Victory for road safety in Ringmer

1.30.45pm UTC (GMT +0000) Wed 12th Dec 2007

Peter Gardiner has been campaigning to improve road safety in Ringmer.

Ringmer is to get a longer 30 mile-an-hour stretch along the Lewes Road to improve road safety outside the new Forges development.

Following action by Ringmer's Lib Dem councillors Peter Gardiner and Rosalyn St Pierre, working with the parish councillors Veronica Humphrey and John Kay, a number of improvements have been achieved which will lead to greater safety at the site.

Among the measures the local councillors successfully campaigned for are:

• moving the current 30mph sign 120 metres south-westwards (towards Lewes) so traffic has slowed down by the time it reaches the Forges roundabout

• improving visibility at the junction for pedestrians, cyclists and drivers by taking the hedge back so cars coming out of the Forges can be more easily seen

• a warning sign saying 'roundabout ahead' to be placed on the west (Lewes) side of the junction and a 'pedestrian crossing ahead' sign to be placed east of the pedestrian crossing.

But East Sussex County Council have refused requests from the councillors to widen the pavement between The Forges and Vicarage Way, and the council have resisted pleas made on behalf of local residents not to raise the circular traffic island for fear that it will create more noise.

Peter Gardiner said: "I think the fact that we campaigned at all levels of local government, getting parish, district and county councillors involved, made a difference. We will obviously continue to monitor the effectiveness of the new measures and won't hesitate to go back to the county council if anything is still unsatisfactory."