Businesses and residents at the centre of everyday delays on a historic bridge are calling for a solution.
Getting stuck at a standstill waiting to cross Yalding Town Bridge in the High Street has been an everyday occurrence during the week for the past 15 years, Nu-Venture bus company director, Norman Kemp says.
But now, the issue has been made worse with the closure of Bow Road, at the crossroads in Wateringbury.
As a result, villagers say it is not unheard of to be stuck waiting to cross the bridge for up to an hour.
On occasions, the situation has become so bad that a member of the public has stopped traffic “at her own risk” to help the school bus cross the bridge and stay on time, due to the relentless flow of cars coming from the other direction.
And although Norman says the situation has become “progressively worse” he says there has been no action to resolve the issue despite raising it with Kent County Council (KCC) many times.
He said: “The problem is, being a larger vehicle, the bus cannot squeeze through; the bus requires more road space, but at peak times the bridge is stuck with traffic.”
As a result, the company director says the traffic causes “permanent” delays to the service and added: “It’s not right that this is an obstacle to mobility.”
Michael Benenson, who has lived in Yalding for over 12 years, says one problem is that when the traffic is flowing in one direction, nobody wants to give way.
The 73-year-old playwright said: “Motorists can’t see each other coming from opposite directions and motorists are also incredibly selfish, incredibly determined to get to work and hardly ever give way.
“As a result, the average waiting time is something like 17 minutes minimum, and it can go up to 30 minutes or even an hour.
“The problem with waiting is you don’t know the length of time, you can’t predict when there’s going to be a gap.”
The dad-of-three is also concerned that the traffic “penalises” the emergency services who might struggle to get through.
In his view, he wants KCC to consider installing traffic lights “strategically” where it is sensible to do so.
However, KCC says this suggestion has previously been ruled out because of the bridge’s design, length, it’s historic status, and how close it is to nearby junctions, which means “it’s not possible to install them safely”.
A spokesperson said: “In fact, doing so could make delays and congestion even worse.
“Although KCC have no works currently planned in relation to Yalding Bridge, officers are actively engaging with the parish council and local partners and are continuing to monitor the location.”
June Chapman has been running the Post Office at the junction of Yalding Bridge for 13 years, but she is equally unsure on what the solution could be.
She explained how there is no line on the road indicating where cars should stop to give way to traffic on the bridge.
As a result, when growing impatient, she sees many cars creep up the road, limiting room for oncoming traffic, which in turn forces vehicles onto the pavement.
“So if you’re on the pavement, if you’re a pedestrian on this bridge – your taking your life in your hands,” she added.
June wants a solution to be explored by experts, but added: “Controversially, I think all villages should be 20mph, then they might actually stop the rat-running because no one likes to drive at 20mph.”
Mandy Dunn has lived in the high street for over two years, but she says she has since considered moving because of the traffic despite the fact it’s a “lovely” village.
The 58-year-old said: “People are becoming more and more irate and aggressive; I live in the high street so I’m trying to get my dogs in the car and people don’t even slow down. It’s becoming actually quite dangerous.
“The traffic is just becoming an absolute nightmare.”
In response, Yalding Parish Council told KentOnline it had been considering a range of ideas to try to reduce the congestion but said: “We now feel reducing the amount of traffic using the bridge is the only solution.”
A document created by the parish council, shared with KentOnline, explores current suggestions with comments on their viability.
For example, the suggestion of three-way traffic lights was met with concerns over the loss of parking, lack of appropriate clearance detection, and the possibility of additional queues.
Instead, the parish council said it is looking at the possibility of turning the town bridge into a toll bridge using ANPR technology.
It said: “We have nothing to report yet and we have not spoken with either KCC or Heritage England on the feasibility. Local residents and other designated traffic would be exempt from the toll.
“We obviously need to establish the possible impact on surrounding roads and ensure rural lanes are protected.”
Yalding Parish Council also echoed concerns for pedestrians, explaining how walkers often have to step back against the wall to avoid being hit by the wing mirrors of larger vehicles.
The fire service confirmed it has been unaffected by the congestion.
Town Bridge in Yalding is the longest medieval bridge in Kent and is a single track with a give way for about 3 cars for south-moving traffic.
Widening of the bridge was undertaken in 1848 by the addition of the passing bay and narrow cobbled footway.
