John Morrison kicks off a new series looking at transport in and around Sevenoaks
Were you out and about in Sevenoaks in August? Did you notice an improvement in the place? Full marks to anyone who spotted how much nicer it was with fewer cars on the streets. With no school run and half the town away on holiday, it was like time-travelling back a few years before the twice daily rush-hour jams.
Vine likes to be upbeat about Sevenoaks and celebrate the advantages of living in what the Town Council website calls the happiest town in Britain. You’d have to be a real curmudgeon not to do so. But we should keep our eyes peeled for clouds on the horizon, and one of them is the relentless growth in road traffic in and around the town. Because it’s relentless, just a few percentage points each year, we tend not to notice it, and that’s why it’s only when August comes along that we notice the change.
Local traffic has hit the headlines this year because of Sevenoaks District Council’s (SDC) new parking scheme. This has been seen by some as an overdue attempt to create some order out of chaos in residential streets near the station and the town centre, and by others as an outrageous attempt to top up the council’s coffers by holding innocent motorists to ransom. As Tony Hancock so memorably put it, ‘Magna Carta! Did she die in vain!’ But car parking, though it’s the only transport policy area where the district council has full control, is only one symptom of our transport problems.
Most transport matters affecting Sevenoaks are handled by Kent County Council, which has been working with SDC on a transport strategy for the district, to be published later this year. We should all be interested, because the choices made will affect every individual and family. I always think of transport problems as a great leveller; you can buy better education, housing and healthcare, but short of hiring a helicopter, you can’t buy your way out of a traffic jam on the M25 when you’re late for the airport. And buying a first class rail ticket won’t help you if the train doesn’t arrive or if the air you breathe is polluted.
So now’s the time to have your say. Vine wants to hear what you think about the future of transport in Sevenoaks. Are you a pedestrian, a cyclist, a motorist, a rail commuter, a bus traveller? Do you let your children cycle on the roads, or is it too dangerous? Does your school have a Walking Bus?
Do you ever Kiss and Ride? Do you wonder why there’s no bus service to the airport? Do you think government and local councils should do more to make life easier and cheaper for hard-pressed motorists? Or do you think rising fuel prices mean it’s urgent to go green and find alternatives to the car? Do you drive a gas-guzzling 4x4 or an eco-friendly vehicle?
Do you lie awake at night worrying about the polar bears in the Arctic, or do you think your carbon footprint is like your sex life – nobody else’s business? We’d like to hear from you, but first of all, here are a few surprising facts to get the debate going:
Sevenoaks depends very heavily on its transport links. Frequent trains to London and proximity to the M25 are key factors for people who move here. More than half of the workforce commutes to jobs elsewhere, leaving nearly half the jobs to be filled by people from outside the district
According to a consultancy study for Sevenoaks District Council (SDC) in 2007, congestion across the district is ‘not exceptional’, but there are several hotspots around the town, including the High Street, Bat and Ball junction and Sevenoaks station
Census figures from 2001 show that fewer than 15% of the population have no access to a car, compared to 19% in the Southeast and 27% in England as a whole. But 45% of people in Sevenoaks have access to two or more cars, compared to 38% for the Southeast and 30% for England. The 2008 figures are almost certainly higher
Around 60% of people commute to work by car, close to the national average, but 16% use the train – four times the national average. Travel to work by bus is negligible at only 2%, compared to 4.4% in the Southeast and 7.5% nationally
Last year’s study described air and noise pollution in Sevenoaks as “a severe threat to public health and the quality of life” but gave no figures. SDC is now closely monitoring air pollution, which experts say mostly comes from motorway traffic
Consultants say improved public transport is essential to cut congestion and predict that because more of us are living longer, more of us will depend on it. Bus services are described as poor, with many services only running once an hour. There’s one dedicated bus for rail commuters, running a limited timetable between Sevenoaks station and Chipstead in the morning and early evening. The last bus to Seal and Kemsing leaves Sevenoaks station around 6.30 pm – too early for most London commuters. And there are no buses at all from Sevenoaks to Maidstone, Ebbsfleet or Gatwick airport
In England as a whole around 3% of people cycle to work, but the figure for Sevenoaks is only 0.9%. The census figures show Sevenoaks has the highest car ownership of any district in Kent, while the number of people cycling or walking to work is the lowest in the county. The nearest off-road cycle route is between Tonbridge and Penshurst
Kent County Council’s new transport plan to 2011 aims to restrict road traffic growth to under 2% a year, encourage more cycling and walking and achieve a 10% rise in the number of children using sustainable transport to school. It also aims for a 10% cut in vehicle speeds in residential areas. What these policies mean for Sevenoaks may become clear by the end of 2008
I'm not sure because is some regards it is a delight but I suggest there are two reasons - first topography - Sevenoaks is on top of a big hill! so its not an easy ride from anywhere. We can do nothing about. However the natural problems are not helped by a seemingly disinterested council. There is not one cycling initiative in the town. This is amazing seeing SDC seems to want to tax all motorists. Worse still, as a result cyclists are forced onto the few busy thoroughfares to get in and out of the town centre - seal hollow road, the old high street, st johns hill. The fact that they are on hills makes it worse and more dangerous for cyclists. Cycling is not allowed through Knowle park and many of the other routes that could help cyclists from outlying areas are either private roads or footpaths so cant be used either. Most other towns have been keen to try and find cycling routes in and out of their towns I'm afraid our Council has buried their head in the sand.
We must move to less car use
splater (79.74.187.249) 2008-10-06 10:37:08
Only one thing spoils the lovely town centre of Sevenoaks: the volume of vehicular traffic. Many experts believe that we have already reached "peak oil", and that production will increasingly fall below demand, pushing up oil and fuel prices. So we must in any case move to substantially reduced use of cars and other motor vehicles. The sooner we begin that process, the less uncomfortable and easier to adapt.
Transition Town Sevenoaks is a movement now under way to tackle this and similar issues, seeing them as an opportunity to make a positive shift to a better local way of living. We'd like to hear from anyone interested - Transition embraces the whole community, so all welcome to get involved and bring ideas. (Contact susanfallmann@hotmail.com or steve.keiko@tiscali.co.uk)
Why not pedestrianise the southern branch of the High Street? We know of course about objections that it would harm trade. But how so? There is very little (legal) parking on the High St, and plen...
