Date: 19th February 2010

Strood’s Total Traffic Madness

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

  
Despite there being less traffic around, due to school half term, Strood was in complete traffic chaos on Monday morning because of the Council's Highways Department’s decision to close one lane in the Strood High Street - in addition to the slip lane linking the High St to Commercial Road.
The reason for the closing of the offside lane as said to be for the safe removal of the former subway's reinforced concrete walls.  Cllr Hubbard pointed out that the recent filling in of Rochester's High St / Esplanade subway was done with no lane closures in more difficult circumstances.  When a similar railing and wall was removed at the Rochester subway the contractor just put a blue tarpaulin covered fence alongside the edge of the road. 
After his intervention, the Council confirmed today that it now intends to adopt a similar principal of covered fencing when removing Strood's subway walls.  Measurements on site show that a 6m wide lane can be accommodated - thus allowing Strood High Street to retain its two lanes at all times.
Labour's Strood councillor, Stephen Hubbard said,
"We all know about the problems of Strood Town Centre and its traffic congestion, and how one minor alteration can lead to long queues getting into and through Strood.  Monday's chaos was a first-class, classic of how not to manage our highway.  It was an obvious problem that should have been avoided.  When will the council learn lessons?  Good project management continues to be a stranger to Tory Medway Council."
"Having witnessed the chaos that included witnessing a driver doing a dangerous u-turn at North Street's Angel Corner bumping up onto the crossing & driving at waiting pedestrians, I contacted the Council to ask for the immediate rearrangement of the traffic system by reopening the High Street's offside lane.  By Monday afternoon the lane was reopened, and officers have now confirmed they can keep it that way.”
ENDS

For further comment please contact Cllr Stephen Hubbard on Mobile: 07887 714757.  Alternatively contact the Group office on 01634 332393.

Notes to Editor

1.   Further to the council's press release of Mon 15 February
"Road closure in Strood" http://www.medway.gov.uk/news/newsmain/newspage?item=104090