West Sussex’s ‘first’ diagonal pedestrian crossing installed in Thakeham

A diagonal pedestrian crossing ‐ a ‘first’ for West Sussex ‐ has been installed in Thakeham.
Thakeham's new pedestrian crossingThakeham's new pedestrian crossing
Thakeham's new pedestrian crossing

It is one of eleven projects, representing more than £1.7million worth of improvements, either completed, or nearly completed, by West Sussex Highways just before the coronavirus lockdown started.

Areas benefiting from the schemes include in Ansty, Barns Green, Bognor Regis, Crawley, East Grinstead, Felpham, Pyecombe, Slaugham, Thakeham, Westhampnett and Wisborough Green.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

Roger Elkins, cabinet member for highways and infrastructure, said: “The 11 projects represent a significant investment in our highway network and will benefit a wide range of people, including pedestrians, cyclists, bus users and horse riders.

Barns Green improvementsBarns Green improvements
Barns Green improvements

“It was great to see the projects delivered on time and we look forward to this year’s improvements programme being delivered with equal success, while recognising the current challenges coronavirus presents.”

Lloyd Allen, contracts manager of principal contractor Balfour Beatty Living Places (BBLP), said how pleased BBLP were to have been involved in this series of successful projects, and looked forward to working with West Sussex County Council in the future.

New slant on pedestrian crossing conundrum

A diagonal pedestrian crossing – a ‘first’ for West Sussex – has been installed in Thakeham. Some residents, schools, councillors and local parish councils had expressed concern about the lack of safe crossing options at the Water Lane/Thakeham Road mini roundabout junction.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

Narrow stretches of road and pavement, plus poor visibility in places, meant there was no simple way to significantly improve pedestrian safety there. Standard Puffin and Zebra crossings were rejected because they would have meant placing them very near the mini roundabout, which would have been unsafe, while placing them further away would have put pedestrians at risk if they were tempted to take a short cut and did not use them correctly.

West Sussex Highways engineers devised a solution, including: changing the mini roundabout to a fully traffic-light controlled junction; a dedicated pedestrian crossing phase on both the northern and eastern ‘arms’; an option to use a diagonal crossing for pedestrians going east to west: this is the first use of its kind in West Sussex and enables more pedestrians to clear the junction without having to wait for the next cycle of ‘green man’ time.

The traffic lights use the latest software to ‘read’ traffic conditions, changing signal timings to minimise queues. Thermal imaging cameras adjust timings to ensure pedestrians have sufficient time to cross.

The opportunity was also taken to deal with a number of potholes - through resurfacing large areas of road - and to widen and resurface some of the footways.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

The works are estimated to have cost about £340,000, with £161,000 of this coming from local development funds (Section 106 funds) and £179,000 from central government grant.

North meets south in Barns Green

A footway has been built, linking the northern and southern ends of Barns Green village and creating a safer environment for pedestrians.

Before the 275m stretch of path was constructed, pedestrians had to walk from one end of the village to the other either on a potentially muddy verge or in the carriageway. The new footway will benefit residents, school children, public transport users and people visiting and staying at Sumners Ponds and has attracted several positive comments from the public.

Road repair work and significant improvements to the carriageway drainage system were also carried out while the project was ongoing to avoid the need for further disruption at a later date.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

The project cost a total of about £130,000 and was funded by the County’s Community Highway Scheme budget.

Traffic ‘slow down’ measures in Slaugham, Pease Pottage, Warninglid and Handcross

A series of measures have been devised to remind drivers to slow down on the approach to settlements across this area. The project was in response to a parish council request and features installed include new gateways, signing and road markings. A section of footway has also been resurfaced and improved for pedestrians. Additional, interactive, ‘slow down’ signs are due to be installed soon. Total cost: approximately £170,000, funded from developer contributions (Section 106 funds).

Footway improvements Durbans Road area, Wisborough Green

The parish council requested help in improving footways around the village green. Works included refurbishing existing footways, providing new footways and extending a parking bay. New dropped-kerb crossing points have been provided and areas of poor road surface have been repaired. Total cost: approximately £60,000.

A message from the Editor, Gary Shipton:

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

In order for us to continue to provide high quality and trusted local news, I am asking you to please purchase a copy of our newspapers.

With the coronavirus lockdown having a major impact on many of our local valued advertisers - and consequently the advertising that we receive - we are more reliant than ever on you helping us to provide you with news and information by buying a copy of our newspapers.

Our journalists are highly trained and our content is independently regulated by IPSO to some of the most rigorous standards in the world. But being your eyes and ears comes at a price. So we need your support more than ever to buy our newspapers during this crisis.

Stay safe, and best wishes.