Is there an overcrowding problem in Tonbridge?

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IS THERE AN OVERCROWDING PROBLEM IN TONBRIDGE?

INTRODUCTION.

Overcrowding is when there are too many people (or cars) in a specific area so that the environment or services cannot cope. Bad town planning can cause overcrowding. Like having too many traffic lights in a certain area that slow down the flow of traffic and increase the congestion in an area. Narrow pavements also bottleneck many people into a smaller area and this can cause health and safety issues as people could be pushed into the roads if there are too many people for the pavement to handle. Also if a town is old in historic terms, as Tonbridge is, overcrowding can also occur as it was designed for a much lower number of people when it was designed. When rush hour comes around as well, a street or area that does not normally suffer from an overcrowding problem can become congested and so very busy. This can also be the case if at weekends or bank holidays if there is an influx of tourists or out-of-town shoppers. Another cause of overcrowding in these times is if a small town like Tonbridge is used as a through road by commuters, see map overleaf (Fig. 1.1). Cars parked along the side of a road can also bottleneck some roads into sometimes one-lane wide roads, also slowing down the flow of traffic and causing congestion, this problem is down to a lack of adequate parking facilities off of the roads of a town.

Overcrowding is also most prolific in the CBD (central business district) of a town; this is because it is in the centre of town that has the largest catchment area. A catchment area is an area that is accessible to a certain point of a town easily, i.e. the town centre. The CBD is made up of high-order stores. These sell clothes, furniture, and electronic goods or are clubs, bars or theatres, but more importantly need large threshold areas. Threshold areas are the amount of people in an area which shops need to keep running, for instance a electronics store needs a large threshold area because people do not buy electronic good very often, but a corner shop, does not need nearly as many people to be sustained as many people visit it everyday. The CBD can be seen alongside all other zones of a typical town in a Burgess Model. It shows us that the CBD is in the centre (and so with the largest threshold), with a twilight zone which is a mixture of high residential and light manufacturing, then comes the low-class residential and then medium then high-class. The Burgess Model however has its flaws in that it was designed in 1924 and was rather too specific for 1924 Chicago and it does not allow for the rise in the popularity of the car and so the springing up of commuter towns because of the new motorways. However the Burgess model remains useful for approximation of concentric urban development and as a way to introduce the complexity of urban land use. (Burgess Model on next page).

The problems of overcrowding are that the pollution of the area that is overcrowded increases, in all visual, air and sound aspects. This leads to the deterioration of the environment in that area. The area can become unpopular because of this and people may move out and/or shop elsewhere. The rise in the number of people in an area also makes it easier for crime to take place, such as pickpockets and car theft as the police force is stretched. Overcrowding also cause an increase on the demand on public transport and services. There is an increase in littering as well and an increase in accidents as people can be pushed off of the crowded pavement into the road and also the roads become a lot busier and so it is easier for crashes to happen. All of this all leads to the area eventually being run down or suffering from urban decay.

Solutions for overcrowding can range vastly, in both ideas and cost. One solution is to pedestrianise certain areas so as to allow more space for pedestrians and get rid of road congestion in that area. Another is to build new roads such as by-passes which ease the traffic in the centre of the town by allowing motorist who normally use the town as a through road to instead use this and avoid the town’s streets. Roundabouts can also speed up the flow of traffic on roads and so these can replace traffic lights at cross roads. Also making public transport better and cheaper would encourage people to use it and so reduce the amount of cars on our roads, easing congestion and freeing up our roads. The building of multi-storey car parks or just more car parks can get the parked cars off of the sides of our roads and so increase the room for cars to manoeuvre. Park-and-ride schemes can also be used to reduce the traffic in the centre of town as people leave their cars in car parks on the outskirts of a town and use public transport to for the leg of their journey into the town centre.

   

Tonbridge is a market town in Kent that can be dated back to pre-Norman times. The town lies on the river Medway, this river splits into two channels as it passes through Tonbridge necessitating two major river bridges. This provides the town with many riverside walks and it has a large, well-maintained public park bounded on all sides by the River. Tonbridge has many shops and   restaurants as well as having top class bars and restaurants. Tonbridge’s well known public school is situated at the top of the town and is seen by some as a tourist attraction as well because of it’s historic design and it’s national recognition of being a top school. There are three markets in Tonbridge as well, including a flea market, and a   sports ground in the north of the town with multipurpose, floodlit, all-weather pitches. All of this and more can all be viewed at . All of this as well as the Norman Castle all makes Tonbridge a quaint, picturesque town. Being a quaint, picturesque town, however, attracts tourists. Indeed many tourists come to Tonbridge as an escape from the City and they enjoy Tonbridge’s rivers and lakes.

        All of these excess people flocking to Tonbridge and Tonbridge’s old layout see map over leaf (fig. 1.3) may lead to problems of overcrowding (especially in the town centre). Overcrowding in Tonbridge is of particular concern because of Tonbridge’s linear development Northwards and Southwards. This was to avoid the Medway’s flood plain to the east. However, recent flood protection systems have finally allowed the town to slowly move eastwards. Even the town’s old high street is linear, being basically one street with limited side street access, which may lead to everyone who visits the high street into a bottleneck.

OBJECTIVES.

        The nature of our problem is that we do not know whether Tonbridge suffers from an overcrowding problem yet. We have set out these objectives to see whether or not it has when we get there:

1.

To establish the pattern of pedestrian density and flows in the town centre, relate this to the pattern of land use, and use the information to ascertain whether the commercial mid-point of the town has moved from the historical mid-point (the castle) of the town.

2.

To map the pattern of road traffic flows, using this to relate congestion to the pattern of land use, parking previsions and feeder roads.

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3.

To determine the pattern of road saturation, as measured by the Department of the Environment ‘CPU’s, and evaluate the impact of traffic in various parts of the town centre, relate this to the provision or otherwise of traffic management schemes, evaluating whether any schemes are successful.

4.

To determine whether there is correlation between the number of people and the condition of the environment.

5.

To determine whether overcrowding is caused by locals shopping or out-of-town shoppers.

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