre of Swanley runs out today. They applied for an extension to the permit but KCC/ Kent Highways have refused this. I have spoken with Kent Highways' Streetworks team and I understand that they have been urging (and escalating within Thames Water) that the remaining works, chiefly relating to reinstatement, be expedited. Any continuing work from 0800 Monday will incur a fine, but clearly it is important that the works are concluded well in advance of that.

For the village, this is all exacerbated by the start of the Wested Lane closure for works to the cutting being carried out by Network Rail. This closure started at 0600 this morning and is due to run through until 1800 on Tuesday evening (21 September). However, while this is far from certain, it is quite possible that the works will be concluded, and the closure lifted, sooner.

I will post an update if I get any further information, in particular on expediting the end of the Thames Water works.

Vision Zero launched

Vision Zero, Kent County Council’s ambitious long-term road safety strategy, was launched at an event at Manston airfield today. The Vision aims to eliminate deaths on Kent’s roads by 2050, using policy, technology and public engagement to mitigate the effects of human error that will always be a feature of driving. 

I was delighted to chair the opening session of the conference, which included a keynote address from HRH Prince Michael of Kent, who has championed road safety and played a leading role in national and international initiatives to improve it over decades. The event included demonstrations of autonomous braking systems and other technological developments, along with other advanced road safety measures, and was attended by haulage and other key industry representatives, research bodies, Kent Highways and other key road authority officers, elected representatives (including Police and Crime Commissioner Matthew Scott and KCC Cabinet Member for Highways and Transport David Brazier) and others.

I have written before about Vision Zero here; and you can find KCC’s media statement on it
here.

The launch of Vision Zero follows extensive public consultation, and a key message from today’s event - and also integral to the strategy - was that, alongside funding, technological advances and work with the haulage industry, it is public commitment and engagement that will be vital to its success. Already the Vision has attracted strong interest from communities and their representatives, and I take it as positive that already I face challenge from parish councils and local residents as to how we are reflecting that vision in our actions and decisions on road safety measures. Now we start to make it a reality.