Residents are calling for action to solve traffic "chaos" caused by lorries struggling to make it up a slippery hill.
They say they are kept up at night by screeching tyres and reversing alarms as stranded HGVs retreat back down for another run-up, and fear there will be a serious accident.
However, pleas for Kent County Council (KCC) Highways to lay down an anti-skid surface on the steep incline have fallen on deaf ears.
The problems have been happening since traffic lights were installed at the foot of two hills, at the junction of Willington Street and Deringwood Drive in Maidstone in August last year.
They were put in by housebuilder Bellway as one of the mitigation measures for its new estate of 421 homes at Parsonage Place in Otham.
KCC had opposed the lights initially, amid safety concerns that vehicles would jump them to get a good run up the hill. There has been little evidence of that, but it has emerged that in wet weather, lorries making a standing start from the lights struggle to get the traction to climb the hill.
Unable to go up, their only option is to reverse down the hill and try again.
In Monday's heavy downpours, police had to close the road between 2.50pm and 4pm while one HGV had several attempts.
Willington Street resident Chris Springett said: "Time and time again, if it's at all wet, they just can't make it. Their wheels start spinning and they go nowhere, except sometimes slipping backwards.
"They inevitably have to reverse down the road and have another go - sometimes another four or five goes.
"Some of them even reverse right back across the junction to get a good run.
"You can imagine this chaos with the cars behind.
"Often cars pull out to go around the lorry, which I fear will inevitably lead to a crash one day with vehicles going in the opposite direction."
Mr Springett, who has lived in Willington Street for 27 years, said: "As well as the obvious danger, it's very disturbing for residents.
"All we hear is the screeching noise of the wheels slipping, followed by the inevitable beep, beep, beep of the reversing warning.
"This can happen at any time, even in the middle of the night. The other week, a lorry reversed down the hill and hit the barriers at the junction by the lights."
Mr Springett said the junction had been designed with an anti-skid surface on the downhill slopes approaching the lights, but he said: "It is also needed on the uphills so that the lorries can get traction."
He has written to Cllr Peter Osborne (Reform), the KCC cabinet member for highways, pleading for anti-skid surfacing to be laid, as well as sending him videos of the problem happening.
However, he was told it was council policy to only install high friction surfacing at locations where there is a history of crashes due to a lack of grip on the carriageway.
He added: "We must prioritise our limited resources toward delivering crash remedial measures in areas of the county where there is a clear and consistent pattern of incidents."
But Mr Springett said: "He has completely misunderstood.
"The problem is not the crash factor. The problem is that as soon as it's damp or raining, the lorries lose traction and cannot clear the brow of the hill.
"This then backs up traffic to the Ashford Road, stopping residents from accessing their properties. It makes everyone late for school or work, and is dangerous when frustrated drivers then overtake on the hill. It happens at least five times a day in bad weather, at all hours.
"Lorries have to back down the hill and sometimes take five attempts to get a run up. It's utter chaos.
"To lay an anti-skid surface for a distance of about 30 yards would be a small outlay considering the lost man/work hours it would save.
"It would avoid the possibility of a serious accident, and it would allow me to sleep the whole night without hearing bleeping lorries in reverse."
Valerie Springett (Con) is the Maidstone council ward councillor for the area, although she is no relation to Chris Springett.
She said: "I was against the development in Church Road, which required the traffic lights to be installed to deal with anticipated rush-hour queues in Derringwood Drive.
"Maidstone council refused it planning permission, but unfortunately, the development was approved by a planning inspector, with the requirement for the lights to be installed.
"At the time, the KCC Highways objection centred around congestion on Willington Street and I don't recall them raising concerns about the proposed lights at the junction, even though it had been known for many years that lights were not appropriate there.
"It will be down to KCC Highways to look at a solution - if there is one!
"But potentially applying a non-slip road surface with a rougher surface for better traction might be an option."
Cllr Linden Kemkaran is the divisional member for Maidstone South East, which includes Willington Street, as well as being the leader of the new Reform UK administration at KCC.
She did not respond to a request for comment.
Leader of Maidstone council, Cllr Stuart Jeffery (Green), said: "There seems to be a serious failure on Willington Street, which is causing substantial problems when it rains, yet the KCC leader and her councillors don't seem to be interested."
Kent Online contacted Bellway to see if they would return and lay an anti-skid surface. The firm said that was a matter for KCC.
A Kent Highways spokesman said: "We are aware of concerns raised regarding HGV traction issues on Willington Street during wet weather.
"We take road safety very seriously and prioritise improvements based on detailed collision data provided by Kent Police.
"This ensures that our limited resources are directed to locations where there is a clear and consistent pattern of incidents.
"On this stretch of Willington Street, as only two slight personal injury collisions have been recorded since 2022, and neither involved HGVs or issues with skid resistance, we would not install High Friction Surfacing at this time.
"We will continue to monitor the location and remain open to reviewing it should the data indicate a growing safety concern."