Intervention by Conservative county councillor Jacquie Russell has resulted in a newly-installed benefit for pedestrians in East Grinstead, especially those with disabilities or pushchairs.
The special tactile crossing has been laid in Turners Hill Road by West Sussex Highways. It follows a comment made by a local resident who mentioned the challenge for those with disabilities to cross the road. Cllr Russell raised the matter with County Hall and the new crossing point is the result.
"Like everything, things take time", says Cllr Russell. "I appreciate this caused delays on the roads affected by the necessary traffic management whilst works were underway but I think we can all agree the outcome was worth it to help those in the community who need it."
BACKGROUND
In August 2024 a resident who used a mobility scooter was subjected to abuse for riding the scooter on the road rather than the pavement and they were very upset. The reason for using the road was because there were no dropped kerbs. They asked if anybody could help.
Cllr Russell picked up the chat and took it forward to Highways and asked for the kerb to be dropped. It was inspected and taken forward but couldn't be done immediately as the delivery plan and budget for 24/25 had already been set so it was put forward for 25/26. Everything is done on priority i.e. emergency, most pressing, highest usage/need, etc.
"I was quite surprised at the level of positive reaction but it was good as it wiped way the negativity of people being inconvenienced the previous week. The resident who originally asked for this to happen saw the post and was delighted with the outcome as its life changing for her", added the Conservative councillor who works hard for the town and its people.
