New Burgess Hill pedestrian crossing helps families walking to school

Three new pedestrian crossings have been installed in recent months by West Sussex County Council and are now operational.

The crossings in Crawley, Burgess Hill and Thakeham represent a total investment of more than £500,000 and will improve safety for families with school-age children – plus pedestrians generally.

The new Burgess Hill traffic lights are at the top of Keymer Road near Hoadley’s Corner.

With schools reopening and roads becoming busier after lockdown, people are being encouraged to leave their cars at home and consider other travel choices.

Roger Elkins, Cabinet Member for Highways and Infrastructure, said: “The new crossings provide a safer route to schools for families and to other local amenities for pedestrians generally.

“People are being encouraged to consider walking or cycling for their journeys, if they can. It’s a great way to get fit, save fuel money and reduce the number of cars on the road. This in turn will improve air quality and reduce congestion.”

The county council worked in partnership with Burgess Hill Girls to install a new crossing in Keymer Road. The crossing will also benefit families walking to two other local schools, plus the wider community going to the shops or the nearby railway station.

Burgess Hill East county councillor Anne Jones said: “With pupils accessing three schools each side of the busy Keymer Road, this is an essential part of the safer routes to schools programme. Thank you to the team that made this possible.”

The scheme cost approximately £110,000 and Burgess Hill Girls will be making a contribution towards this.

A message from the Editor, Gary Shipton:

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.