Motor vehicles come first.

The A2070 Bad Münstereifel Road (A2070),

  Ashford's southern orbital road .

 Traffic along this road is busy, and often travelling fast.  At this point the barrier does offer a degree of protection for the pedestrian, however it isn't always like that, as the next picture illustrates. 

Why the switch? 

The situation for pedestrians, and cyclists (yes, believe it of not, this is signed as a cycle route!) is much worse all the way to Junction 10 of the M20. 

It is understood that this road was originally the responsibility of Kent Highways as an "A" road, but in recent years it has been taken over by the highways Agency as an Arterial Road.

In the previous picture the path is a follow- on from this next picture, with the A2070 on the right .    

Blue cycle direction signs, and the share-use  (cyclists/pedestrians) sign can be seen on the left of the picture.  The route is not fit for purpose, and some years ago I reported  this to Highways, and I had a meeting with one of their reps on site, who agreed with me, but nothing has been done about it (i.e.: remove the signs or improve the situation).  It seems wrong to me, to direct cyclists down a route that is not safe.   

It is plain to see that the safety of Pedestrians and cyclists has not been given priority.