• The post you are reporting:
   
  As I've probably written before (and I'm sure I've got the cuttings somewhere) about 40 years ago at the old Webbs Hotel on the Folkestone Road, there was a planning inquiry in to the A20 extension route.
  
  Both DHB and DDC were intent on the present route leading directly to Eastern Docks, cutting off the town from the sea front and going through miles of AONB where there was no way any peripheral development would ever be allowed.
  
  Myself and a couple of others spoke, asking that the route instead orbited the town dropping down on to an improved A2 and Jubilee Way.
  
  This would have gone through fairly low grade agricultural land and opened up for developments such as truck-stops, freight clearance, emergency parking, warehouses, hotels etc.
  
  It was not to be.
  
  DHB wanted a road to take people as directly as possible to the Port and DHB thought that if they could get half of humanity driving within a few hundred yards of the town centre 'obviously' many would stop off in Dover's thriving town.
  
  We are where we are.
  
  Today the bit I don't understand why in the days of GPS and Mobile Phones, would-be freight traffic are setting off from what is probably quite a nice car park by the Happy Eater in Scunthorpe with all facilities and find themselves surprised to be parked up at Maidstone on the M20.
  
  Surely it cant be beyond the wit of man to have a system where using such as TomTom information for traffic speeds and hold ups, trucks can be advised to set off towards the port only when they have some prospect of crossing in the near future.
  
  It's not that difficult, Amazon seem to be able to do this with multiple destinations on a daily basis.

Report Post

Your Name

Reason