Kentish Express Ashford & District
Temporary lights causing chaos
Drivers have faced frustrating delays on Kennington Road thanks to nearby roadworks and a new set of temporary traffic lights.
One frustrated motorist said the signals have caused massive tailbacks and drivers have been left in the dark about why they have been installed.
Ken Paine, who works at Givaudan, which is on the A2070 Kennington Road, said: “The lights are about 10 metres apart, there is no one there, no work going on and they are causing a massive hold up around 8.30am.
“When I went past again around 3.30pm they were still causing a traffic jam all the way back to Givaudan and there was still no one working there.
“It’s causing chaos. The road is bad enough without somebody dumping a set of traffic lights for no reason to add to the misery!”
But according to Kent County Council (KCC), the lights have been installed while engineers carry out roadworks on the nearby Blackwall Road South.
A council spokesman said: “The reason the lights are like that is that Blackwall Road South is currently closed for roadworks and residents are having to use Blackwall Road North as the diversion route.
“This road exits out on to a blind bend so the temporary lights are manually operated so remain on green until any vehicle waiting to exit Blackwall North appears, the lights are then put to red with Blackwall North light going to green to allow safe exit.”