A mass community push is being made to tame a dangerous road with a long history of crashes.

Hundreds of petition signatures have now been gathered demanding traffic calming for the one-way route of Barton Road and Frith Road in Dover.

It endangers the thousands of children from six neighbouring schools, they claim, plus those walking through the area to reach other schools.

The petition is being carried out by the Tower Hamlets Community Forum (THCF) as the district council ward covers the area.

Manda Heafey, chairman of THCF, said: “The road is sometimes a race track but there is a combination of hazards.

“There is a lot of speeding but other cars weave in and out of the traffic.

“In addition there are parked cars on either side of the road, which can affect the view of drivers. They suddenly see mothers with pushchairs appear from between cars.

“Four schools are directly on the route or very close and children sometimes run across the road. But there is also danger for children walking through the area to get to other schools.

“About 20 years ago a friend of mine was killed there and now there are far more cars on the road with some families having as many as four vehicles.”

The route, a key way into the town centre, is also a hazard because of the blind bend as Barton Road turns into Frith Road.

At a meeting on Monday last week, THCF agreed to carry out the petition.

It has been given to the four schools closest to the route; Barton and Charlton primaries and Dover Grammar School for Girls, which are directly on the route, and St Edmund’s RC School.

It has also gone to two other nearby schools, St Richards’ RC and Shatterlocks Primary.
THCF says even pupils from as far away as Dover Grammar and Astor College walk through the area to get to their schools.

Ms Heafy said: “The schools are 100% behind us. Accidents are happening here all the time.

“Just before Christmas a car speeding along Barton Road went straight over the junction and hit another car at Castle Avenue.”

THCF member Augusta Pearson said: “Schools are keen to get some safety measures in place.

“Nobody can claim that it’s a recent problem so maybe the residents need to get more vocal.

“It will cost money to implement a safe system but what price should we put on a life?

“Why should a life be lost before it is deemed serious enough for them to spend some of our taxes on our safety?

“Maybe some of the money generated by speed restrictions on the A20 (Dover TAP) could be used to fund this.”

Among the schools responding to the Mercury was St Edmund's.

Head teacher Mike Wilson said: “We have been concerned about the safety of students on Barton Road and Frith Road for some time, and staff from St Edmund’s are a daily presence at the school entrance at the start and end of the day for that reason.

"I am aware of incidents in the past including several near misses, and I feel drivers need to be especially mindful when nearby schools and travel more slowly and carefully. We hope that something will be done to make this road safer for the students and pupils of the three schools situated here.”

A Kent County Council spokesman said: “We prioritise available resources on where measures will have the most effect.

“At the current time Barton Road and Frith Road do not meet the intervention criteria for action but we will continue to monitor this location.

For a full report on this problem, including further comments, see this week's Dover Mercury newspaper.