During the last few weeks I have noticed an increase in letters about cars, the highways or commuter traffic.

Some of the letters are asking for more car parking space, others tell of cars being parked outside their homes and left all day, without any consideration for homeowners. Then we have the problem of pedestrians,who find it difficult to walk on the pavements because cars are parked on them.

Whatever the reason for your concern, it seems it's always someone else's fault.

Let's have a look at some of the concerns:

Illegal parking, lack of action by traffic wardens or police: The police have other priorities and are running down the traffic warden service.

Commuter parking: Who is responsible? The commuters. Some must be local people, while others will not pay the station car park tariff.

Parents who take the children to school and park outside causing traffic con gestion.

The pavement parker: Who, perhaps without realising it, causes problems for people walking on the pavement, young, old, poor-sighted or handicapped.

Whenever one looks at the question of cars and parking there is always a combination of factors that cause our district's traffic problems.

Low investment by the police, highways and transport authorities in the road network have resulted in this mess.

What can we do, or more to the point, what are we doing?

Hopefully, from April 1999, the District Council will have more say in the questions of highways. Not total control, which will remain with the KCC, but we shall have a bigger say in what is required. To this end, as chairman of the Highways Committee, I am prepared to attend any meeting to listen to you, the district council taxpayers.

So let us have an informed debate. Let us look at all the problems and find the answers. Some may not be universally acceptable, but we will face up to the challenges and do what is necessary.

I am determined to deal with the whole question of policing our traffic, parking and enforcement, through the transfer of the warden service from the police, to KCC and ourselves.

No one has more right to the roads of our district than anyone else. Help me to help you.

Councillor Ken Reid

Chairman, Highways and Transport Committee

Sevenoaks District Council

Converted for the new archive on 30 June 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.