Safety fears on Littlehampton ‘death trap’ road growing

The scene of the crash in New Road which has prompted safety fears of the junction between New Road and Bayford Road PHOTO: Chris Koven

Two cars collided at the junction of New Road and Bayford Road on Sunday afternoon (June 29), with one of the vehicles ending up just inches away from ploughing into the front room of a terraced house.

Although no one was seriously injured in this crash, residents living in New Road have been quick to voice their fears about the street, which has been blighted with a number of other collisions in recent weeks.

Father-of-three Chris Koven lives in New Road.

The 33-year-old said he was fearful that other accidents would happen at the junction, which could have devastating results.

“This road is an accident waiting to happen,” he said. “This is the third crash we have had recently down here, which is very concerning.

“And the situation is getting worse, not better. Walking with the children down that road can get scary.

“There are cars routinely going down this road in excess of 30, 40 sometimes 50 miles per hour.

“Right now, the road is a death trap. There are a lot of children who live down here.

“If one of them was standing on the path when this crash happened, that would have been it.”

Chris said he would like to see some form of traffic- calming installed to try and reduce the danger of further crashes.

He also said that visibility along the New Road and Bayford Road junction needed to be improved – something the area’s county councillor agreed with.

Councillor Ian Buckland said he was aware of the situation along the accident blackspot and said something urgently needed to be done to improve the road.

However, he said that at the moment, his hands were tied and that it could take months for any new traffic-calming measure to be introduced.

Mr Buckland said: “I do have grave concerns about the speed of the traffic that goes along there.

“We’ve already had a couple of cars crash at this route.

“We had one crash into the Sussex Mobile store not long ago. So something does need to be done.”

Mr Buckland added that he was fully supportive of the residents’ concerns.