Getting Around in Maidstone

...really tight with money, so getting a bus stuffed full of people when I could walk there for cheaper seems much more appealing to me!

*****Bicycle*****

Most entry routes in to the town have cycle routes whether this be from Loose, Ashford Road or Ringlestone. Some are a long side the road on pavements with pedestrian/ cycle sections. Others are on the road and some are separate from the road and are overhead bridges. ...
...main town centre is not specifically designated for cycle lanes. I don't ride my bike, purely for the reason that I can walk there in no time at all but many people do!

*****Car*****

There are many car parks;

-----Medway Street Multi-storey-----

Which has many disabled spaces and has recently made all parking spaces very wide. This is the cheaper of the three.

Rates: 1 hour ... more

I have lived in Maidstone all my life so I will just explain some of the ways about travelling around Maidstone and the town centre. (For place names extra have a look at my 'Maidstone In general' review it may make a little more sense!)

(Street maps etc can be found on www.digitalmaidstone.co.uk or www.tour-maidstone.co.uk and for more generalised maps try www.multimap.co.uk)

*****Foot*****

Everywhere is open to pedestrian access with Week Street being pedestrianised, and the High Street being buses and taxis only. All areas have pedestrian crossings to make crossing the road safe. I always walk to town if I can't get a lift or don't have the car. I only live 25-30 minutes away from the town centre and its really easy, helps keep me fit. My twice daily walk to school is along the same route too so its all along main roads with street lights etc very simple and hassle free. My boyfriend also lives across the other side of town and that often takes about 45 minutes and I still walk as one, I don't like to be lazy, two, I like the fresh air and three, I'm really tight with money, so getting a bus stuffed full of people when I could walk there for cheaper seems much more appealing to me!

*****Bicycle*****

Most entry routes in to the town have cycle routes whether this be from Loose, Ashford Road or Ringlestone. Some are a long side the road on pavements with pedestrian/ cycle sections. Others are on the road and some are separate from the road and are overhead bridges. There are no toucan crossings for cyclists and the main town centre is not specifically designated for cycle lanes. I don't ride my bike, purely for the reason that I can walk there in no time at all but many people do!

*****Car*****

There are many car parks;

-----Medway Street Multi-storey-----

Which has many disabled spaces and has recently made all parking spaces very wide. This is the cheaper of the three.

Rates: 1 hour = 50p, 2 hours = £1.00, 3 hours = £1.40, 4 hours=£1.80, 5 hours = £2.00, 5 hours + = £5.50
Free parking after 18:30 every Thursday.

-----The Mall/Chequers Centre------

It has an 8 level car park and a roof level, this is the largest car park in the centre with 1000 spaces. This is probably the middle priced one. Whenever there is a problem with tickets you can press the help/call button and instantly someone replies and a member of staff is sent to deal with your enquiry. They are really friendly and willing to help out. Or at least they were when our tickets haven't worked or the machine has swallowed our money!

-----The new Fremlins Walk-----

This car park which has 800 spaces and is very expensive in comparison. It quite bad really, I have friends who work in Fremlins and HOF and they end up using two hours wages just on transport , not even that, just to leave your car for the day!

Rates (Sun-Fri) : 0-1 hour = 70p up to 5 hours + = £8.00
Rates (Sat): 0-1 hour = £2.50 up to 6 hours + = £9.00

-----Lockmeadow complex----

This has inside and outside spaces, however it is used for the market Saturday and Tuesday mornings. It is free in the evenings, which is good as it is the entertainment hub of Maidstone.

Rates: Up to 1 hour = 60p, 1 to 3 hours = £1.40, over 4 hours = £4.50.

There are also parking bays which start at 30p for 30 minutes.

In general Maidstone is quite busy in rush hours and it is predicted that by 2011 the one-way system will be complete gridlock, which isn't hard to believe if you experience traffic at rush hour currently!

*****Bus*****

I can't really tell you much about this as I never ever get the bus unless I have to, a total of maybe three times from the town centre. Why catch the bus when you can walk….but anyway! In the Chequers Centre there is a bus station which has its own office/help desk for any enquiries. Available form here are timetables and information on services like bus passes. In the bus station there is a little kiosk that sells confectionary and drinks. There are many stainless steel benches lined up on each side of the bus station, however they are really cold to sit on! Buses also leave twice daily to Bluewater shopping complex. When I was younger this was 5GBP return, so its probably gone up quite a bit now. There are zebra crossings and automatic doors to cross over to the other side of the road to a different stop. There are bus stops dotted around the town centre and Arriva the main company operating from here take the buses out to most areas of Maidstone, even out to small villages, however these services are less frequent. Many of my friends get the bus to and from school and have often complained about the timings, but these can't always be helped due to traffic etc.

*****Park and Ride*****

There are four main Park and Ride stations in Maidstone, which take a regular service every 12-15 minutes, into the town centre from Willington Street, Coombe Quarry, Sittingbourne Road and London Road. They operate Monday to Friday (0700-1830) and Saturday (0800-1830) and there is no service on a Sunday. Peak day return is 2GBP and off-peak is 1.50GBP.

*****Train*****

There are three train stations in Maidstone, two main ones, Maidstone east which goes to London Victoria, and Maidstone West which goes to Charing Cross, London. Trains here are run through Southeastern trains and are often clean, especially the new ones and on time, or only delayed by a few minutes. There are two ticket offices at the main station East and at West there is only an automated ticket machine. Maidstone barracks is also the third station on West's line, however this used to be predominantly used for industrial purposes before now it goes two every hour to Maidstone West station.

www.nationalrail.co.uk

*****Coach*****

I often catch the coach during my half term to visit my boyfriend at university. So I am now quite a regular traveller on National Express. The stop is from outside Boots up to London Victoria where you can change to the next service if needs be. Drop off point is opposite at Somerfield in Kings Street. The service comes three times a day at 0955, 1515, 1650. A student card price is 10.40 GBP without insurance and an adult price is 13GBP without insurance for a return on a different day. Day returns are cheaper but you would hardly spend anytime in London!

www.nationalexpress.com

*****Taxi*****

There are many taxi firms that operate, some are company based and some are independent. Most have a sign on them saying that they are authorised by the Maidstone Borough Council. There are often so many around that you will always be able to find one. Prices are average depending where you go and what time! Some charge extra after midnight, but others that are often pre-booked company ones don't!

(I doubt boating will apply to many!)

*****Overall*****

Hopefully I have mentioned all areas that are relevant. Generally I would recommend the most reliable modes are on foot or driving. The council is however heavily pushing for the car sharing scheme and park and ride to limit the amount of congestion into the town centre. Travelling defiantly shouldn't be a reason to avoid going to the town centre though, as there are many ways to get to and from!
 

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