Keith Ferrin on KSP's real ambitions
19 Oct 2009
Just as conservative leader of Swale Council, Andrew Bowles pushes through new motorway junction and A2/M2 link road to support the Kent Science Park greater expansion proposals, Ex KCC Cabinet Member for Highways and current conservative KCC Councillor for Swale West drops the bombshell that it won't solve any of Sittingbourne's traffic problems. Cllr Keith Ferrin says that work commissioned by KCC clearly shows that a new junction 5A on the M2 would not take traffic off the A2 and would cause further problems on the existing junction 5 which is already running over capacity.
The cost of the new motorway junction alone is estimated at £100 million, then Junction 5 would still need tens of millions spent on it, then the M20 / A249 junction would also require improvements and finally the M2 would require widening between at the very least the new junction and the existing junction 5. This would cost billions rather than hundreds of millions.
Is it not time to stop flogging this dead horse and try and find a real solution to Sittingbourne's transport issues. This is clearly a case of pushing a solution because someone thought it was a good idea and desperately trying to contrive the evidence to fit.
Read your Frequently Asked Questions on the proposed motorway junction and link road.
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