Residents living near one of the most dangerous junctions in Kent where “Mexican stand-offs” are commonplace fear more people will be killed if immediate action isn’t taken.

More than 1,200 people have signed a petition to improve the safety of Shorne Crossroads, near Gravesend, after an elderly man died following a crash in February.

It called for “significant safety improvements” such as lowering the speed limit, better warning signs and traffic lights, and pedestrian crossings where the A226 Gravesend Road crosses with Green Farm Lane and Forge Lane.

Resident of Green Farm Lane, Jill Tadhunter said: “Someone will get killed. It has already happened at the crossroads and more will.

“If anything happens along Green Farm Lane or at the crossroads, those who have not listened will have blood on their hands.

“The whole junction needs to be safer. It is a real problem, it always has been.

“This is not about signatures, it is about prevention.”

The petition was sent to Kent County Council’s (KCC) highways team who assessed the road and presented their findings to Gravesham council’s joint transportation board at a meeting held on May 29.

According to the officers’ report, it is ranked joint sixth out of 148 junctions of this type across Kent in terms of the number of collisions and had an “above average” crash rate over the past 10 years.

There were 13 crashes along the stretch - one of which was fatal involving a cyclist and car in December 2013. The data did not take into account the February incident.

The report said most accidents happened between vehicles exiting Forge Lane and eastbound A226 traffic after failing to judge others’ path and speed and not looking properly.

But KCC said installing a crossing was not possible without signalising the entire junction and reducing the speed limit would not work.

Instead, it plans to put up new warning signs with “crossroads ahead” and “reduce speed now”, slow road markings and poor collision history site signs.

However, those living in Lower and Upper Shorne do not think the improvements are enough.

Green Farm Lane resident, Steve White, said: “New signs are just decoration. People will not take notice of them, they will have no impact.

“Something else needs doing, it is a real, pressing issue. The number of crashes and near misses up there is awful.

“It is a really hard junction to cross. It is like a Mexican stand-off, you do not know if or when anyone is going to go.”

Neighbour Stuart Henderson agreed, claiming drivers do not take notice of the signs already in place and will continue to ignore new ones.

Others have called for traffic lights like the crossroads at Pear Tree Lane and Villa Road, in Higham - a mile along the A226.

Nicola Freeman is one of them. The Lower Shorne resident added: “The traffic is getting so much faster and there are more lorries. We need something here.”

In a statement to the join transportation board, Shorne Parish Council urged members to consider supporting a similar scheme.

It said: “Whilst we welcome the immediate actions KCC proposes to take, and the further review they intend to commission, we do not consider that the proposed changes to signage go far enough.

“If it is sixth in the whole county, it is likely to be one of the worst, if not the worst, in Gravesham

“It is also clear that the majority of accidents are T-bone type collisions, where one of the vehicles is attempting to cross the A226 or turn right at the crossroads.

“There are many, many more similar collisions and near-misses at this location that go unrecorded; we see them with depressing frequency.

“What the report fails to identify adequately is the risk to pedestrians and the genuine fear felt by pedestrians who have to cross this wide, 50mph road at this point.”

However, Jill does not think this is an option claiming lights would create further issues and build-ups along the narrow Green Farm Lane, where she has lived for 20 years.

The road is often blocked by lorries using it as a cut-through to the nearby industrial estate despite the weight restrictions causing more safety concerns for residents.

At the end of last year, the hairdresser was pushed into a bush and almost hit by two heavy goods vehicles while out walking her dogs.

Jill added: “Many others will say they have had near misses. It is a real problem.

“If people manage to survive the lane then they have to try and cross at the crossroads.”

The 60-year-old instead thinks cameras need to be installed to “hit people in the pocket” if caught speeding, and the limit reduced from 50mph on the A226 and from 30mph on Green Farm Lane.

Others have suggested putting in a roundabout, yet some do not think such measures are necessary.

Jane Smith, who has lived in Forge Lane for 32 years, said: “I do not see it as dangerous. I use it often and I have never had a near miss and think you can see quite clearly.

“I guess anything you can do which might make a difference is good.”

The new signs will be installed by September.