Kentish Express Ashford & District
Plea to stop speeding drivers after near miss
A landscape gardener is calling for action to stop speeding drivers after he was nearly run down while crossing the road.
Chris Hone, 47, says there have been a glut of other near misses at the Faversham Road crossing by the Towers School in Kennington.
He believes cars entering the town are often speeding after passing the junction with Trinity Road, and fears someone else might not be as lucky as he was to avoid serious injuries.
He said: “I was crossing the road and had looked left and right before crossing but the car was coming at quite a speed. I had to run and it was quite close.
“Outside peak school hours it isn’t a surprise to see cars doing in excess of 50mph along the road. If this was the only near miss witnessed in recent months then I wouldn’t be unduly concerned.
“But it is causing residents concerns about getting out of the drive safely and for school pupils walking home.
“We can’t dismiss protestations with the cursory approach that nothing is done until there is a major incident. It is about time somebody took up and took responsibility.
“With most schools there are 20mph, why should we assume the children at Towers are more bouncy if they were to get hit by a car.
“There is a need for some kind of traffic calming meas- ure like speed bumps or a speed camera.”
Kennington Community Forum chairman Chris Morley said the group has worked with Kent Highways to improve safety with speedwatch signs and a new crossing for Towers pupils over the past few years.
He said: “Traffic in Faversham Road gets a long run into Ashford and cars pile through at breakneck speed.
“I’ve seen some of them jumping the traffic lights at the junction with Trinity Road.
“We are in contact with Boughton Aluph and Eastwell Parish Council to look at the most effective ways to keep speeds down and enforce the 30mph limit.”
A KCC Highways spokesman said the police are responsible for enforcing local speed limits, and says the number of serious accidents on Kent’s roads is falling.
The spokesman said: “We have to make tough decisions on where to improve traffic and road safety in local areas. We look at the sites most in need of improvement first, which have got the support of the whole community.”
The spokesman added that residents can find crash data by visiting www.crashmap. co.uk and can contact local community groups and council officials to raise concerns.
‘With most schools there are 20mph, why should we assume the children at Towers are more bouncy if they were to get hit by a car’
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