KESTON VILLAGE RESIDENTS’ ASSOCIATION !Discussion document !Background !A document (REPORT ES13094) was produced by LBB for Pre-Scrutiny by the Environment PDS Committee on 1st October 2013 with the Title: CONGESTION RELIEF SCHEME: HEATHFIELD ROAD / WESTERHAM ROAD, PROPOSED ROUNDABOUT. !KVRA discussed this scheme and it was considered that a new road layout would potentially increase the already disproportionately high volume of traffic using the B265 Heathfield Road, rather than the less busy A233 Westerham Road. It is recognised that at this junction the proportion of drivers travelling North are choosing the B265 due in part to the inadequacy of the Keston Mark junction of the A233 Westerham Road with the A232 Croydon Road. !The narrow width of Heathfield Road, vehicles emerging from junctions and driveways, car doors opening when people stop at the shops and Post Office, pedestrians crossing, the Keston C E School pedestrians and 4,000 vehicles each way every day all contribute to creating a very busy village centre. Through traffic regularly exceeds the 40mph then 30mph speed limits travelling north and south causing potentially dangerous situations. !Overtaking at speed and other near miss situations occur daily. Recently many residents have voiced their concern about the numerous heavy lorries transporting spoil from sites in and out of the Borough to Cherry Lodge Golf Club. The volume of traffic, already heavy, has increased significantly since the survey for the LBB report during the 1st to 7th July 2013. Keston Village Residents’ Association (KVRA) and the Friends of Keston Common (FoKC) 1 2

agree that if action to channel vehicles along more appropriate routes is not taken promptly, the volume using the B265 is likely to completely overwhelm the pinch-point alongside the shops and adjacent to Lakes Road. This along 3

with the associated safety issues is naturally dangerous. During term time the junction of Lakes Road with Heathfield Road is already at capacity during both morning and evening school drop-off and collection times. !KVRA submitted an objection letter to Nigel Davies Executive Director of Environment and Community Services for LBB dated 12th December 2013 . 4

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KVRA Membership 15 residents form the committee and email contact with a 1

further 170 residents plus an AGM. www.kvra.org.uk

FoKC Membership 30 individuals; see http://2

www.friendsofkestoncommon.btck.co.uk for more information.

Pavement width alongside Post Office 3’ (910mm). Carriageway north 3

9’6” (2900mm). Carriageway south 10’3” (3130mm).

See Appendix 14

This was acknowledged by e-mail on 18th December promising that our comments would be taken into consideration and that KVRA would be kept informed of any developments. !Subsequently the KVRA AGM circular reported this to residents. !The Friends of Keston Common (FoKC) were (originally) in support of the proposed roundabout for specific reasons. They considered that the new road would; 1) Ease the traffic travelling south and queueing up Heathfield Road, which

results in traffic using Fishponds Road and turning right onto Westerham Road to avoid the queue. FoKC were concerned about the speed and volume of traffic and hence safety to pedestrians and horse riders on Fishponds Road.

2) Improve the crossing configuration for pedestrians and horse riders at the junction of Heathfield road and Westerham Road. !

KVRA invited the FoKC Chairman (Larry Herbert) to join a KVRA meeting (Wednesday 23rd July 2014) in order to discuss and hopefully reach a joint position from both KVRA and the FoKC to this issue. Larry Herbert was unavailable, but nominated Neil Lloyd and Christine Lloyd to represent the FoKC. Councillor Alexa Michael also attended this meeting. !Proposal for discussion The first thing agreed at that meeting were the objectives as follows; KVRA 1. Reduce the speed and volume of traffic overall and in particular heavy

lorries travelling through Keston Village FoKC 1. Improve the safety of horse riders at the junction of Heathfield Road and

Westerham Road 2. Reduce the volume of traffic using Fishponds Road and exiting right onto 5

Westerham Road in order to avoid the queue travelling South London Borough of Bromley The LBB Report ES13094 state that the reasons for the suggested roundabout is …” to assist traffic flow through this busy junction , in particular 6

vehicles travelling south from Heathfield Road to Westerham Road.” The report also suggests that the proposed roundabout “would be likely to have a positive impact on vehicle speeds at this location”. The paper records the excessive speeds and accident levels along ‘chicken farm bends’. Our paper proposes that with carefully constructed and sustainable alterations to the junction configuration concerned together with restrictions and

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Fishponds Road runs through the middle of Keston Common which is designated by Natural 5

England as a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI). As such, it is a protected area and qualifies for Higher Level Stewardship.

LBB Report ES13094 quotes 14,400 drivers pass through this location on average daily.6

T

appropriate signage alterations at the key interchanges leading to Keston Village all these objectives can be met. !For reference purposes, the Heathfield Road junction with Westerham Road is shown below. There is a bus stop and bus shelter located alongside the junction. There are no continuous pavements in this area are and no safe crossing points.

! This photo demonstrates the ease for traffic travelling north to turn left from Westerham Road A233 onto Heathfield Road B265. The north bound carriageway is very wide (much wider than the Westerham Road equivalent at this point) and follows a gentle left turn. A recent check confirmed that many cars speed past the bus stop. Beyond this junction the B265 inclines downwards towards Keston Village. The speed limits see-saw from an ‘advisory’ 30mph around chicken farm bends to 40mph reducing to 30mph on Heathfield Road. Both of these limits are regularly exceeded. The LBB data in report ES13094 demonstrates that the volume of traffic using the B road is

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27% greater than that using the A road. This volume as well as the speeds are unacceptable. !During peak evening periods most traffic heads south and hence queues are formed at the junction shown. These back up as far as the Village Hall. Cars seeking to avoid this queue divert, sometimes exceeding the 30mph speed limit, through Fishponds Road and turn right onto Westerham Road. This junction has poor sight lines and traffic on the A233 routinely exceeds the 40mph speed limit at this point. The junction is shown below.

!!!!Roundabout Proposal (Report ES13094) The proposal for a roundabout at the junction of the Heathfield Road and the Westerham Road is rejected in favour of the following proposals. !Page � of �4 9

KVRA Proposals !1. To redesign the Heathfield Road/Westerham Road junction to;

• Include bus lanes and width restricted lanes for vehicles travelling 7

both north and south . 8

• Incorporate a crossing point for pedestrians and horse riders over all carriageways.

• The left turn for vehicles travelling north must be as sharp as possible off Westerham Road (90 degrees) to require a deliberate left turn manoeuvre, thus slowing traffic considerably.

• Improve signage at this junction to articulate clearly that the left turn is for 'Keston Village traffic only' with Bromley, Beckenham and all other routes routed along the A rated Westerham Road.

2. Restrict the east bound traffic along Fishponds Road to left turn only, making the junction with the Westerham Road 'No Right Turn’. Consider Fishponds Road for one-way designation, which would be safer for all and along with shaped kerbs would enforce the no right turn.

3. At the junctions of; Commonside, Baston Road, West Common Road and Baston Manor Road with the Croydon Road, warn south bound drivers of the width restriction and additionally restrict the size (width & weight) of vehicles permitted through Keston Village.

4. Restrict vehicle speeds on the B265 from its junction with the A232 Croydon Road to its junction with the A233 Westerham Road . Additionally 9

impose a further 20mph restriction along the full length of the Keston Village Conservation Area; from the Flint Institute in the south to The Fox and into Commonside as far as the Croydon Road junction in the north.

5. Create a traffic-calming measure - indentation/extension of the pavement into the road/speed bumps on both north and south carriageways of 10

Heathfield Road to emphasise the change at both points. See; http://www.rospa.com/roadsafety/conferences/congress2005/info/kennedy.pdf and page 51 of Highway Code; photo below. Install white diagonal stripes in the centre of the road along the whole of the 20mph section.

6. Restrict vehicle speed to 20mph along the full length of Fishponds Road. 7. Create a strong visual feature within the verge areas either side of the

Bridleway 'cross-over' point on Westerham Road. Combine this with road surface cross hatching and appropriate signage to warn drivers of the possibility of horse riders crossing the road at this point.

8. Improve the sequencing and dwell-time/priority allocated within the traffic light system to pedestrians at the Croydon Road junction with Westerham Road at the Mark. Improve the right turn facilities particularly for traffic turning right and towards the south using Westerham Road.

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Highway Code Rule 1417

Large delivery vehicles, removal vans etc would need to enter and leave the village 8

from the Croydon Road.

Currently there are two stretches of the B265 with 40mph speed limits. 9

Suggest the type that allow cyclists through the middle and round the edges10

!! !!!!!!!!!!!!!As an example of the width restriction configuration recommended, a similar scheme has been in place along the A2213 Kidbrooke Park Road for many years.The photo shown above demonstrates a width restriction of 7 feet and bus lane in close proximity and in both directions of the A2213. Please note in particular that the schemes for each carriageway, whilst not juxtaposed are

within 30 meters of each other and close to the incoming road T junction with Weigal Road.

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!!The photo below captures the bus lane and width restrictors at the A2 end of A2213.

!!!Local width restrictions Already in use at Hayes Lane where the restriction is 7’ and on Red Lodge Road, West Wickham where the restriction is also 7’. !!Page � of �7 9

!!Conservation Area Much of the central area of Keston Village is a designated Conservation Area. The boundary stretches from the Flint Institute (Previously Keston C of E School) in the south along Heathfield Road and Commonside as far as Oakfield Lane in the north. The Conservation Area incorporates the historic village centre and Keston Windmill, a Grade 1 listed Postmill built in 1716. KVRA and the FoKC consider that LBB have a responsibility to support residents in their efforts to maintain the special character of the area for the enjoyment of all. Signage, such as can be seen in Wickham Road, Beckenham can inform people of the areas status as a Conservation Area. The ROSPA Traffic Calming work confirms "Physical traffic calming measures........have been shown to generate substantial reductions of vehicle speeds and accidents”. !!Unintended Consequences Such comprehensive proposals may have unintended consequences. In the event of all proposals being implemented, thought has been given to what these may include; • Increased volume of wide and heavy vehicles using local lanes. • Commonside and Fox Lane may become busier as these two could provide

a through route if the Croydon Road junction with Westerham Road remains such a poor major cross road with resulting east bound queues along the A232.

• Vehicles travelling north and avoiding the width restrictors may turn left off Westerham Road into Fishponds Road to then turn right into Heathfield Road to travel through Keston Village. Making Fishponds Road one way and hence 'No Entry' from Westerham Road would remove this possibility. This would potentially also improve the awkward bend alongside the entrance to Holwood in Westerham Road, which has resulted in fatal accidents.

• The junction at the Mark will theoretically be busier. !!Conclusion The proposals have been agreed by both KVRA and FoKC and will need to be widely circulated and agreed with Keston residents. Once we have residents agreement, it is suggested that KVRA and FoKC need to write jointly to LBB to suggest our scheme is developed with further consultation as appropriate. !If we are all as a village determined to protect Keston Village and the Conservation Area in a sustainable way from the problems of ever increasing traffic levels, KVRA, FoKC and all the residents will need to be as determined on this issue as we demonstrated during the planning application for additional classrooms at Keston CE School. !!!Page � of �8 9

!!Appendix 1 !Mr Nigel Davies Executive Director of Environment and Community Services London Borough of Bromley Civic Centre Stockwell Close Bromley Kent BR1 3UH !12th December 2013 !Dear Mr Davies !Ref: Speed and quantity of vehicles through Keston Village !Keston Village Residents’ Association (KVRA) discussed the proposed roundabout to be located at the junction of Heathfield Road and Westerham Road at their recent meeting. !KVRA write to you to express their concern about this proposal and the significant volume and excessive speed of traffic passing through the village using Heathfied Road. !Roundabout The residents are exercised that this proposal involves unnecessary expenditure of £37,000 during constrained financial times. Locals consider that the roundabout will increase traffic using Heathfield Road. KVRA request that this organisation is formally consulted on the proposal. In addition, consultation must include the residents of all the Village roads, which join Heathfield Road. These residents suffer the daily inconvenience and dangers accessing the main road. !Heathfield Road – volume and speed of traffic The report reference number ES13094 quantifies the volume of traffic using Heathfield Road in the table on page 157. The data records that between 7am and 7pm on average every day 8042 (70 + 3996 + 117 + 3859 = 8042) vehicles pass through the Westerham Road/Heathfield Road junction using Heathfield Road. This is the volume using the B classified Heathfield Road and travelling through Keston Village each day. This compares with the 6325 (3338 + 2987 = 6325) vehicles using the A classified Westerham Road. The statistics in this report clearly demonstrates that the number of vehicles using the B265 Heathfield Road is 27% greater than the A233. Residents living on Heathfield Road constantly witness vehicles travelling at illegal and excessive speeds on this road. KVRA has been trying to obtain speed monitoring equipment to tackle this danger. !KVRA suggest that every LBB effort should be concentrated on encouraging the use of the main Westerham Road A233 and restricting traffic using the narrow and congested B265 through Keston Village rather than incurring significant expenditure simply to ease a minor inconvenience to south bound traffic each evening. Width restrictions at this junction, which allow routine car and bus movement as in place on Kidbrooke Park Road on A2213 between the A20 and the A2 would be a constructive start. Yours sincerely !David Clapham Chairman Keston Village Residents’ Association !!Cc: KVRA Committee, Councillors; R Bennett, S Carr and A Michael

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