A scheme to make life easier for bus passengers is causing hold-ups on a key road artery.

Kent County Council carried out “improvement” works to the bus stop in Tovil Road, the B2010, in Tovil, near Maidstone, to make it easier and safer to alight from the bus.

The work, completed at the end of March, involved building out the pavement across one half of the road, so that the bus would stop in the outside lane, parallel to the new pavement, and passengers would step down directly onto the pavement.

Previously, buses had not been able to pull in sufficiently to park parallel to the kerb, because of a build-out protecting a parking bay just before the stop.

Clearly, when the bus was picking up passengers, traffic would be stuck behind it, but planners probably thought that was a small price to pay, especially as the bus is relatively infrequent.

What was not appreciated is that now when a vehicle coming from East Farleigh wants to turn right into Courtenay Road - which happens frequently, all the traffic is backed up.

Previously, traffic had been able to pass waiting vehicles on the inside.

The result has been traffic queues at peak periods extending back to Burial Ground Lane - and during the recent Loose Road closure, when traffic on the route was even heavier, even back along Dean Street.

Laura Bell, who lives on the Passmore Estate of Farleigh Hill, is one of those affected.

She said: “Since the bus stop/path was extended out, and the removal of the filter lane, the queuing traffic has been horrendous.

“Every day, no matter what time, as I come out of Passmore Way, the traffic is queuing up Farleigh Hill, past Tesco, and often up to and past the Lower Road and Dean Street junction.

“It’s so difficult to even join the queue that I have taken to driving left instead of right, then turning into Burial Ground Lane and looping round.”

“It’s further, but quicker. Although it has still made me late for picking up my son from school on several occasions.”

“I appreciate that it was difficult for buses to pull in before; they always ended up at a bit of an angle, but this solution has not been well thought out.”

The issue was raised at a Tovil Parish Council meeting on Monday, where a resident from East Farleigh was there to seek help.

He said: “I live in Dean Street and when the Loose Road works were in place, I had traffic queuing outside my house because of this - that’s a mile from the bus stop.

“Even now that the Loose Road has reopened, traffic still queues back to Burial Ground Lane at peak periods, that’s half a mile away.”

“This problem is not going to go away and can only get worse in the future when the 272 homes currently being built off Farleigh Hull are completed.”

Paul Wilby, the council chairman, said that KCC “was not going to simply remove the build-out.”

He said: “Believe it or not, before, when the bus couldn’t pull into the kerb properly, some motorbikes were actually coming down the inside of the bus and had almost taken out passengers stepping off.

“So KCC is not going to do anything that makes it less safe.

“But we can ask for a review to seek a safer solution.”

“One solution might be to remove a couple of parking places just before the bus stop so that the bus can pull in. But that’s going to upset some residents.”

Parish Cllr Mike Hogg suggested the new arrangements had actually made the junction less safe.

He said: “Now vehicles from Eccleston Road and Courtney Road feel they can just shoot out onto the man road. I was myself nearly knocked off my motoribike the other day.

“It’s only a matter of time before there is an accident.”

The parish decided a review of the bus stop should be placed on its Highways Improvement Plan to take up with KCC.

Stuart Jeffery, the leader of Maidstone council, was recently elected as Green KCC councillor for the Maidstone Central Division.

He said: “This falls outside my division area by a few metres, but is still affecting my residents, many of whom have been in touch.

“I have been along and seen the problem for myself and I am chasing it up with the highways team.”

A KCC spokesman said: “The recent improvements to the bus stop were delivered as part of the Department for Transport’s Bus Service Improvement Plan (BSIP), a national initiative which includes enhancing bus infrastructure and accessibility.

“This particular scheme was carefully assessed and prioritised to address long-standing safety concerns for vulnerable road users, including elderly residents and families accessing nearby schools.

“We understand that the changes have altered traffic flow in the area. Before proceeding with the scheme, a structural and independent road safety audit was conducted.

“We are actively monitoring the site and will be reviewing it to ensure the scheme continues to meet safety standards. Any necessary adjustments will be made based on the findings.”