This is to all people in Tonbridge and surrounding areas.
I am from Bristol, a large busy city with heavy traffic problems. I moved here 3 years ago and married here to a local lady. I love the place, it's like paradise compared to where I was in Bristol. Lovely countryside nearby, all the amenities you could want, really nice.....Except for one thing.....Drivers
What is it about this place that makes people believe they have to drive as fast as they possibly can, anywhere and everywhere, always. The rule of the road being you must try and be in front of the car thats in front of you. Speed limits? they don't apply in Tonbridge. Parking restrictions? Yellow lines, pavements, grassy areas, they are all OK to park on. The school near us, top of Trench Road. The Mothers each morning and afternoon not only take over the roads, they own the pavements as well. No one cares about pedestrians, "I've got a big black 4 wheel drive, have to park it as close to the school as possible, ahhhh, theres a space on the pavement, that'll do"
Add to that, the aggression. You say something to them and the amount of abuse you get is insane as I found out when I spoke to a woman who had parked outside Mcdonalds and who had been told by a traffic warden, sweet talked her way out of it and then came back again after he'd gone.
Seriously people, you have a gorgeous little town. Chill out and enjoy the place, it's not a race track. People come first, cars second.
Thanks for reading

Dear Steve,
Very much agree. Tonbridge is home to a car culture that needs to change. Whilst this can be a very courteous place, there is a lot of fast driving and pavement parking assisted by our local council and the County Council having inadequate policies.

What could we do? Pedestrianise the High Street in line with the strong support this idea has received, beginning with a modest scheme and working outwards. Restore the cycling route signage/road markings in the district which are being seriously neglected, and extend the network. Improvement our many neglected pavements. Support the call by an increasing number of organisations for 20 mph on all residential roads.

These steps would be a start towards people-centred transport policies.

best wishes, Steve Dawe - TONBRIDGE AND MALLING GREEN PARTY

Wow, thanks for the replies.
I was of course generalising. Not all people in Tonbridge are mad drivers but it does in general feel very rushed and stressed out compared to Bristol and bearing in mind it's a small country town it came as a big surprise to me.
The Green Party has some good ideas and I am in favour of them but I can never see how in the real world they would work. I'm going to post a reply to Steve Dawe soon and he is going to enlighten me (hopefully) because it's something I'm interested in but I'm having trouble understanding :)
I've heard people mention the idea of pedestrianising the High Street before and have seen it done in lots of towns before. it comes up against a lot of opposition and gets talked about discussed and argued for many many years before it happens, if at all. Coming as I said, from Bristol, thats something I am used to. Ideas come and go, some good, some not so good but they all generate many many years of discussion and usually as in Bristols case, end up not happenning at all. Councils are good at that it seems.
Out of interest though, is it physically possible to pedestrianise the High Street here? I mean shops deliveries and the fact that it's a main through route, is it even possible to do? It would really make a lot of difference if it did happen. Tunbridge Wells and Rochester are I think good examples of the improvement it can make to the feel of a shopping area. Turns it from just a row of shops into public space people enjoy being in. By the way, I never knew Tunbridge Wells or Rochester before they were pedestrianised but I can imagine what they would have been like.
I hope you people don't mind me talking about your town. I'm enjoying this. I don't know how long you have to live in a place before you can call it your town. I really like it here and want to feel it's my town as well :)