Local Transport Plan for Kent 2006-11

Motorways & Trunk Roads

8.36 Kent is served by an extensive motorway and trunk road network with over 200km of motorway and 200km of trunk road. The network provides the main strategic highway links from Kent to London and the rest of the United Kingdom and direct access to key destinations in the County including the Channel Tunnel and the port of Dover. As such, the network performs a vital role in Kent’s UK Gateway and UK Connections role, and has an adverse impact upon Kent’s environment, heritage and communities, the improvement of which form three of Kent’s LTP2 Objectives. Moreover, problems do occur on the network of congestion and pollution which KCC is anxious to tackle with the Highways Agency (HA). In addition to their role as strategic transport corridors, the A2/M2 and A20/M20 also have significance in serving the key growth in Kent at Kent Thameside and Ashford identified in the Sustainable Communities Plan. Action with partners, chiefly the HA, during the life of this LTP will concentrate upon:-

• Reducing congestion upon the strategic network through better management and improvement schemes
• Transferring inappropriate strategic traffic from the County Road network which is currently causing congestion and pollution due to inadequate access provision to the relevant motorway or trunk road, specifically in Canterbury and at Sevenoaks (J5 M26).
• Reducing the environmental impact of the strategic network upon Kent, particularly noise and air quality
• Improving Kent’s connections to Europe and the UK, specifically reducing the blocking effect London has upon Kent’s economy
• Ensuring the network is fit for purpose to serve the strategic needs of Kent’s two growth areas
• Investigating ways with the Government through the Transport Innovation Fund to ensure that trunk road and motorway traffic covers its costs to reduce the environmental impact upon the Garden of England and to improve (sustainable) connections Europe with the UK economy.

Figure 8.4 M20, Folkestone

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8.37 Improvement. The County Council will support the HA’s Route Management Strategies and associated work undertaken by the Highways Agency and, where appropriate, assist in the delivery of improvements. The following specific issues require action:-

• The identification and funding of an improvement to Bean Junction on the A2 (absent within the programmed proposals), despite it forming the key access point to the strategic network for the Thames Gateway (Kent) sustainable communities growth area
• A2 two lane dualling between Lydden and Dover to rectify the single lane access this section of the network provides to the world’s busiest ferry port
• Improvements to the A20 Townwall Street, Dover to address long standing congestion and air quality problems
• Improving the A2 Canterbury junctions to all movements to remove the problems of extraneous traffic causing congestion and pollution in Canterbury
• Improvement of A2 Junction 5 (Sittingbourne) to reduce accident rates and congestion
• Need for additional lorry parking facilities
• Contingency plans and a longer term alternative to reduce the impact of Operation Stack upon the wider trunk and county road network
• Improvement to M20 Junctions 3 to 5 (Wrotham - Maidstone)
• East facing slips at M25 Junction 5 (Chevening Interchange)
• M2/A299/A2 Brenley Corner Junction

8.38 In addition, the following schemes supported by the County Council are in the HA's Targetted Programme of Improvements (TPI) to solve safety, congestion and pollution problems or to provide strategic access to the growth areas:

• M25 'Rapid Widening' - Junctions 1b to 3 and 5 to 7
• A21 Tonbridge to Pembury and Kippings Cross to Lamberhurst
• M20 junction 10 improvements including construction of junction 10a
• A2 Bean to Cobham Phase 2
• A2/A282 Dartford Improvement
• Second Swale Crossing (under construction)

8.39 These are all shown on Figure 8.6, along with the accompanying  investment schemes by KCC and Medway Council which will improve Kent's connections to the UK.

Figure 8.5 Schemes to Improve Kent's UK Connections

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8.40 Management - Kent County Council will maintain liaison with the Highways Agency regarding its activities under the Traffic Management Act to achieve a co-ordinated network management approach. KCC would also welcome the opportunity to discuss the potential for introducing HOV lanes on the Kent motorway and trunk road network and other innovative management techniques like speed control and the use of the hard shoulder in places.

The Sustainable Distribution of Goods

8.41 The sustainable distribution of goods is vital in achieving the shared priorities of less congestion & pollution and better road safety. It is also central to Kent’s approach under its LTP2 objectives of UK Connections, UK Gateway, Demand Management, Integration and Environment Heritage & Communities. Transferring freight to rail is the biggest single action which can deliver these outcomes. Accordingly, KCC will:-

• Support development which will encourage the transfer of freight from road to rail, including the development of freight handling facilities, unless there is an overriding conflict with other planning and environmental considerations.
• Safeguard land, formerly used for railway purposes, from development whilst supporting the use of such land to meet an identified transport need.
• Support land use development proposals that promote sustainable distribution, including where possible, the transfer of freight by rail.
• Continue to work with Kent businesses, District Councils, the rail industry and rail freight train operating companies to encourage the movement of more freight by rail.
• Continue to lobby Network Rail and Government for loading gauge harmonisation between the Channel Tunnel and Scotland.
• Continue to press for capacity improvements for rail freight to be carried in and/or around London and for CTRL to carry conventional freight to East London
• Continue to lobby for the implementation of strategic rail schemes, such as those identified in Multi-Modal studies, Mayor of London's Transport Strategy as well as other strategic schemes, such as; Thameslink, North Kent Line capacity improvements, & Medway Valley Line improvements.
• Continue to press for rail freight access to the ports of Thamesport and Sheerness to be improved and for Dover Western Docks to be reconnected to the rail network.
• Continue work with Network Rail, District Council and rail freight train operating companies to protect existing connections to the rail network and to identify and safeguard potential terminal sites.  Priority will be placed on safeguarding sites that are important to the construction of Programmed Strategic Transport Schemes.
• Work with the freight industry to identify suitable grant and funding initiatives to be used to facilitate the transfer of freight from road to rail.
• Work with the freight industry to identify potential legislative and physical barriers for transferring freight from road to rail and assist, where possible, in identifying solutions to overcome such barriers.
• Promote the social, economic and environmental benefits of rail freight.
• Recognise the operational requirements of modern rail freight.

Figure 8.6 Channel Tunnel Terminal, Cheriton

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8.42 For road freight KCC will

• Lobby for provision of over-night lorry parking provision and associated facilities at suitable sites adjacent to Kent's motorway and trunk road network.  Work with other agencies to reduce the occurrence of inappropriate lorry parking on Kent's roads
• Lobby for an acceptable solution to Operation Stack; the emergency closure of part of the M20/A20 corridor
• Where practical identify and signpost heavy transport and HGV routes to direct road haulage vehicles away from rural, residential and environmentally sensitive areas
• Work with others to achieve distribution of goods by sustainable means in the urban areas of Kent
• Discourage through traffic, particularly goods vehicles, from travelling on minor roads by the use of traffic management and regulatory measures and the control of development and freight quality partnerships
• Promote a web-based Kent Lorry Route Map as a definitive guide to road based freight routes in the County.  Ensure that the map is revised accordingly to include up to date highway and land use developments
• On Development Control and in partnership with District Councils, closely consider the impacts of significant increases in road freight vehicles, especially HGVs, and where proposals are not well related to the primary or secondary route network and, if appropriate, to the rail network, advise refusal of such development proposal(s)
• Consider 'Delivering the Goods' initiatives in rural areas and other towns in Kent, and continue to support the initiatives in Canterbury
• Consider proposals to convert bus lanes into bus and HGV lanes, thus reducing delay costs to industry and minimising the diversion onto less suitable roads
• Review existing parking and loading restrictions on HGVs when implementing decriminalised parking enforcement
• Implement area-wide lorry management zones in rural areas through restrictions, signing and physical measures
• Implement restrictions and signing to prevent through lorry movements on sensitive roads
• Reduce the speeds of lorries and other traffic on the non-principal road network in rural areas

Figure 8.7 Operation Stack

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