Tell about your experiences of Operation Brock

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  Who doesn't suffer...??

  by CH, over 3 years ago

  I live in PH area of Maidstone & work in Ashford; my journey time & fuel consumption have dramatically increased. Every day in either direction; I get stopped by a breakdown or accident or slowed down by a wide load taking up both lanes. Some people drive under the 50mph limit (breaking when they hit the speed cameras!!) and others drive at 70mph (mainly HGV's & coaches) it really is awful to drive along. I feel for the people down the A20 so I try not to use it. I don't bother using the motorway at the weekends as I... Continue reading

  I live in PH area of Maidstone & work in Ashford; my journey time & fuel consumption have dramatically increased. Every day in either direction; I get stopped by a breakdown or accident or slowed down by a wide load taking up both lanes. Some people drive under the 50mph limit (breaking when they hit the speed cameras!!) and others drive at 70mph (mainly HGV's & coaches) it really is awful to drive along. I feel for the people down the A20 so I try not to use it. I don't bother using the motorway at the weekends as I can't stand this anymore. I have family just outside of Folkestone that I haven't been to visit in ages.

  Drivers use any back road to avoid the motorway & queuing which impacts anyone living in Maidstone Trying to move around the town; especially if the motorway shuts is gridlock hell - my worst time was 1hr 45mins to get from PH to Grove Green; total joke!

  From a work perspective; it causes so many issues for the business. We import fresh produce & then supply the supermarkets. We suffer constant delays; which impacts both us & our customers.

  A solution has to be sorted & soon. We can't continue like this forever.

  
  
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  Free Kent from the tyranny of Operation Brock!

  by Peter Sullivan , over 3 years ago

  Operation Brock is a calamity, however you look at it. Local residents are facing multifaceted negatives. We are impacted upon by the traffic, which switches to local roads, in terms of pollution, cost (it takes longer to get everywhere so you are burning more fuel), unable to use our single track local roads because impacted traffic is redirected, by their SatNavs, on to roads that are not able to cope. We have huge articulated lorries trying to get up lanes that can barely cope with a transit van.
  it takes longer to get everywhere, and sometimes it is almost impossible... Continue reading

  Operation Brock is a calamity, however you look at it. Local residents are facing multifaceted negatives. We are impacted upon by the traffic, which switches to local roads, in terms of pollution, cost (it takes longer to get everywhere so you are burning more fuel), unable to use our single track local roads because impacted traffic is redirected, by their SatNavs, on to roads that are not able to cope. We have huge articulated lorries trying to get up lanes that can barely cope with a transit van.
  it takes longer to get everywhere, and sometimes it is almost impossible to get anywhere, resulting in missed appointments etc. Deliveries and workman can’t get to us so that has to all be rescheduled

  The environmental impact on residents has yet to be quantified, but it is certainly going to a huge negative. More CO2 spewed into the air impacting upon, humans, wildlife and flora; human waste by the side of the motorway, because the lorry drivers have no facilities is a source of disease etc etc

  Local business losing money caused by heavy traffic and gridlock.

  Absolutely NO thought is given to the impact on local residents in the Government’s dogmatic desire to get holidaymakers off for their 2 weeks in the sun. All the narrative is about how we must help the holiday makers so they can relax and unwind “everybody deserves a break, it’s good for our mental health”. What about local residents mental health and well being? Brock was supposed to be a temporary measure. It’s almost a permanent fixture now and there is no respite for us.

  We are the “front line state” for people entering the country illegally; we have Brock, we have the worst water shortages in the country. When will the Government put in the infrastructure to alleviate the problems of local people in Kent? Certainly not in the short term, because they are so busy “ levelling up” the North. The Conservatives depend on the South East of England to keep them in power. Instead of making gains in the Red Wall, you want start worrying about losing your Blue Wall.

  
  

  Free Kent from the tyranny of Operation Brock!
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  Visits to Dover

  by Ginny Gee, over 3 years ago
  We live in Kingswood, trying to get to Dover is a nightmare. Our optician, osteopath and family are in the Dover area and planned visits to all three have had to be cancelled due to the closure of the M20 plus Operation Brock. Plus the aggravation of the hot weather we are both over 70 and can’t manage being caught up in unforeseen traffic holdups, goodness only knows how the lorry drivers cope.

  We live in Kingswood, trying to get to Dover is a nightmare. Our optician, osteopath and family are in the Dover area and planned visits to all three have had to be cancelled due to the closure of the M20 plus Operation Brock. Plus the aggravation of the hot weather we are both over 70 and can’t manage being caught up in unforeseen traffic holdups, goodness only knows how the lorry drivers cope.
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  Muddled management of a know problem

  by Ron Smith, over 3 years ago

  Muddled management of a know problem, it was known in advance that the first weekend of the school holidays would be busy, but it was left to the first day of the weekend to admit there was a problem. What do we pay these people for? Running the County/Country! To add insult to injury why not have roadworks on the main diversion via the A20 at Charing on the very day it started? Der? Why not have this done during the autumn/winter. pretty simple, but no one thought of it. Oh, lets dig up all surrounding rat runs so no... Continue reading

  Muddled management of a know problem, it was known in advance that the first weekend of the school holidays would be busy, but it was left to the first day of the weekend to admit there was a problem. What do we pay these people for? Running the County/Country! To add insult to injury why not have roadworks on the main diversion via the A20 at Charing on the very day it started? Der? Why not have this done during the autumn/winter. pretty simple, but no one thought of it. Oh, lets dig up all surrounding rat runs so no locals can move either. The roads in Kent have long been deteriorating with very little money spent on them. Every rural road in the county needs reinstating up to standards that do not ruin car suspensions, cause cyclists to fall off, have no capacity to accept 44ton vehicles, yet this is allowed to continue. Farms should not be allowed vehicles over 18ton to visit their farms. Costa of farm access roads should be Bourne by the farms, not the council. If they cant afford to maintain the roads, then do not have large vehicle access. These roads were just farm tracks, ie mud roads with no foundations and just 'top dressing ' layer over the mud. Hence all the potholes, frost gets under the top surface and become huge potholes create by the trucks. Why do farms not instruct large vehicles the best way into their farms? Why do they allow these 44ton lorries travel down 8'6'' roads? All because their foreign sat naps take them that way. Can they read weight limits, can they read signs, any signs.
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  Everyone suffers

  by MJ, over 3 years ago
  In 2022, it is shocking that this makeshift solution of freight traffic has been allowed to go on. Up until recently, I had to travel from Maidstone to Ashford to visit my mum, and was always aghast at the drivers rubbish in the verges of the roads. Seeing large plastic bottles of urine was the norm, coupled with all sorts of other rubbish. The problem is, the drivers are not at fault, they have a job to do, like us all, but are treated like animals, with next to no facilities while they are forced to wait in these long... Continue reading

  In 2022, it is shocking that this makeshift solution of freight traffic has been allowed to go on. Up until recently, I had to travel from Maidstone to Ashford to visit my mum, and was always aghast at the drivers rubbish in the verges of the roads. Seeing large plastic bottles of urine was the norm, coupled with all sorts of other rubbish. The problem is, the drivers are not at fault, they have a job to do, like us all, but are treated like animals, with next to no facilities while they are forced to wait in these long queues on the M20. We need to build one huge lorry park off the M20 with good facilities for drivers so they can be drip fed to the ports. I frequently went past the Inland border facility in Ashford which always looked empty!! Why is that not used more? It seems like everyone are the losers with this current arrangement.
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  Does there even need to be a survey? This surely negatively affects any motorist from Maidstone to M20 East?

  by Sean, over 3 years ago
  Why is the south east of Kent expected to carry this burden every month or so? It (obviously) impacts travel but also trade, quality of life, damage to roads-unlikely to be repaired promptly as well as the rubbish strewn in it's wake (unlikely to be collected). Junction 8 and all around Bearsted grinds to a halt when the A20 becomes gridlocked. How come we are so powerless?

  
  

  This cannot continue to impact Kent citizens with no future plan nor recompense to Highways Agencies and Councils.

  Why is the south east of Kent expected to carry this burden every month or so? It (obviously) impacts travel but also trade, quality of life, damage to roads-unlikely to be repaired promptly as well as the rubbish strewn in it's wake (unlikely to be collected). Junction 8 and all around Bearsted grinds to a halt when the A20 becomes gridlocked. How come we are so powerless?

  
  

  This cannot continue to impact Kent citizens with no future plan nor recompense to Highways Agencies and Councils.
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  Dangerous Contraflow

  by Hutchmo, over 3 years ago

  I do not use the M20 when Brock is in place.

  I have found that when travelling westbound and sticking to the speed limit I am frequently harassed by a foreign truck driver inches from my rear bumper trying to force me to go faster. The truck driver knows he won't be prosecuted for speeding. This is no fun in a Fiat Panda! The resulting danger means that I choose to use the A20.

  I cannot access the M20 eastbound from junction 8 and junction 7 is out of my way, so I choose to use the A20.

  There seems... Continue reading

  I do not use the M20 when Brock is in place.

  I have found that when travelling westbound and sticking to the speed limit I am frequently harassed by a foreign truck driver inches from my rear bumper trying to force me to go faster. The truck driver knows he won't be prosecuted for speeding. This is no fun in a Fiat Panda! The resulting danger means that I choose to use the A20.

  I cannot access the M20 eastbound from junction 8 and junction 7 is out of my way, so I choose to use the A20.

  There seems to be frequent accidents in the contraflow and when this happens all traffic comes to a standstill often for an extended period with drivers trapped on the motorway. For this reason I choose to use the A20.

  When the A20 becomes congested I can take to the country lanes to avoid the holdup. My additional use of the A20 and the country lanes is a nuisance for the local users who have no choice but to use them and it seriously affects the quality of life of residents. Unfortunately I feel that I have no choice due to the unacceptable risk of using the M20.
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  Brick mess

  by Frustrated traveler , over 3 years ago
  The highways agency who are presumably responsible for Brock have decided to use the M20 motorway between junction 7 and 8 as a fly tipping area for unwanted rusty sign supports and cones if a private company did this they would be fined the garden of England is not the place for this

  I use this road daily and the closure of Junction 8 causes more grief to my than anything on my journey it is not thought out and unnecessary
  I live in south Maidstone and need to travel to Ashford regularly

  
  

  The highways agency who are presumably responsible for Brock have decided to use the M20 motorway between junction 7 and 8 as a fly tipping area for unwanted rusty sign supports and cones if a private company did this they would be fined the garden of England is not the place for this

  I use this road daily and the closure of Junction 8 causes more grief to my than anything on my journey it is not thought out and unnecessary
  I live in south Maidstone and need to travel to Ashford regularly

  
  
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  Can’t carry on

  by MrsM, over 3 years ago

  Living in Lenham and working in Maidstone this should be a 20/25 minute journey, whilst brock is on the journey (mainly home) could be anything from 40 minutes to over an hour. And MBC want to build 5000 homes at Lenham Heath adding goodness knows how many more cars to the A20! Unbelievable. KCC, MBC and highways need to realise the A20 cannot sustain the levels of traffic expected when brock is in place.

  Living in Lenham and working in Maidstone this should be a 20/25 minute journey, whilst brock is on the journey (mainly home) could be anything from 40 minutes to over an hour. And MBC want to build 5000 homes at Lenham Heath adding goodness knows how many more cars to the A20! Unbelievable. KCC, MBC and highways need to realise the A20 cannot sustain the levels of traffic expected when brock is in place.
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  Brock - what a pain!!

  by Steve.south@hotmail.co.uk , over 3 years ago
  We live in Maidstone. Our daughter lives in Ashford and my mother lives at Dymchurch. We visit both regularly each week and have been affected every time we make the journeys to see them by the restrictions on the M20. On one occasion Junction 8 was actually closed off on the motorway and we couldn't even get onto the A20 due to the amount of traffic. We therefore had to cancel our visit to my mum very annoyingly. I would also add a real concern for those poor lorry drivers caught up in the madness. St

  We live in Maidstone. Our daughter lives in Ashford and my mother lives at Dymchurch. We visit both regularly each week and have been affected every time we make the journeys to see them by the restrictions on the M20. On one occasion Junction 8 was actually closed off on the motorway and we couldn't even get onto the A20 due to the amount of traffic. We therefore had to cancel our visit to my mum very annoyingly. I would also add a real concern for those poor lorry drivers caught up in the madness. St