Council scraps Westgate Towers closure in Canterbury
Traffic in Canterbury
town centre on the first day of the closure of the Westgate
Towers
The Westgate Towers traffic scheme in Canterbury is to be
ditched.
Transport bosses at county hall announced today that when the
one-year trial finishes in March, the
road system will revert to the original and traffic will once again
pass through the historic gateway to the city.
The scheme has been almost universally derided as causing delays
and increasing car fumes.
Kent County
Council spokesman Kirsty Russell: "We are all acutely aware of the
high level of public interest in this trial and Canterbury clearly
has its own set of highway challenges, many of which are created by
the town's unique historic layout.
"Finding a solution that is acceptable to all is a significant
challenge.
"To this end, at end of the trial period, the scheme will be
removed and the road layout will be returned to its original
configuration.
"Once this has been completed, we will carry out a thorough
review over the next six months, with all interested parties, to
see what worked and what did not”.
The scheme prompted the Get Canterbury Moving group, which
campaigned against the scheme and only 16% of respondents to a
public consultation declared their support for it.
16/01/13
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