A controversial one-way system that many blame for adding to traffic congestion in a busy town centre is to stay – at least for the time being.

Most highway authorities like to put up signs prohibiting U-turns, but it seems in Maidstone Kent Highways is pretty keen on them.

After telling local business owners and councillors at a meeting in May that it would pull the plug on the experimental one-way system around Hart Street and Barker Road at Lockmeadow, alongside the McDonald’s Drive-Thru, Kent County Council (KCC) has now announced that it is to stay – for now.

Cllr Paul Harper (Lab) attended a meeting that KCC held this week. He said: “We were taken completely by surprise.

“Previously KCC officers had led us to believe the one-way system would be removed before the end of June, but it seems the highways director said no to that.

“They are going to make a few tweaks and carry on with the system for the time being to see if it can be improved.”

The one-way scheme, which was introduced in March, bans traffic from entering Hart Street from its junction nearest to The Broadway, but instead requires motorists to travel along Barker Road to a mini-roundabout and enter Hart Street from the other end.

It is the exact opposite of the scheme suggested by Ali El-Hajj, who owns McDonald’s, and by Gina Michaelas, who owns Marino’s fish and chip shop, also in Hart Street.

Both businesses had been severely affected by the congestion that can occur on the Lockmeadow estate, with motorists saying that it has sometimes takes them hours to exit the area on to The Broadway.

Clifford Way residents have argued all along that the problem is not so much traffic trying to reach the McDonald’s drive-thru as the very short time that the traffic lights at the junction of Barker Road with The Broadway stay green.

Often only three or four cars are able to exit.

At this week’s meeting, highways officers revealed why.

Cllr Harper said: “It seems that the sensors on the lights at the junction only look back as far as the entrance to the first Hart Street junction.

“If drivers hang back to leave that junction clear – which of course is the right thing to do – the sensors see a space and think there are only a few cars waiting, and so only allow a quick lights change.”

“KCC is now investigating whether it is to possible to put in more sensors farther down the road to detect longer queues, but it is not known at the moment if that will be technically possible.

“If it is, and that leads to longer green lights, the system could work in the long term.”

In the meantime KCC is to erect signs assuring visitors that all the local businesses are open. It will carry out a more in-depth survey of traffic flows, in particular measuring traffic further down Barker Road near the entrance to Kingfisher Meadow.

And it wlll investigate moving the sensors.

KCC said that the public should continue to give their views on the scheme via the public consultation page.

The one-way system had been put in under an experimental traffic order and could be removed at any time, but it looks set to stay at least until the autumn.