Parish Council Update

There have been a number of posts on the Crockenhill Community page recently, raising concerns about road safety, in particular the lack of a safe crossing place for children along Green Court Road.

Over the years, the Parish Council has looked at various options for making this road safer for children crossing, and continues to do so. Last year we requested a site meeting with a Senior Officer from Kent County Council (KCC) Highways to once again discuss various options, including a Zebra crossing.

At this meeting we were told that a Zebra crossing would require dropped kerbs and tactiles, as well as zigzag lines and further parking restrictions along Green Court Road to improve visibility. The estimated cost of this was between £15,000 to £25,000. Though expensive, it was not the cost that was prohibitive, and the Parish Council would have considered pursuing this option further had we thought that we would have qualified for a crossing and that this might have been a viable option.

However, we were warned that even if we had been prepared to pay/contribute, Zebra crossings cannot simply be installed. There are criteria that must be met in order to qualify. Although this is not what any of us want to hear when we are trying to solve an issue that is close to all our hearts, it does of course make sense that there has to be qualifying criteria when you consider that KCC and other Councils regularly receive similar requests from towns and villages up and down the country.

In order to qualify, a site assessment would need to be undertaken with the first step being the collection of traffic count data over 7-days, as well as a 12-hour pedestrian survey between 07:00 – 19:00. This indicates whether there is a need for a formal crossing and if it would be safe for pedestrians to use. We were warned that we would be unlikely to qualify given that footfall is not excessive at other times of the day. The issue is at school drop off and pick-up times. If you walk through the village in the middle of the day, the number of pedestrians is quite low and vehicle volumes low also. There was a significant cost involved in carrying out the survey, and with little prospect of success this did not seem a sensible route to take.

At this point, the option of reinstating the Crossing Patrol at this location seemed like the most viable option, and also the safest. As things stand, it remains the best option available to us.

Following the meeting, the Parish Council decided to pursue this route and pushed for a crossing patrol at this location. KCC agreed to conduct a pedestrian/traffic count. Initially we did not qualify as the pedestrian count had not met the criteria, though it was close. We felt this was an anomaly and requested a second survey to be carried out. On this occasion, pedestrian levels were at the ‘normal’ morning level and we were told that we did now qualify for a KCC-funded crossing patrol. The vacancy was then advertised but no applications received by KCC. It was re-advertised and again, there were no applications. The pandemic then hit and interviews/recruitment were put on-hold for a while but KCC have recently advertised this vacancy again: https://jobsearch.kent.gov.uk/jobs/job/Road-Crossing-Patrol-Crockenhill/752

The Parish Council is currently looking at ways to further assist KCC in recruiting for this post and is once again speaking to the School and local community groups. An advert will also go in our Autumn Newsletter (which goes to all houses in the village.) We really need the community to pull together now and help in recruiting for this role. KCC have confirmed that this could be done as a job share so this could be an option if someone is interested but unable to commit to five days.

Like everyone else, the Parish Council has faced new challenges during the pandemic and the focus over the past few months has been on making sure our older and vulnerable residents have received support. However, Speeding and the Crossing remain Parish Council priorities for the months ahead. Our Autumn Newsletter will also provide an update on the Speed Indicator Device (SID) data that we have been collecting to help us identify where the problem areas are and will aid our discussions with KCC Highways in trying to find further traffic calming measures.

We all want to solve this issue once and for all to ensure a safe crossing for our children as they make their way to and from school, and the Parish Council remains committed to doing as much as it can to help.