DARTFORD Council has reached the end of the line with its road painting budget, leaving motorists confused at a busy roundabout.

It has already spent the £20,000 assigned to painting road markings for this year, which means lines at the busy Old Bexley Lane/A2 junction are non-existent.

And the situation is set to get worse across the borough as winter sets in because no cash is available until April 2002.

Dartford Council took over control of waiting restrictions from Kent County Council, this year and as a result some cash previously reserved for white lines was spent on repainting yellow lines

One council insider said: "There is very limited money for road markings and unfortunately most of it has been spent on repainting yellow lines. It is a sorry state of affairs."

Dartford resident Deborah Spencer, 46, believes two accidents at the roundabout resulted from the lack of road markings.

She said: "These accidents would not be happening if the roads were properly marked. They say the council has run out of money to repaint road markings but they are spending more money on fixing crash barriers as a result."

Chairman of Stone Lodge residents association, Graham Standen, said: "They are waiting until someone dies or is badly injured before they do anything. This should be a priority.

"It's the price of a tin of paint were talking about. I can't see how it can be a problem."

White safety lines in Dartford usually get repainted every five to six years.

Dartford Council highway manager Steve Welsh said: "Some areas wear out faster than others. We are trying to catch up with the backlog.

"Any additional finds of worn-out lines should be passed on to Kent County Council."

l jhigginson@london.newsquest.co.uk

December 10, 2001 17:26

John Higginson