Crashes on Whitstable Road and Colewood Road between Whitstable and Herne Bay spark calls on Kent County Council to take action
A fed-up resident fears a brick could go flying through his window the next time a car crashes into his garden wall.
Paul Cooper and neighbours in Colewood Road, Swalecliffe between Whitstable and Herne Bay, are calling on Kent County Council to put in measures to reduce accidents on the “nasty” stretch.
The local authority’s transport boss is now looking at how to improve safety along the whole B2205 Whitstable Road between the two towns.
Last month, Mr Cooper’s garden wall was obliterated by a car for the second time in five years. Five days later four people were hospitalised after a multi-vehicle crash in a nearby area known as ‘the Bends’.
Residents fear there will be a fatality if KCC does not act soon.
Mr Cooper has shared photos showing how the smashed bricks from the roadside wall have landed close to his house.
“If one flew through our window we could have easily been hurt,” the grandfather-of-three said.
The route varies between 30mph and 40mph, but residents say cars often come into Colewood Road well above the speed limit.
“If they put a speed camera there, I think that would probably stop it,” Mr Cooper said.
His neighbour Mandy Taylor’s husband narrowly avoided injury as he walked on the path just seconds before the most recent garden wall smash.
She said: “I don’t feel safe walking my three grandchildren along the road.
“We’ve both been affected by speeding drivers - it drives our insurance premiums up massively and is a massive hazard.
“It feels like what KCC is saying is unless there have been fatalities and things like that, they can’t help - but why wait for that?
“We will never be able to stop the speeders with the road as it is, because you're always going to have idiots coming along.
“The cost of putting up a barrier or putting up a camera - surely they must have enough for that.”
Both residents have had their properties damaged by vehicles multiple times and say the problem has increased in the past five years.
Cllr Neil Baker - KCC’s cabinet member for highways and transport, who also represents the two towns - has ordered a report drawing up options to tackle the “nasty piece of road”.
He told KentOnline: “The Bends have had accidents for as long as I've known them.
“I think one of the problems if you go down the route of crash barriers is you're almost accepting there's going to be more and more problems going forward and I think we've got to get past that and tackle the root cause.
“In terms of a fixed point speed camera, it wouldn't be an eligible area if it wouldn't meet the Kent and Midway safety criteria at this stage but there are clearly a number of issues there.
“The nature of the road has changed. Seaview Caravan Park on the corner of Colewood Road and St John's is busier than ever.
“Of course, you've got Tankerton Football Club developing their pitch there so the usage of that area has changed dramatically. The problems aren't going away.
“While I want the entire stretch looked at, Colewood Road is clearly part of that because the overall issue is being manifested by people having their properties smacked into.”
A KCC spokesperson said all requests for “improvements on the on the highway are reviewed and subsequently prioritised”.
They added: “We actively encourage the travelling public to report personal injury collisions to Kent Police, to ensure road safety information is captured. In the event of serious and fatal road crashes, Kent Police will put together a report on the details of the incident and carry out investigations to understand possible causes.
“The report and results of any investigations are then shared with KCC who, upon the advice from Kent Police, will subsequently undertake any work to help prevent a similar type of incident from occurring again."