Campaigners for better roads on Sheppey are to present a 1,835-name petition to a top county councillor tomorrow (Thursday).

Members of the Lower Road group will hand over the petition to Matthew Balfour, KCC’s cabinet member for environment and transport, near Sheppey Rugby Club at 10am.

MP Gordon Henderson and Swale councillor Mike Whiting will also be present.

According to the preliminary findings from the SheppeyProud survey, 90 per cent of Islanders who took part want the Lower Road improved.

Mr Henderson has been pressing KCC to replace traffic lights at the junction with Barton’s Hill Drive with a roundabout to ease daily congestion at Cowstead Corner roundabout.

The Lower Road campaign was launched in the spring after retired teacher Helen Knell was struck by a car while she was riding her bicycle on the road.

The group wants the six-mile stretch of the A2500 widened to cope with the increasing number of cars used by families on newly-built housing estates and holiday traffic to Warden and Leysdown.

Mrs Knell, 65, said: “There are two dangerously narrow stretches, one from Cowstead Corner to Barton Hill Drive and one from Eastchurch to Leysdown.

“Neither is fit for purpose and both pose threats to cyclists and pedestrians who take their lives in their hands. The whole road is chaos.”

Fellow campaigner Sue Laidlay said: “Although a roundabout will ease the current congestion at the lights, it will do nothing to improve the substandard section of road for cyclists and pedestrians.

“It may only temporarily relieve the traffic by pushing the congestion further towards the eastern end of the Island.

“We understand there will be no further improvements to the A2500 and B2231 Lower Road until there is more building on Sheppey.

“But no one wants more cars and homes until the existing roads are brought up to standard. Politicians believe that is putting the cart before the horse. We are paying a very high price for the new bridge.”

A further 500 have signed the petition in the last four weeks. To add your signature, visit www.lowerroad.co.uk.

The SheppeyProud campaign, which involves several businesses and organisations, is preparing an economic plan to bid for a share of £90 million being offered to coastal communities by the government.