'Someone is going to get killed': Fears over Horsham road

Residents in Sargent Way, Broadbridge Heath, say they fear it is a case of an accident waiting to happen.

Sarah Evans, who is campaigning for action to close the road to through traffic, said: “At some point someone is going to get killed. All the residents have pretty much had enough of it.”

Problems first arose when part of the main road off the A24 into Broadbridge Heath was turned into a bus-only lane. Drivers began using Sargent Way as a cut-through into Broadbridge Way – and traffic has since rapidly increased.

“I have personally recorded at any given time more than three cars per minute drive past my property in the morning, in the rush hour it’s over six cars a minute. This is an unacceptable level of traffic for any quiet residential street,” said Sarah.

She said when she first moved into the area nine years ago, the road was quiet with hardly any cars. “The traffic started increasing because people realised they could use it as a cut-through. The traffic now is just ridiculous.”

And, she said, residents feared it would get even worse because of plans to open a new McDonald’s drive through near Broadbridge Heath Retail Park.

She said matters came to a head last week when a car mounted the pavement opposite her home at such speed “they took out a tree, have written off my stepson’s car and took out a sign post. Should there have been a pedestrian crossing the road at that moment, they would have been killed.”

She has raised concerns with Horsham MP John Milne, Horsham District Council, West Sussex County Council and Broadbridge Heath Parish Council.

"This needs to be taken very seriously now, lives are obviously in danger,” she said.

A West Sussex County Council spokesperson said: “Sargent Way is not a publicly maintainable highway and therefore does not fall under the jurisdiction of the county council's highways authority, but remains the responsibility of the developer or relevant management company.

“However, officers at WSCC Highways have been working with the local district and parish council regarding several traffic-related matters in the area, including the use of Sargent Way, and investigations and discussions are ongoing.

“We would recommend that any concerns residents may have to be directed to the developer or management company who ultimately have responsibility for Sargent Way at this time.”