The project to enhance safety at the central junction in Crockenhill - where Cray Road, Main Road and Broadway meet - has proved complex and difficult to complete. Quite a lot of progress has been made, notably through the installation of high friction surfacing and an interactive sign. Extra and improved signs and lines have gone in on the hill coming down from Green Court Road into Broadway, along with safety fencing by the green. There has also been a speed and traffic survey in the area, and additional yellow lines are due to be painted.
The big difficulty, as I reported to the annual Parish meeting in the spring, concerns the installation of additional traffic calming and the road closures that this would entail. The Parish Council has long been concerned about the impact of road closures, especially on Green Court Road (which would entail long detours round Crockenhill and Swanley). However, since the annual Parish meeting, there has been a growing view within the village and the Parish Council that some closures are a price worth paying for better control of speeds within the village.
Following a site meeting and further discussions with the Parish Council, we now have a clear way forward. A 20 mph zone will be established in the approaches to the junction; Traffic Regulation Orders to implement this are under way, starting a three month process. I will pay (from my Combined Member Fund) for a series of small granite sets, which use a relatively quick-setting German technology to reduce the length of the road closure needed, that will act as a further reminder to drivers to slow as they approach the junction. The October half term looks to be a likely installation date.
The one outstanding issue is the possible addition of village gateway signs. This will be reviewed when we have a clear picture on the cost of the project that has been agreed, and whether this leaves anything over from what has already been committed in my Combined Member Fund.
