Stop Traffic Speeding Through Our Village

Parishioners are increasingly expressing concerns about the safety of residents due to the speed of traffic through the village.

Residents are concerned that the design of the current traffic calming is not effective enough and may contribute to the risk of a serious accident. Specific concerns include:

• Poor sight lines through the village
• Inadequate road calming to slow traffic on the approach into the village
• Poor speed control on the long roads through the village
• High limits through outlying areas and approaches. Village streets (e.g. Swanton Street) have 40MPH limits, some (e.g. Bexon Lane) have no speed limits, despite having family homes directly on the road.
• Growing noise pollution and accompanying distress of vehicles speeding past our front doors

The worry is heightened given the foot traffic to the local school, where many children are on the road during busy traffic times.

Preliminary discussions with local authorities have resulted in the creation of a Traffic Watch speed check. The number of residents volunteering to support this scheme is testament to how serious our concern is, however this self-serve solution is not enough. The resident led scheme has no direct enforcement capability and cannot operate at night.

Traffic volumes through Bredgar are unlikely to decrease in future and therefore ensuring cars pass through Bredgar at safe speeds is of the highest importance for all our safety.

How you can help:

• Sign the petition: Bredgar Parish Council has launched a petition to formalise the concern and persuade KCC that action addressing the problem is urgently required. The petition will be available for signature at the Post Office, Farm Shop and Cafe until the end of October. Alternatively you may contact any Parish Councillor.
• Provide examples: Parishioners are welcome to provide additional information, by letter or email, if they have experienced a near miss or wish to describe their particular concern about the traffic through the village.
• Volunteer for the traffic calming scheme: please contact Teresa Hudson to be put in touch with the scheme coordinators.