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Kent County Council and Maidstone Town Centre Management
are asking everyone who travels into Maidstone to leave their car
at home on Friday 19 September and find another method of transport
for In Town Without My Car day.
The day is the finale of Maidstone Goes Green week, which aims
to change people's travelling habits in order to dramatically
reduce congestion in the town and lower CO2 emissions.
The day is being targeted at everyone who travels into Maidstone
whether it's for work, school or shopping. It's hoped that people
taking part on Friday will realise that they can save themselves
money and make a difference to the environment.
Commuters who leave the car at home on Friday can enter the
Maidstone Commuter Challenge by passing one of three 'finish lines'
around the town, where a free mini breakfast will be waiting.
Participants who find an imaginative way to travel will be entered
into a competition to win six months health club membership or one
of three bikes from Cycles UK. More information is available from
the Kent Messenger website (link opens in a new
window).
Maidstone Goes Green Week starts on Monday 15 September and each
day will focus on a different transport option: cycling, car
sharing, walking and public transport.
Maidstone's three shopping centres; The Mall Chequers, Fremlin
Walk and Royal Star Arcade are taking part by hosting events all
week, including a free bike health check in Fremlin Walk on Monday
15 and a bus clinic in the Mall on Thursday 18 to help people plan
their journeys.
There will also be the chance to win prizes by pledging to
change transport methods - even for just one day - by visiting one
of the shopping centres or by going online at the
Kent Messenger website (link opens in a new
window).
Those making short trips are being encouraged to swap car trips
for walking or cycling. For further journeys the options are:
- taking the bus or train
- car sharing
- using the Park and Ride system
- using a mixture of those
- avoiding travel altogether by working from home
If a car is needed for business during the day, joining
Maidstone's Streetcar Club can provide a solution with
pay-as-you-go car hire.
Kent County Council Cabinet Member for Environment,
Keith
Ferrin said: "It's amazing that 25 per cent of all journeys are
two miles or less, but we often use the car out of habit. We want
everyone to look at the way they travel and recognise that they can
make that daily traffic queue shorter and at the same time they
could save themselves money.
"Climate change is something that we're all responsible for and
we need to get the message across that making small lifestyle
changes can make a big difference."
To assess the results of the day, Kent Highway Services' Traffic
Management Centre will monitor the traffic flow on the main
arterial routes into Maidstone and compare it against past
data.
Maidstone Borough Council (link opens in a new
window) will also measure air quality on the day and compare it to
previous statistics to find out if air pollution in the town has
been reduced. |