Kentish Gazette Canterbury & District
‘More work needed’ at black spot
Improvements have been made to a rural junction which has seen 10 casualties in the past decade.
Road markings have been repainted at Bramling Road and Adisham Road in Bekesbourne in the five weeks since a two-vehicle smash left six people in hospital with serious injuries.
Kent County Counci l denies the junction is a danger, but has refreshed the lines at the junction.
A Freedom of Information Act request to the council revealed that there had been six accidents at the crossroads between the summer of 2006 and April of 2015.
Ten people were injured and all but one of the accidents involved two vehicles.
However, a villager who lives at the junction insists more is done to make the junction safer.
Sara O’brien says the number of accidents recorded by the council does not paint a full picture of the dangers of the junction.
The 34-year-old scientist said: “There were three accidents this year which are not included in the figures and there are obviously other ones which do not get reported.
“We need more to be done. There are signs saying that the crossroads is coming up, but it doesn’t seem to be enough.
“The word ‘slow’ painted in the road would help. We really don’t want to see any more crashes here.”
Miss O’brien says the main problem with the crossroads is uncertainty about who has right of way.
On May 24, a van and taxi collided at the Bramling and Adisham road junction.
One patient was airlifted to King’s College Hospital in south London suffering from hand and stomach injuries.
Four of the other five patients were taken to the William Harvey Hospital, with a fifth taken to Medway.
They had suffered various neck, arm and chest injuries.
County council spokesman Thom Morris says the authority is happy to receive information about potential road issues.
“We have to make tough decisions on where to improve traffic and road safety in local areas,” he said.
“We look at the sites most in need of improvement first, which have got the support of the whole community. We’re happy to consider all requests as long as residents go through the steps outlined on our website.
“We refreshed the lines in Bekesbourne on June 13.”
Visit kent.gov.uk/highways to report a road issue.