King Street Maidstone - Emergency Active Travel scheme

We want to make King Street a safer environment for cyclists. To do this we have installed an on-carriageway cycle lane with light segregation into the street. We have relocated bus stops and disabled parking bays.

Due to the restrictions at the eastern end of King Street, we have installed traffic signals which will allow cyclists to safely pass through this section.

We have also created a safer pedestrian and cycle crossing to The Mall's bus station and car park entrance.

The works took place in September and are temporary as part of the government’s Emergency Active Travel Fund. We are closely monitoring the scheme and will conduct a review in December 2020.

The changes are part of the schemes funded under the government’s Emergency Active Travel Fund, which are designed to:

• enable more people to walk and cycle
• give people more space so that they can socially distance and feel more confident and safer when out and about
• provide a greener street scene, with more plants and trees to help to improve air quality.

These works contribute to creating a safer cycling link between Maidstone East Station and Mote Park which is part of the cycling strategy promoted by Maidstone Borough Council.

It is a trial and we are closely monitoring the impacts and success of the scheme. You can find out how we do this in the have your say section.

The scheme was implemented in September 2020.

We have listened to feedback from local residents and businesses and this has informed some specific aspects of the design during its implementation. These include:

• adjustments made to the kerbing to allow easier access to the bus station
• relocated disabled bays to be marked in Church Street and additional bays in King Street car park
• increasing the width of the bus borders for additional space
• incorporating double yellow lines to stop vehicles parking in the cycle lane
• relocating a planter for better visibility.

We are also:

• undertaking surveys to gain people’s appreciation of the measures and their benefits
• capturing evidence of the level of usage for the measures
• constantly reviewing and refining to improve the overall benefits.

We will be assessing the effectiveness of the trial during December 2020.

We will be using data and feedback gathered in the following ways to assess the effectiveness and impacts of each scheme:

• using Vivacity System cameras on different parts of the road or street to observe what works well and where there are any issues that need to be fixed
• by conducting public opinion attitudinal surveys, where a member of KCC staff will visit each site to get face-to-face feedback from the local community and provide questionnaires to get a wide range of views about the scheme
• listening to customer feedback to understand how the schemes are affecting residents submitted on our website, on our social media channels and by email activetravel@kent.gov.uk.

Next steps

We will use this data and feedback in our review of the effectiveness of the scheme in December 2020 to help us determine whether or not to implement the trial permanently.