‘We can’t tolerate this becoming the new normal’
Motorists urged to share views on Op Brock
Drivers who have been caught up in Operation Brock are being urged to document how it affects their daily lives as part of efforts to persuade the government a different approach is needed.
Maidstone council wants the government to find an alternative to the scheme and says it wants to build a picture of how disruption and congestion affect people’s lives.
Council leader David Burton (Con) said: “Operation Brock is not a long-term solution for the border control issues. We cannot tolerate this becoming the ‘new normal’.
“Whilst we know that it is needed as part of the current plan to manage the volume of traffic heading to Europe this cannot be a permanent solution and we need to look at alternatives now – not later.”
Mr Burton added: “My personal view is there needs to be sufficient off-road lorry parking in the vicinity of the ports and this would help manage some occasions with high freight and tourist traffic numbers.
“I know others suggest a scheme to hold vehicles further up country and we will not rule this out although there would be operational challenges to how this would work.
“Technology has enabled us to work productively throughout the pandemic in many walks of life – technology could also offer solutions to these challenges.”
Op Brock is used when there is disruption at either the Port of Dover or Eurotunnel. It uses a contraflow system on the London-bound carriageway of the M20 between Maidstone and Ashford and traffic in both directions is restricted to 50mph.
There is growing pressure on
the government to pursue other options.
The latest spell of gridlock came at the start of the summer holidays when Op Brock was triggered as thousands of motorists headed for the ports.
Cllr Burton said:“We would really like to hear from you about how this disruption has impacted on your lives and ideas for alternative ways forward so that I can take this evidence to government to demand action to prevent this from going on forever.”
It comes days after a furious driver called for Op Brock to be reviewed after his Mercedes was written off in a crash with a lorry in the contraflow section.
Mike Campbell said it was a miracle he and his wife were still alive after their car was spun around at 50mph at Junction 9.
He said: “The lanes need to be wider, or they need to get rid of it entirely because that road is a death trap.”
To respond to the survey, visit www.tinyurl.com/opbrock