North Road, Cheriton junction "obvious" say Kent Highways, despite absence of Give Way signs

Kent Highways have replied to concerns raised by Cheriton Councillor Tim Prater about the absence of "Give Way" signs at the junction of North Road and Military Road on the Cheriton, Folkestone / Sandgate border. The reply promises that the junction will be "relined" in the near future, but that "Kent Highway Services will not at this current time be seeking installation of a give way sign at this location".

The message, from Donna Rixon of Kent Highways Services on 4th February, said:

"Thank you for raising your concerns with regards to a missing sign in Folkestone. I have now had the opportunity to visit the site and view the situation first hand. I have also reviewed the necessary Kent Highway Services' records to check if we had a record of give way sign being in place at this location and I have also checked to see if issues with regards to the sign had been reported before this time. Unfortunately I am unable confirm either with a firm yes or no answer.

"I used the site visit as an opportunity to see first hand whether there was a necessity for such a sign at this location i.e. is this junction an obvious give way junction for example. This was to determine whether a sign should be placed at this location at some point in the future. In my opinion it quite obvious that this junction is a give way junction on approach from North Road. However I do understand that sometimes drivers new to the area may misinterpret the road layout and miss the give way at the Military Rd/North Rd junction. With this in mind I have reviewed the current three year crash record to determine whether the "missing" sign had results in any personal injury crashes. I can confirm that during the previous three years (01/10/2005 to 30/09/2008) that no crashes have occurred at this junction as a direct result of this missing sign.

"Due to the obvious nature of the give junction arrangement at Military Rd/North Rd, Folkestone, Kent Highway Services will not at this current time be seeking installation of a give way sign at this location. However Kent Highway Services will continue to monitor the situation and revisit when necessary. I did note, however that the road lining was worn and this will be put on a schedule to be re-lined in the near future.

"With regards to the dilapidated poles currently located in North Road, Folkestone, these have been identified for removal as we have currently been unable to determine what was located on the sign in the first instance and the fact that these poles are no longer required."

Lib Dem Councillor Tim Prater responded:

"I simply don't agree that the junction is clear - especially at night. Although re-lining will be a help, a sign would also help to clarify the junction, especially for people not familiar with the area.

"It would also be a big help if Kent Highways could arrange for the TEN lights on Military Road, amongst many others reported over three weeks ago as broken, to be repaired: they are still not working, and consequently the entire area is pretty much unlit.

"If other people know of accidents in the area due to people joining Military Road from North Road I'd be keen to hear from them so I can pass details onto Kent Highways - please call me on 07956 276118 or email tim@shepwaylibdems.org.uk."