The Parking Engineer presented a report which had been submitted in response to the local community raising concerns with their local County Councillor with regards to parking in Goldsel Road, Swanley.

The Chairman exercised his discretion and allowed a local resident to address the Board. The resident stated that there were safety concerns with a parking bay adjacent to the junction of High Firs/ Goldsel Road. He stated that that although one bay had been removed, there was still not enough visibility at the junction. The Board was informed that a van was frequently parked in the first bay, which reduced the already poor visibility further and adjacent to the junction was a bus stop, which provided another obstacle for drivers. Residents were also concerned by vehicles travelling at high speeds. He stated that the average speed of vehicles was recorded at 36.9mph and a top speed was recorded at 37.88mph. There was a primary school in the area and as a result the safety concerns and congestion were increased during peaks times at this particular point of the road. There was one interactive sign installed as a traffic calming measure, but the local County Councillor had requested another. White lines were also placed as a traffic calming measure but had faded. He concluded that residents would like another bay to be taken away to alleviate some of the congestion and risk to safety.

County Councillor Horwood tabled pictures of the junction taken from Google Maps and explained that these were taken from a higher perspective, so were not completely representative and did not fully show the inclination of the road. He stated that he understood that there were minimum requirements to be adhered to when Officers considered where bays were placed and that they had to be a certain distance from a junction. However, he believed Goldsel Road should be considered as a special circumstance, ideally with two bays removed. He further advised that Kent Highway Services (KHS) had confirmed that the white lines would be repainted by the end of summer 2017.

Members discussed the height at which the photograph had been taken and concluded that the distance between the junction and the first bay should be looked at to gain a better perspective and that it be considered whether one or two bays should be removed. It was discussed that the accident record was low and KCC advised that a website called CrashMap highlighted the number of accidents in a given area, but it was noted that not all minor accidents were reported to the Police and therefore would not be shown on the website.

The Chairman exercised his discretion and allowed Councillor C. Barnes to address the board. She stated that she lived in Goldsel Road and expressed her own personal concerns and those of residents that she had received concerning the safety of the road.

          Resolved: That

a)   the parking issue in Goldsel Road, Swanley raised by the local community via their local County Councillor be noted; and

b)   KCC and SDC Officers investigate the issue raised, and report their findings back to a future meeting