Speed bumps lowered at Canterbury Retail Park outside Currys after backlash by shoppers
Published: 17:02, 06 February 2024
A set of “ridiculously high” speed bumps damaging cars have been lowered after a backlash by shoppers.
The humps at Canterbury Retail Park had been scraping the underside of vehicles and sparked safety fears if a driver was to lose control.
The issues were raised by motorists and customers to KentOnline last month and since the article was published, landowners have significantly reduced the speed bumps’ size.
Roger Etchells and Co, the managing agents of the shopping centre, changed the traffic calming measures sometime after 7pm on Friday, February 2, according to staff at Currys.
Employees at the tech store used to have complaints “on a daily basis” from customers about the speed ramps - which were first installed in December - outside their shop.
Sales manager at Curry’s Ethan Brooks said: “It's definitely an improvement from what it was, and it means no more customer complaints about the car park - so that's quite nice.
“On a daily basis, you'd have people complaining about it.
“They'd assume it's us because it's right outside.”
The 22-year-old believes the humps were changed overnight on Friday.
He explained: “We left work on Friday and they were normal and then we came in on Saturday morning and they were as they are now.
“They went from being speed bumps there to almost nothing just the next morning.
“It was an overnight job I'm guessing.”
While the complaints have stopped, and his colleagues with lower-lying cars have stopped seeing the damage, Mr Brooks believes the calming measures are now too small.
“I think they still need to raise it slightly because now it's like no speed bump,” he added.
“I know a couple of colleagues in here that had the issue of it scraping their car so they'll be thankful now.”
Shoppers spoke about the huge ramps last month, with Michael Williams saying: “90% of the cars going over them at more than 10mph are getting the bottom scraped.
“Even when I go over at 5mph, I still hear it hit the exhaust pipe.
“I think we should keep them, but they should be lowered to a sensible height.
“Although they stop people stealing stuff and rushing out of the place, they're still too high even for that.”
The 83-year-old, who regularly shops at Currys, fears people could “lose control” as they go over the bumps.
“It’s overkill, and someone will get killed if they bang their car really hard,” he said.
“People are going to lose control, especially young drivers.
“They are ridiculous - far too high.”
Another regular visitor to the retail park – which also has an Iceland and a Range – 63-year-old Lesley Knight, said: “They are a bit high.
“People could damage their cars, and who will pay for it when they do?
“It’s a bit silly. We have a zebra crossing so they've got to stop to let people cross.”
When first approached about the issue, a spokesperson for Roger Etchells and Co stated: “The safety of visitors and staff at Canterbury Retail Park is extremely important.
“The speed bumps are a replacement of those previously in position on the access road where there is also a busy crossing point to one of the large retail stores.
“We will investigate this concern alongside our contractor.”
The company has been contacted for further comment about the changes.
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Millie Bowles