Dozens of people have been hit by a car on the same busy high street over the past decade - prompting calls for action by Kent’s road chiefs.

Kent County Council (KCC) is proposing changes to Northdown Road in Cliftonville to reduce the number of casualties on the stretch.

The busy road, which has undergone something of a transformation in recent years with the regeneration of Margate, runs through the centre of Cliftonville.

Trendy beauty salons and hairdressers such as Sister Joan, the popular International Food Market, much-loved café Cliffs and restaurants such as Ouma’s Kitchen now line the street, dotted among traders who have been there for years.

A recent study has revealed that during the past 10 years, up to March 2021, there have been 49 collisions reported to police involving a pedestrian being injured on Northdown Road.

KCC says while safety improvements have already been made, the collision rate remains high.

In a report due to be discussed by Thanet District Council’s Joint Transportation Board, the county council, which is responsible for highways, lists a number of issues.

These include the road being straight, which encourages motorists to drive faster, and the footpath on the southern side of the road being in the shade, meaning pedestrians are less visible to drivers.

“Some pedestrian crossing points are in front of bus stops, so drivers passing a bus at the stop may not see someone stepping out until they are out in the road,” added KCC in the report.

“There are many pedestrian crossing points (informal dropped kerbs and zebra crossings), often very close together.

“Two of the zebra crossings incorporate centre islands, and some crashes seem to have occurred when a pedestrian has crossed to the centre island, and then been struck on the second part of the crossing.

“There may be uncertainty between pedestrians and drivers whether to treat such crossings as one or two separate movements.”

Recent crashes involving pedestrians include a four-year-old boy who was hit close to the junction of Arthur Road last year. He was airlifted to hospital in a critical condition.

A 90-year-old was killed when hit by a motorcycle in 2017 and the same year a 16-year-old suffered broken shoulders when hit by a car.

The following year a man in his 50s was injured. In 2013 a woman and child were knocked over, while a teenage boy was seriously injured that same year.

In February, residents launched a campaign calling for a 20 mph limit in Cliftonville after a series of crashes.

KCC says in response to concerns over pedestrian safety, a number of changes in eight locations are being proposed.

These include a reduction of ‘at any time’ waiting restrictions on Clifton Road and St Paul’s Road, and dropped kerbs at certain points replaced with raised bus stop kerbs.

Under the plans, a build-out on the north side of Northdown Road would be removed with full height kerbs reinstated and a smaller island installed with a ‘keep right’ bollard.

Existing parking bays by Arthur Road would be reduced to three car lengths and the footway widened to allow buses to pull up close to and parallel to the kerb.

KCC said this would also allow pedestrians crossing outside of the church to see vehicles approaching from their right. On Wilderness Hill the ‘give way’ line would be moved forward to give better visibility for drivers turning out of the junction.

A new footway build-out would be created on the southern side along with dropped kerbs for pedestrian crossing points on both sides.

And existing centre islands would also be removed from the zebra crossing on the southern side of the main road as well as the crossing by Lyndhurst Avenue and Warwick Road.

The full proposals will be discussed at a meeting of the Thanet’s JTB on Thursday, June 9.

KCC said: “The scheme would deliver positive impacts by improving road safety for all road users, improving facilities for bus users and increasing parking provision in the area.”

The scheme is being funded by KCC’s crash remedial measures fund.

To see the full list of proposals click here. https://bit.ly/3N2se9J