Misery for the people of Kent

I live in Bearsted (Maidstone) and work in Ashford, my normal journey between jct 8 and Jct 9 has been absolute misery for the past 5 years. We first had to deal with traffic caused while the system was built, next was the implementation phase, then the in use phase followed by the mens when it is stored away

(Usually only for a short period).

A journey that could take 25 mins before this poorly thought out disaster now takes 45 mins if I am lucky. Firstly I cannot enter at Jct 8 anymore so I have to travel to jct 7. This adds time and mileage to my journey, something really appreciated with the extortionate price of fuel. Secondly the whole system is dangerous, if you find yourself unfortunate enough to have car issues you are stranded with zero safety refuge and surrounded by 40 ton trucks and fast moving cars. If you are lucky enought to not be the one that had the car issues you are still likely to be stuck in the miles of backed up traffic once everything stops.

Then there is the issues while they set up the system. The M20 gets shut, forcing ten of thousands of vehicles off at Jct 7 and 8. This creates a situation where anyone who lives around the Jcts (like Bearsted residents) are almost prisoners in thier homes as all the roads are gridlock.

Using the M20 as an extended car park for the port of Dover is immoral and should be illegal. It causes absolute misery for the people of Kent and was clearly designed by someone with zero connection to Kent. Kent has become the Car/Truck Park of England

To make things even worse, the leaders of the operation appear on radio and TV saying what a great success it is...this just shows how removed they are from the reality experienced by me and the other residents that live nearby. Clearly these are the same people that think that smart motorways are a good idea....(yep removing the safety feature from a motorway!).

A correctly thought out truck facility built somewhere close to the port that has all the amenities required to support drivers and thier vehicles. Food facilities, parking, toilets, washing, shops....etc.