Futile to tinker

The traffic congestion on the A27 around Arundel will not be eased by building a footpath and removing the crossing.

The crossing is in regular use and is currently being monitored by the Highways Agency, but just beyond the crossing is a roundabout which naturally slows down the traffic, then another roundabout at the bottom of Maltravers Street which also slows down the traffic.

The problem is that from Poling you effectively have two lanes of traffic having to merge into one lane from the Crossbush traffic lights until the A27 resumes its two-lane function just beyond the White Swan hotel.

The vast majority of this traffic does not go into Arundel but causes great congestion.

Also, for the residents on The Causeway, between the station and the current pedestrian crossing, it is extremely difficult to get out of their driveways or parking areas because the traffic will not stop to let them in or out unless the crossing is in use.

The current temporary relief road, constructed in the 1970s, and often referred to as a ‘bypass’ is completely inadequate for the amount of traffic it carries.

The A27 needs to become a proper two-lane highway, as was originally intended, to ease congestion, reduce pollution and to make it easier for emergency vehicles to function.

Our two main hospitals are at Worthing and Chichester and ambulances in particular have to weave in and out of traffic to reach their destination. How long before a seriously ill person dies on board one of these vehicles because they cannot reach the hospital in time?

Arundel and surrounding villages will benefit if a proper bypass is built, tinkering with the problem will be, and has for years, been futile.

Chris Hine

The Causeway

Arundel

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