More on KentOnline
More on KentOnline
Concerned residents fear “it is only a matter of time until someone is seriously injured or killed” at a problem junction.
They claim crashes are a frequent occurrence at the King’s Road, Station Road and Western Avenue crossroads as cars speed along the narrow and poorly marked streets.
Chris Coshall, the manager of Oakland Court in King’s Road, says she worries about her elderly residents whenever they leave the home.
“Every time they cross the road I ask them to tell me they’ve got back all right,” she said. “That’s how bad it is out there.
“There have been loads of crashes along here over the years. There were three last Christmas and we had two cars go through our wall a few weeks ago.
“If it wasn’t for the planter behind the wall, the car would have gone into one of our residents’ bedrooms.”
Ms Coshall, who has worked at the home for 14 years, also says many of her residents have to look for oncoming cars in the reflection of the windows opposite before crossing Station Road because their views along it are blocked by parked cars.
The owner of Wallstreet New & Video in Western Avenue, Dario Martinez, estimates there is “a crash a month” at the crossroads.
He says many of the collisions are as a result of drivers failing to stop at the junction.
Ms Coshall believes a mini roundabout and further signage should be added to the junction.
“It’s a matter of time until someone is seriously injured or killed there because it’s an awful junction,” she continued.
“There is no time of day that’s worse than others. Over the years, there have been umpteen near misses almost on a daily basis on that junction.
“I’ve even witnessed a car driving on the wrong side of the road around that bend last summer. It’s an awful junction to cross and is dangerous for car drivers.”
Kent County Council has confirmed it conducted inspections of the junction on Wednesday, March 6.
It says it will order relining, where required, and hold discussions on additional signage and road markings.
A spokesman for the authority added: “KCC has to prioritise works where specific mitigating schemes have been identified to solve a particular road safety matter.
“We’re happy to consider all requests as long as residents go through the steps outlined on www.kent.gov.uk/highways. We analyse crash data supplied by Kent Police for any trends that can be identified.”
