Our ring road’s a notorious nuisance

From gridlocked one-way streets of the past to the creation of what could only be described as a ‘racetrack’, the main route around Ashford town centre is still a ‘notorious nuisance’ no matter how the authorities change it.

From its birth as a ringroad or ‘ringway’ as it was signposted back in the day, to a tamed-down version in 2008, the road around the town’s heart is still the bane of people’s commute and, with the amount of traffic lights within yards of each other, anyone would think we were in central London.

In fact on the subject of lights, one engineer told me once that some of the lights were not used in the most appropriate settings such as lights suitable for a crossroad configuration used in a noncrossroad configuration, etc.

Not only did highways officials reorganise the 1970s road scheme, their work involved turning part of the road into a shared space format which then-BBC

Top Gear presenter Jeremy Clarkson criticised, saying that people would be mangled in a ‘Jaguar dance of death’ by the ‘idiotic’ scheme, only to retract his comments almost eight years later.

He may have changed his tune about this part of the project completed almost 13 years ago, but users still slate the somewhat tired and tatty scheme and speak of there still being a degree of ignorance when it comes to motorists allowing pedestrians to cross at the designated crossings.

Bearing in mind that the shared space is being used by pedestrians as well as cars, it amazes me how Kent Highways hasn’t sprung into action to repair and rectify the many broken sections along the route – the consequence of using inferior products.

The surfaces started breaking up months after the shared space was complete.

Elsewhere on the route, the road has been further tweaked and improved such as staggered crossings for the pedestrian – but that doesn’t resolve the nightmare experience that the motorist still has on a daily basis.

No amount of alteration to the roads infrastructure will suffice if the authorities insist on using traffic lights in such short succession of each other.

It does not work and often wrecks what planners set out to achieve.

At least the old scheme worked, even if it was a little bit like Brands Hatch on occasions.

This week’s Remember When looks back at a trio of images taken during the alteration works in 2007.

If you have any photographs or slides of old Ashford you would be willing to loan me, please send an email to rememberwhen_ kmash@hotmail.co.uk

2007 - Another picture illustrating Somerset Road, this time taken at its junction with Wellesley Road clearly showing the comprehensive alterations

2007 - The section of the ringway in North Street that underwent alteration from the A28 route. This picture was taken in June 2007

2007 - Work is seen here in full swing in the midsection of Somerset Road