More than £1.6 million will be spent tackling congestion and improving road safety in Thanet during the next year – almost three times the amount of cash given to other parts of the county.
Kent Highway Services’ list of work for 2009/10 includes 11 schemes in Thanet. Tasks include installing £666,000 worth of new crossings outside Cliftonville Primary School and Garlinge Primary School, as well as on Pysons Road, Broadstairs, and around Westbrook Avenue, Margate.
Chilton Primary School on Nethercourt Hill, Ramsgate, will benefit from its first 'safe routes’.
New cycle tracks will also be created in Dane Valley and between Margate seafront and Drapers Mill, while a new toucan or pelican crossing will be installed in Broadstairs as part of the town’s ongoing traffic plan.
The most costly project is the Westwood Transport Plan, aimed at tackling congestion on roads leading to the busy leisure and retail site, which will receive some £250,000 this year.
The plan will be implemented in three phases and is aimed at creating a new network of cycle tracks, improving access to the QEQM hospital and reducing delays around the Westwood centre.
It will take several years to complete.