Kentish Gazette Canterbury & District
Accident black spots eligible for safety investment
‘We want to see something done pretty quickly’
Two major routes out of Canterbury have been included on a list of dangerous roads eligible for funding to improve safety.
The A290 through Blean – linking the city with Whitstable – and the A252 at Chilham are considered accident black spots by the Department for Transport (DFT).
Each has been the scene of two deaths in the past three years, with both also suffering a string of serious crashes.
The DFT is inviting highways authorities to upgrade roads where the risk of fatal and serious collisions is highest, based on a report by the Road Safety Foundation.
The A252 and A290 are the only two roads in the county featured on the list.
A total of £175 million has been allocated and Kent County Council will bid for a share of it.
Coral Lines, of Dane Street in Chilham, has lived near the A252 for 23 years.
In the past three years, 20 peo- ple have been hurt and two killed in crashes along the nine-mile stretch towards Charing.
Mrs Lines said: “The speed limit should be reduced to 40mph on the road by-passing Chilham as there are frequent accidents and fatalities caused by speeding.
“We have seen many accidents over the years, usually caused by overtaking or speeding, and I think the parish council needs to make this positive change.”
Chilham Parish Council chairman Paul Lulham is backing the campaign for improvements on the A252.
“It has been a concern for quite a while and there’s been some nasty accidents,” he said.
“The nature of the road is deceiving. It’s quite straight and wide in some parts and there are a lot of sharp bends.
“People get stuck behind others, and when they see a straight bit of road they try to overtake and realise there’s a nasty bend.
“We’ve been speaking to KCC and they’re in the process of doing a study.
“We’re waiting for the outcome of that but we want to see something done pretty quickly.”
In the past three years 61 people have been hurt and two killed in 45 crashes on the A290.
Following a period of public pressure, the speed limit on the five-mile stretch was reduced to 40mph two years ago, but Blean councillor Ben Fitter-harding said he and the parish council had been calling on KCC to do something for years.
He said: “I appreciate the work KCC has done to date to try and improve safety on this dangerous stretch of road, but I hope they will redouble their efforts in future to reduce speeds.”
KCC said it would place a bid for further improvements of both roads and proposals would be put forward in September.
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