Traffic chaos sees Horsham condemned as 'one big car park'

Drivers have branded journeys ‘a nightmare’, ‘beyond a joke’ and ‘ridiculous’ – and have condemned Horsham as ‘just one big car park.’

They say that problems have arisen following an upgrade of level crossings at Parsonage Road and at Littlehaven.

Drivers are facing lengthy waits for barriers to be raised after trains pass.

Kate Garbutt, whose student son regularly travels from Littlehaven to Horsham to get an onward train to Chichester, said he had missed his train last week because he was stuck behind a barrier and couldn’t get to the platform.

"The traffic is so bad in Horsham at the moment,” she said. “Everywhere you go, it’s backed up. A lot of the issues are to do with these barriers staying down for so long.”

She added: “Our lovely town is becoming a car park and will only get worse with all the houses being built.”

Many drivers have taken to social media to share their views. One described the Littlehaven level crossing as ‘ridiculous.’

She said she had to wait for 15 minutes for the barriers to open. "It needs seriously looking at. It never used to be that bad.”

Another said: “Parsonage Road has been a nightmare since they worked on the crossing. It really needs sorting, it’s beyond a joke now.”

Another said she had also missed her train waiting for the barrier to rise. “It didn’t go up between three trains,” she said.

Another added: “Ever since they did the refit both gates stay down longer and it’s a nightmare getting anywhere in Horsham without this disruption.

“Horsham is definitely becoming a car park ... road works and closures all round Horsham and the rail crossings are causing more delays everywhere.”

A spokesperson for Network Raild said: “Both Parsonage Road and Rusper Road (Littlehaven) are manually controlled crossings, monitored from Three Bridges signalling centre via CCTV.

“Parsonage Road used to be automatic, which meant nobody checked the road before trains ran across it. The new crossing is 18 times safer, but it does take longer to cycle through the sequence as the signaller has to lower the barriers and make sure the road is clear, before turning signals to green and allowing trains across.

"There’s a glut of trains to and from Horsham once every half hour, with three in a row in quick succession and it’s not always possible for signallers to raise the barriers quickly between trains. That’s why drivers sometimes find themselves stuck at the lights for longer.

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“Both roads were quieter routes in the past and the growth in car traffic, with the growth of Horsham itself, and the high number of school children using the crossings, means it wouldn’t have been right to leave Parsonage Road as an automatic crossing.

"The change in crossing means longer waits, and of course with more traffic anyway, it simply builds up – but safety has to be our priority.

“As well as the safety improvement, in March 2023 we will be making the final changes to allow 12-car trains to draw right along the Horsham-bound platform at Littlehaven, meaning Rusper Road barriers will be down less as the rear ends of the trains won’t be hanging over the road.”