An anxious father is calling for a new pedestrian crossing to be installed at a busy junction after spotting countless near-misses.

Chacko Pradeep Jacob, known as Jacob, wants the safety measure to be introduced at the junction of Bybrook Road and A28 Canterbury Road in Kennington, Ashford.

While the crossing has traffic lights, there is no button to stop traffic and allow pedestrians to safely cross.

With the hope of gaining support, the 47-year-old has set up a petition to Kent County Council (KCC) asking for the authority to consider the changes.

“I have always thought about the safety of people in Kennington because I use this road on a daily basis and I have found sometimes people take risks to cross, or they are waiting for a very long time,” he said.

“This has not been flagged up so I thought let me raise a petition. There are a lot of people who wanted to raise it, but couldn’t or didn’t know how.

“One person mentioned his daughter had a fall crossing this road and it’s an eye-opener.

“We should not wait for an accident to happen.

“I am going door to door, I’m a people person, I have been in the community a long time and we have had a good response and people think we need a change.”

So far the petition has been signed by 45 people.

Speaking about the campaign on Facebook, one resident said: “This is an awful junction for pedestrians as they can’t see the traffic coming from Ashford direction.

“There is no delay for pedestrians to cross, you simply have to hope for a gap in the traffic and cross blindly.”

'It’s a bizarre junction...'

Another said: “It’s an awful place to cross and so unsafe.”

Forty roads across Bybrook and Bockhanger – including Bybrook Road – have recently had speed limits cut as part of a “Twenty is Plenty” scheme to drive out ‘rat-run’ motorists.

Kent County Council’s Ashford Central member, Cllr Paul Bartlett (Con), who used his community fund to pay for the changes, says the crossing “needs to be addressed”.

“It’s a bizarre junction because there is no pedestrian element to the traffic lights,” he said.

“There is if you’re crossing the A28, but if you’re crossing Bybrook Road, you have to make a judgment as to whether anybody is turning left from the A28.

“It is fine 99.9% of the time, but it’s the 0.1% when someone thinks they can get across there, and somebody turns left that it becomes a real problem.”

Cllr Bartlett says he has asked developer Redrow, which is building the 725-home ‘Large Burton’ estate along Willesborough Road, to include the upgrade to the crossing as part of the development.

“The developer has agreed to finance upgrades to all of the traffic lights between Simone Weil Avenue and the Penlee Point crossroads [where Canterbury Road meets Faversham Road],” he explained.

“I have asked them to include the pedestrian crossing at Bybrook Road as part of that.

“I understand what Jacob wants and I will do my best to help deliver it.”

Work on the first phase of the ‘Large Burton’ estate, officially known as Conningbrook Park, started in February with homes set to be ready for spring 2024.

A Kent County Council (KCC) spokesperson said: “The safety of everyone that interacts with our roads is a top priority.

“Petitions submitted to KCC are processed in accordance with the petition scheme, which is published on our website.”

The petition, which is open for signatures until June 19, can be viewed here.

What do you think? Comment below or email kentishexpress@thekmgroup.co.uk