by Gerry Warren

gwarren@thekmgroup.co.uk

The troubled Westgate Towers traffic trial will cost £90,000 by the time the experiment has run its course, the Gazette can reveal.

It will add to the anger of many frustrated drivers and business owners who continue to protest about the scheme and delays in getting around the city.

One motorist complained this week it had taken him 27 minutes to drive less than a mile from one side of the Canterbury to the other.

The city council has pumped £50,000 into the trial and the county council a further £40,000.

But Cllr Peter Vickery-Jones, who is the council’s portfolio holder for transport, said it was a drop in the ocean to try to find answers to the traffic problems.

If implemented permanently the final bill for the scheme could hit nearly £500,000 from the public purse.

Sedat Ozdogan, who runs Westgate Dry Cleaners, said: “It’s a lot of money and I feel sure the council should have done more research before starting the trial.

“We’ll never get that money back and it will put pressure on the council to make it permanent. If anything, the traffic situation is getting worse.”

Dave Roberts, of St Dunstan’s Pet Supplies, added: “£90,000 is a lot of public money to spend on something that clearly isn’t working and never will.

“My worry is that having spent that much and with the carrot of another £400,000 from the government, the city council will just forge ahead with it.

“I never got the impression at all the meetings that I’ve been to that the council is really listening to the objections.”

Since the trial was started in March and the towers closed to through traffic, opinions have been fiercely divided over its success.

There are more objectors than supporters but the city council has appealed for patience while the formal public consultation is completed.

Although it is a 12-month trial, the council could be forced to reconsider after analysing the results of the consultation in October.