Pledge to fix roads hit by gridlock in summer
A one-way system which is proposed for a traffic blackspot which saw drivers again stuck in two-hour queues at the weekend, could be in place by the end of June.
Cllr Paul Harper (Lab) who first proposed the system for Barker Road and Hart Street in 2020 says the time has come for action after receiving complaints about the traffic situation.
Last weekend, a combination of an accident along Tonbridge Road and issues with the traffic light timings, saw queues build up.
Both roads serve hundreds of flats, the Lockmeadow complex, which recently had a £900,000 food hall added and the McDonald’s drive-thru.
While Maidstone councillors on the Joint Transportation Board have settled on the oneway system, the final details are to be worked out by Kent County Council.
It would mean vehicles would no longer make a right-turn to reach the drive-thru and a mini roundabout would be installed near B&Q, to keep traffic on a one-way course.
Cllr Harper said: “This is a pragmatic proposal, it will not cure everything, but should make life better. It can also be implemented, we are promised, in less than six months, so by the summer. Alternatives would have meant no action for three or four years.”
Christopher Glue’s family took more than two hours to get home after going out to walk their dogs in Maidstone.
Leaving Lockmeadow car park at 4.45pm on Saturday, they came across an unusual amount of traffic along Barker Road and
Hart Street, which leads to the McDonald’s drive-thru.
Christopher said: “Initially I thought it was roadworks, but by the time they got to the set of traffic lights by McDonald’s, they saw it was only letting out three cars at a time.
“When my family got to the front of the queue, people were fighting to get out.”