Cobham and Sole Street Traffic Update, 2nd Jan 2019
Here is a general update on what the Cobham Parish Council and and the Traffic Group are doing, strategically and tactically, to find solutions to the traffic problems in our villages ...
Strategically, while there are ways in which we can lobby Kent County Council to make improvements that may help with speeding and safety issues, but we also need to look at the bigger picture and the very high volumes of traffic we experience. Tactical changes are important (see below), but none of them will solve the problem of volume. Therefore Cobham Parish Council is commissioning an experienced traffic consultant, who has been briefed to analyse our situation and recommend potential solutions that we can present to KCC. We hope this work will be completed in the next 2 months. Our objective is to seek KCC's agreement for substantial changes that will reduce the scale of traffic rat running through Cobham and Sole Street.
Tactically there are a number of initiatives underway:
Quarterly updates will be provided here, but to stay fully up to date with what’s going on please join our group where you can also send us the traffic issues affecting you as you encounter or experience them.
Here is a general update on what the Cobham Parish Council and and the Traffic Group are doing, strategically and tactically, to find solutions to the traffic problems in our villages ...
Strategically, while there are ways in which we can lobby Kent County Council to make improvements that may help with speeding and safety issues, but we also need to look at the bigger picture and the very high volumes of traffic we experience. Tactical changes are important (see below), but none of them will solve the problem of volume. Therefore Cobham Parish Council is commissioning an experienced traffic consultant, who has been briefed to analyse our situation and recommend potential solutions that we can present to KCC. We hope this work will be completed in the next 2 months. Our objective is to seek KCC's agreement for substantial changes that will reduce the scale of traffic rat running through Cobham and Sole Street.
Tactically there are a number of initiatives underway:
- Road Sign and Infrastructure Survey - this is in progress and is identifying road signs and markings that need repair or maintenance, such as obscured or damaged signs. It also includes ideas for additional signs that may reduce HGV traffic, reduce speeding and kerb mounting. KCC have already started work on repair and maintenance of faulty signs and road markings. New additions, such as more bollards in The Street, and speed warning signs in Sole Street will be included in the additions to be requested, however KCC will have to agree, they may or may not approve our requests.
- Air Quality - residents, particularly in Cobham village centre, are concerned that the high volumes of traffic are generation noxious NO2 (nitrous oxide) emissions. There are legal limits. This has been raised with Environmental Health at Gravesham Borough Council, and they have agreed to install a temporary measurement device to monitor levels over a period of time. We hope this will be installed in January. If levels are high, we will be using it in our case for change.
- Kerb Mounting in The Street - driving onto the kerb is a traffic offence and illegal. Residents in Cobham frequently experience safety issues as vehicles climb the kerb and compete with pedestrians for space, often with wing mirrors clipping people. This has been raised with the Police who have agreed to attend on a random morning and view for themselves, enforcing where necessary. However we will be adding this issue into our plan to be presented to KCC for a permanent solution, such as more bollards
- Noise Pollution - Residents are subject to early morning wake-ups as vehicles speed through our villages, or because of sheer volumes of slow moving traffic. Sadly there are no legal limits to traffic noise that can result in enforcement. However we will be seeking volunteers to keep noise diaries, so that we can then add this to our case for change with KCC.
Quarterly updates will be provided here, but to stay fully up to date with what’s going on please join our group where you can also send us the traffic issues affecting you as you encounter or experience them.
