A20 Button Street barrier to be abandoned

Kent Highways have announced this morning that the experimental traffic order blocking the turn in and out of Button Street at its junction with the A20 will be abandoned. The barrier to block the turn, which was installed in early October, will be removed next week. This will involve overnight works (between the hours of 9PM and 5AM) during the nights of 8-9 and 9-10 November and will require a full road closure at that time.

This follows a series of problems with the scheme. Many local residents were concerned about possible diversion of traffic up Button Street into Swanley Village, as well as the safety of traffic going down the hill to turn at Kings roundabout at the foot of Farningham Hill. While I recognised that the scheme was a serious attempt to deal with a genuine problem (there has been a pattern of serious accidents at the Button Street junction), I shared many of these concerns. To make matters worse, contractors installed unsuitable barriers, which resulted in the need for lane closures and 40mph speed limits on the section of the A20 near the junction. These would have been lifted when new, more appropriate barriers were installed; this will now happen when the experimental traffic order is terminated next week.

None of this makes for a happy story, and it is now back to the drawing board - the problem remains, though effective and affordable solutions are not easily available. I will meet Kent Highways officers shortly to examine the options.