Plans to fix traffic hell near McDonald’s are ‘all wrong’
Business owners fear one-way system will make congestion worse
Work has started on a scheme to beat queues at a busy junction which has been causing traffic hell for years.
Kent County Council (KCC) is putting in place an 18-month trial one-way system for Hart Street and Barker Road, used by those visiting McDonald’s, B&Q,and Lockmeadow Entertainment Centre.
The area is notorious for becoming jammed, with drivers waiting as long as two hours at peak times.
Now, the roads will become a one-way system and will mean no right-turn for McDonald’s customers entering Barker Road from The Broadway who instead will go along to a mini-roundabout at the junction with Hart Street and then come back behind B&Q to the drive-thru. But owner of the McDonald’s, Ali El-Hajj, thinks the scheme is backwards saying: “That will not solve the problem of customers being unable to exit Hart Street on to Barker Road because of traffic queuing on Barker Road.
“If people in Barker Road don’t give way, no cars can get out. “When the highways officer saw the problems we had, she was very accommodating. She said: ‘Yes, you can’t carry on like that, we’ll need to do a temporary measure at least.’
“She sent us some proposals and we all agreed on a scheme that would see traffic turning into Hart Street and McDonald’s as it does now, but having to exit by going along Hart Street at the back of B&Q to rejoin Barker Road further down. We were all happy.
“But the next thing I learn is that the council has decided to do the the exact opposite of what we agreed.
“The difference is that one scheme will crucify us, and the other will solve the problem. This week, when our reporter visited during the evening rush hour, not only was there a long queue to get out of McDonald’s, but the queue in Barker Road extended down the road as far as the eye could see, with traffic jammed in Hart Street and motorists trying to get out of the Lockmeadow car park also stuck.
And earlier this month, motorists were stuck at the junction for up to an hour and 45 minutes trying to exit Lockmeadow from Barker Road and there were knock-on effects throughout the town centre.
Mr El-Hajj’s business lost £10,000 in takings on that recent Saturday of traffic chaos. He said: “I really don’t care about the money so much as the inconvenience it is causing to my customers, especially customers with kids, who are stuck.”The situation is currently worse than usual due to road works in Tonbridge Road Mr El-Hajj said: “At this moment the quickest a car can leave our store and get to the traffic light is at least an hour.” Nacer Lahrache is the area manager for McDonald’s. He confirmed: “The Maidstone drive-thru is the worst store in my area for traffic.
“The problem now is the abuse the staff gets from frustrated drivers.”
Gina Michaelas is the owner
of Marino’s fish and chip shop in Hart Street.
She said: “We’ve just lost so much trade. I’ve had people who have placed orders for delivery come into my shop saying ‘Where’s my food?’ and I’ve had to say sorry, it was dispatched an hour ago, but the driver’s just stuck in the traffic.
“It’s the residents I feel for. They tell me they just don’t attempt to go out during the rush hour because they know they will get stuck.
“One pregnant lady moved out and sofa-surfed at her mother’s house because she was afraid that if her waters broke she wouldn’t be able to get through the traffic to get to hospital. “People shouldn’t have to live in fear like that.”
She said: “The scheme the council is putting in is completely wrong, it will only make things worse. But they don’t listen.
“We live this daily. It is hell.”
‘The difference is that one scheme will crucify us, and the other will solve the problem’