It would be understandable if council officials became a little fed up with meeting the public, after all, who wants to be on the receiving end of a constant stream of complaint?

But what if the public didn’t just moan about the current situation, but came forward with researched and well thought out proposals for improvement?

That has been the attitude adopted by SMART - the South Maidstone Action for Roads and Transport forum.

Comprising representatives from North Loose Residents Association, Loose Parish Council, the Loose Amenities Association and the Valley Conservation Society, and encouraged by local borough councillors Susan Grigg and Derek Mortimer, SMART has just produced its second report on ways to improve traffic flow and cut congestion around South Maidstone.

Their suggestions were reported to a gathering of county, borough and parish councillors, planning officers and members of the public, at a conference in the Town Hall last week.

Cllr Grigg said: “Since I was elected ward member for Loose almost four years ago, the most common complaint I have heard from residents is about traffic - and the consequent air pollution.

“I felt the only way forward was to be positive and to see if we couldn’t influence the shape of the next Integrated Transport Strategy by identifying the trouble spots and putting forward our own ideas for solutions.”

SMART spokesman Sean Carter said that local people best knew the problems, and so were best placed to come up with the solutions.

He said: “Often a comparatively cheap idea, such as moving the position of a bus stop a few yards, could make a big difference. It’s a case of thinking outside the box.”

Among the many suggestions that SMART has come up with is a re-formatting of the road layout at the Armstrong Road junction with Loose Road.

At present, there is room only for two vehicles at best to wait to turn right into Armstrong Road without holding up south-bound traffic. Often just one vehicle will block the road.

But traffic heading the other way into town is already reduced to one lane because of a dedicated turn-right lane for Park Way.

SMART suggests keeping the north-bound traffic at one lane for a greater distance towards Sheals Crescent, so that a third lane, just for turning-right lane can be created for south-bound traffic.

The report also has ideas for the Wheatsheaf and Linton crossroads junctions and ranges widely across issues of air quality, cycle paths and Park and Ride.