Kentish Express Ashford & District
1,000 demand lights to ease gridlock at junction
Shoppers, residents and workers join plea for better access
Campaigners have called for a meeting with transport chiefs after their petition calling for new traffic lights at a busy junction passed 1,000 signatures.
Shoppers, residents and workers have complained about the gridlock they experience trying to enter and exit the Ashford Retail Park at Barrey Road, Sevington.
The road is also the main access point for workers in the Foster Road industrial units and for residents living in the southern end of the Highfield Estate in Willesborough.
But the popularity of the retail park, which boasts stores such as B&M Bargains, Dunelm Mill, and Argos, has added to the problems for motorists on the A2070 with motorists facing hour-long delays trying to leave the site.
In March security firm boss Retainagroup’s managing director Wendy Rowe set up an online petition and said her workers were “terrified” of the junction which forces motorists to pull out into traffic travelling at speeds of 70mph along the dual carriageway.
It followed a petition the previous year launched by county councillor and current Ashford Mayor George Koowaree.
Highways England bosses had previously ruled out traffic lights along the dual carriageway due to safety fears, but said a new speed limit of 40mph is being considered.
As part of the overall strategy around the new £70 million junc- tion 10a scheme a new slip road could also be considered for the retail, industrial and housing estate.
But now campaigners say a solution to the problem needs to be found before the estimated 2019 completion date for the new road layout.
South Willesborough ward Cllr David Smith says he has called on council officer Richard Alderton to arrange a face-to-face meeting with Highways England to get a solution sooner.
He said: “It’s important for all of us who use the A2070. I’m not happy about coming out of that junction.”
‘I’m not happy about coming out of that junction’