The Burgess Hill Station Gateway scheme which is costing £4.7 million to carryout is funded by Mid Sussex Growth Deal. It involves improving pedestrian & cycle access in Burgess Hill between the Railway Station to the Town Centre and onwards to London Road where it is planned to connect to other improvements in coming years.
The works started in November 2022 where a mini-roundabout & puffin crossing across the B2013 was replaced by a traffic signal controlled junction & wider pavements by narrowing the carriageway and parking. The junction is predicted to perform as well as previous roundabout, however due to issues with surrounding temporary traffic signals, and incomplete works at the junction, the junction was initially perceived as causing excessive congestion & in some situations, dangerous.
The new traffic signal controlled junction has some benefits over the previous layout, it has more pedestrian crossings, allowing pedestrians to easily cross Mill Road, and Station Road on the Eastern side. It also has cycle facilities to allow cyclists to get onto and off of the pavement at a controlled point. Mini roundabouts are statistically dangerous for cyclists & inexperienced road users, so the new junction will provide a safer environment for those users.
Other than the congestion issues, which are not actually caused by the junction, there are some problems with the junction such as motorists turning right not giving way to oncoming traffic, likely due to the previous layout giving right turns priority. There have also been issues with the build quality of the pavement, incomplete barriers & due to the road not being resurfaced yet or new markings installed, some motorists within the junction have gone over pedestrian crossings on their exit due to congestion.
Works on the scheme overall have continued as planned working under traffic signal control past the work zones. There however is a Facebook group called “Reinstate Burgess Hill Roundabout” calling for West Sussex County Council to reverse the changes at the junction and put the mini roundabout back which has caught the attention of ITV news.
