Planners should have got it right first time

With recent alterations to the junction of North Street and Somerset Road and upcoming works to do the same to the Mace Lane/ Somerset Road and Wellesley Road junctions, one wonders why planners didn’t get it right eight years ago when the road was altered to two-way.

All that money spent, and yet now they are digging it all up again, with some saying that with the state of many of the road surfaces around the town, money would be better spent on them. In recent years the state of the county’s roads have left little to be impressed about, with gaping potholes, subsidence and wornout surfaces that on many occasions take a considerable time to get repaired.

One reason for delayed repair that is often used is “we don’t get a lot of money from the government”. Well, in that case, use the money that you have got wisely, and stop being seen wasting it on projects that should have been right the first time.

There are a number of factors contributing to this ongoing problem such as heavy goods vehicles wearing the surfaces prematurely and people parking their vehicles on the footway, thus damaging them and causing a danger to pedestrians.

These types of things should and can be nipped in the bud, but often nowadays, authorities are economical with the enforcement powers that are set before them, and pass the buck to the police.

Back in the 1970s, the town had more than enough cash thrown at it – in fact, many felt too much where roads are concerned.

The recent works are yet another tweak of the 40-plusyear-old tribulation that is The Ringway, in historical terms, the project that scarred the town forever.

This week, Remember When looks back at the recently tweaked junction in 1973 preRingway and during the works in 1974. Do you think the recent works is money well spent?

Do you have any photographs or slides that you would be willing to lend me, to enable them to be scanned and featured in the Kentish Express?

If so, please write to me: Steve Salter, Kentish Express Remember When, 34-36 North Street, Ashford TN24 8JR or email me at rememberwhen_ kmash@hotmail.co.uk or follow me on Twitter @SteveKMAshford.

You can also leave a telephone message for me with brief details by calling 01233 623232.

Somerset Road at its junction with North Street in February 1973, and a rare look at this key junction, prior to the commencement of the Ringway works. The picture shows one of the doomed properties in the path of the Ringway and also Chambers Garage,...

Another view of North Street, this time in May 1974. A door turned into a makeshift sign greets pedestrians in this pre-completion picture. The Somerset Arms pub has already gone at this time, but its demolition has revealed the buildings of the former...