Medway Labour and Cooperative Councillor for Gillingham South, Cllr Clive Johnson, has challenged Medway Council on the implementation of a new 40 mph zone in Rainham. Cllr Johnson says that the new scheme in Deanwood Drive, Rainham, clearly diverts road safety money from his own ward, where road safety concerns have been raised by him and fellow councillors, as well as residents, for a number of years. Residents’ and councillors’ concerns in Gillingham South have not been addressed while the new scheme in Rainham seems to have little justification. Cllr Johnson has placed the issue on the agenda of Medway Council’s Regeneration, Culture and Environment Overview and Scrutiny Committee at its meeting on Tuesday 17th January 2023, where he intends to challenge council officers on how resources are allocated.
Cllr Clive Johnson, Medway Labour and Co-operative Group Spokesperson for Children and Young People said:
‘I am incensed by this bizarre and unjustifiable decision. Gillingham South ward has a number of roads in its densely urbanised network on which some drivers travel at a speed which is too fast for the nature of the roads and which fails to take into account the number of parked cars and the needs of pedestrians. My fellow Labour councillors, Naushabah Khan and Dan Mcdonald, and I, know from our conversations with residents how concerned they are. We have consistently raised issues with council officers and held a number of site meetings. Officers tell us consistently that the Medway Conservative administration has insufficient funds and that there are criteria for assessing risk and priorities which means road safety mitigation is not a high priority for our residents. And yet, the new scheme in Rainham clearly contradicts that there is a rational method for deciding where improvements are made. It has been implemented solely to allow drivers to travel at a slightly higher speed for a short section of road. There are no records of vehicle crashes on this section of road and there are many records of crashes throughout Gillingham South. I intend holding the council to account for this frankly ludicrous decision, which has cost council taxpayers £18,000 for little practical benefit in Rainham while Gillingham residents continue to live at risk.’
Louwella Prenter, Medway Labour and Cooperative candidate in Gillingham South, said:
‘I know from my conversations with residents how important the issue of road safety is in the ward. I was pleased to present to the Council a petition from residents calling on road safety measures in Gillingham Road. Residents there are suffering from the excessive speeds of drivers and from the constricted nature of the road due to parked cars. I have called for traffic calming measures on Gillingham Road to help residents and I know that the Gillingham South Labour team will continue to fight hard to improve the safety and well-being of our residents.’
ENDS