Thirty-five Margate roads likely to become 20mph zones in trial scheme

20mph proposal

Thirty-five roads in Margate are being considered for 20mph speed limits.

An 18 month trial of the traffic order will be held before deciding whether to make the limit permanent.

The roads that will come under the trial are:

Entire road length

Albert Terrace, Albert Terrace Mews, Alkali Row, Bilton Square, Broad Street, Cecil Square, Cobbs Place, Duke Street, Eaton Hill, Fort Hill, Fort Mount, Fort Road, Grosvenor Hill, Hall By The Sea Road, Lombard Street, Love Lane, Mansion Street, Marine Drive, Marine Gardens, Marine Terrace, Market Place, Market Street, Meeting Court, New Cross Street, New Street, Newbys Place, Queen Street, Queens Arms Yard and The Parade.

Fort Crescent – From its junction with Fort Hill to its a point 12 metres west of its junction with Trinity Square western arm.

Grosvenor Place – From its junction with Marine Gardens to a point 10 metres north of its junction with Grosvenor Gardens.

High Street – From its junction with Market Street to a point 18 metres north west of its junction with Churchfields.

King Street – From its junction with The Parade to its junction with Trinity Square.

Marine Terrace – From its junction with Marine Drive to a point 72 metres west of its junction with Hall By The Sea Road.

Mill Lane – From its junction with High Street to a point 18 metres west of its junction with Churchfields.

Park Place – From its junction with Grosvenor Hill to a point 84 metres north of its junction with Grosvenor Gardens.

A KCC spokesperson said: “Throughout this trial, we will be monitoring how it performs and after 18 months, consulting with people on whether they approve of the scheme.

“We will hold discussions with the communities before deciding whether to make it permanent.

“The schemes are being introduced through an Experimental Traffic Order, which means Kent Highways can change the speed limit, test the impact and monitor to see how it performs.

“Kent already has around 1,300 roads with a 20mph zone or limit. Since lockdown on March 23, cycling has increased nationally by 300%.

There are studies that show 20mph schemes encourage healthier transport choices such as walking and cycling, and they increase levels of walking and cycling by about a fifth.

“The county council is also anticipating more people will be travelling to work and to school by bike or on foot so is hopeful the change will make this safer and easier for the people of Margate.

“KCC hopes these changes will bring about reduced pollution with drivers not accelerating and braking so often.

“We would encourage everyone to do your bit and keep to 20mph and encourage others to do the same.”

The order will be implemented by September 18. After the 18 month review the council may make the order permanent or abandon it.

Any existing speed limit in the listed roads will be suspended.

County councillor Barry Lewis said: “It’s fantastic news for the people of Margate that the council has changed its policy and is reinstating 20mph limits in various town centres including Margate.

“I hope this will be extended to the rest of Thanet as soon as possible as 20mph limits have been proven to save lives as well as cutting car pollution.”

However, Ramsgate county councillor Karen Constantine said she was disappointed that the scheme had not been extended to other parts of Thanet.

She said: “This is something we desperately need in Thanet. Some of our roads are all too frequently used as race tracks!   I feel very disappointed that Ramsgate has been left out of this positive development.”

Find the consultation here

55 Comments

  1. When are KCC going to stop cars parking outside or near schools. ? The fumes for school children is not good for their health. In the winter months, parents quite often arrive early and keep their motor running until it is time to collect the children.

      • Get on with doing the same at St.Johns then or encourage whoever can effect the change to do so.

          • With their plan? Are you not the county councillor for Margate, Barry?

            The only reason this school was first and will be the only school in Margate is that sleepy barry lewis sits as a Governor on the school’s board. How about that for a conflict of interest?

            Also, I bet that he hasn’t told any parent or the school of the facts why closing that road is a bad idea? I thought not!

      • Hi Barry has any consideration been given to measures in Westgate-On-Sea? Sea Road is often used by cars and motorcycles racing and speeding and is a real hazard and risk. Particularly near the entry to the beach opposite the swan pub. This is a crossing point for elderly people, those with disabilities and pushing prams as it is an accessible access point. Also children coming from the beach could run in to the toad.

      • Safety works, when it’s done correctly.

        This is not done correctly. It’s also wasting precious council funds, but I guess that Barry is used to that.

      • It would be great to use the trains, if they were cheaper. The price of tickets prohibit most of us using them. Far cheaper by car. It would be better to make public transport cheaper than using your car…that’s the only way to cut car traffic in my opinion.

  2. And the residential roads next to these are crying out for 20 mph but ignored. Who is personally responsible for this consultation? I need to contact them!

  3. I agree totally that 20mph zones are a great idea, and hopefully will save many accidents. However, I feel they have really missed the point here. Some of the roads in the plan, for example; alkali Row, Cobbs Place, Duke Street, Queens Arms Yard, would be difficult to actually reach a speed greater than 20mph. Whereas some other areas that could do with restrictions, such as; Athelstan Road, Harold Road, Addington Street,Hawley Street (at the zebra crossing) have been completely ignored.

    • Athelstan road will become 20 miles limit very soon as requested by the residents of the road

      • What about the other important, and dangerous roads, that I previously mentioned?

        There are too many to name.

        Some of the roads listed in the report would be a total waste of money, putting signs etc, to slow traffic in areas, where vehicles probably wouldn’t even get out of first gear.

  4. Sleepy Barry Lewis, at it again! Oh and look, his side piece Marva backs him up!

    Completely out of touch! I don’t think sleepy Barry understands this entire 20mph zone scheme.

      • That’s because Marva, you don’t speak sense and you try to ram your own views down people’s throats. You also don’t like the facts which are thrown at you in other articles. Man up and stop going off-topic!

  5. Perhaps sleepy barry lewis, would like to answer this:

    It’s statistically proven by many independent companies doing tests and surveyors that actually reducing the speed limit results in more collisions

    It’s statistically proven by many independent companies doing tests and surveyors that more drivers break the speed limit at 20mph than at the standard 30mph

    Many councils across the UK are actually removing 20mph zones due to increased collisions

    20mph zones do not “partly work” unless speed humps are installed

    Yet sleepy Barry Lewis wants to waste council funds, causing more injury to life while promising the residents one thing. Unbelievable.

    This “test and the implementation” of it is costing KCC between £50,000-£150,000. Now let that sink in. Oh, he’s also Labour.

    • So the question for Barry is: Why’re you wasting already stretched funds and promising residents something that simply is not true while putting their lives at risk?

      And just to remind you, he’s rinsed the council for thousands of pounds just a few weeks ago, for no other purpose than to donate it to charity, when the council could not afford it (he voted for it as well). That’s yours (taxpayer’s hard-earned money), gone, just like that. Now let that sink in as well.

      Unbelievable. But, that’s sleepy Barry Lewis for you and Labour!

    • Lovely, can you share the links to research papers that provide evidence for your claims. Thanks in advance for taking the time ?

    • Hi ‘TheBox’. Could you you provide the evidence for your statements that:

      It’s statistically proven by many independent companies doing tests and surveyors that actually reducing the speed limit results in more collisions

      and

      Many councils across the UK are actually removing 20mph zones due to increased collisions

    • Hopefully, that road will see more police presence. Just today they did an operation, pulling motorists over for “folding their mirrors in” when driving down that road.

      • They have to fold their mirrors in because of all the larger than 6ft 6 vehicles visiting the livery yard.Busiest yard in country must have a 1000 visits a day can’t think of any other reason lorries and vans need access only down that road.Remember its 6ft 6 mirror to mirror.

  6. Do something practical Mr Lewis put a clear and visible sign up Nash Road showing the 6ft 6 width restriction which the council have been reminded of.That sign is law not advice i don’t want to see countless vans and lorries tearing down there everyday at 60 mph breaking the law but you choose to ignore that but the signage is rubbish so how can you enforce you don’t want to you have no interest in locals getting to work safely.

    • Nash Road, needs to be 20 or 30mph, not the current 60mph, or better still, a one-way system, it’s ridiculous.

  7. Thanks for all the constructive comments, many road mentioned above need lower speed limits and I will continue to get more implemented. 3 years ago the Kent conservative party opposed 20!miles speed limits on principle. They have been pursuaded to change policy. The evidence is overwhelming, speed kills. Kiill your speed not a child

    • This snowflake still doesn’t get it! Just goes to show how out of touch he is! Just hit him and his labour snowflakes with facts and they go and hide!

      Sleepy Barry lewis, continuing to milk your hard earned money! Donating to charity and wasting money on the killer 20mph zones.

      Rid the swamp of snowflakes like him at the next council elections! Vote with your pen!

        • Why are you still here, Marva? Why do you go off-topic?

          Typical snowflake doesn’t like the facts! You can tell that she’s Labour! Perhaps that’s why they were wiped out, very much recently?

          • It’s not possible to tell what I vote, but possible to guess fairly accurately what I don’t vote. The same goes for most people.

          • It’s not possible to “tell” how I vote, but it’s probably possible to guess what parties I’m likely to vote for. I don’t think the general election results were very much to do with facts, more to do with emotion.

    • Perhaps Kathy would like to look into the conflict of interest between Barry, his comments on this and past articles, this zone, the road closure, and him being on the board at Drapers Mill school?

      I’ve also flagged it internally to the necessary people at KCC.

  8. Perhaps Kathy would like to have a word with The Box about his or her rudeness to Barry Lewis and me. Why only Barry and me?

  9. County councillor Barry Lewis could you also include Westbrook Avenue and the one way road, Rancorn Road, as where the two roads meet, there have been so many crashes in that corner, it is only a matter of time someone will be killed there, and put some road signage on that one way road, the amount of cars going down the wrong way every day is scary, even see cars parked in the wrong direction on that road.

    • Yes, and a bit of parking enforcement wouldn’t go amiss, the illigal parking at the Tesco end is a constant problem for pedestrians, and regularly blocks buses in both directions.

      • FAO; The Box, Cathy Bailes, Marva Rees, Barry Lewis.

        Box, your comments have become very tiresome. Day after day, we hear about sleepy Barry Lewis. What has this man done to you?
        I have never met Barry personally (have you?), but wether he is right or wrong, good or bad, you are entitled to your opinion. All you seem capable of doing is calling names, and not producing any evidence or facts.

        To continue with your sleepy Barry comments is degrading, and quite possibly a criminal offence.

  10. Barry Lewis is replying to Westbrook Mike because W.M. clearly hasn’t noticed The Box’s earlier comment. Stop calling Barry Lewis “Sleepy”. It’s not only rude, it’s very boring.

  11. whats the point of 20mph? never seen anyone adhering to it in broadstairs, how about reeducating the motorist who speed along roads all the time, better off putting cameras along St Peters rd/dane rd and a better system to stop motorist from continuing 50mph along past the hospital despite it going down to 30mph,cyclist are as much a danger not reading signs telling them end of cycle lane they just carry on riding on pavement and dont even look or slow down when they go accross drapers close, had several near misses coming out of junction

  12. Margate sea front 20 MPH is ok for the summer but the town is almost abound when the sun goes in and in the winter I have packages deviled to my shop in Cliftonville and drivers say it took them 30 minutes to get from the rounder about by the railway station to my shop then they to double park
    is this going to get worse?

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