Tag: Traffic

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Thank you to all who joined the photocall this morning!

It was good to see so many of you at the photocall this morning. Please keep sharing information with your family, friends and neighbours. There are many issues that affect the wider community – particularly relating to the impact on the Princess Royal Hospital. Encourage others to submit comments and concerns about increased traffic and demand for parking at the Hospital.

Impact on the hospital

  • No assessment has been made as to the impact on the hospital of increased traffic coming and going through their site.
  • There will be a significant impact on patients and visitor parking
  • It is already a very busy site with a lot of traffic – routine and emergency vehicles.
  • If large-scale events are held and everyone leaves at midnight, what impact will this have on A&E?

All traffic using the community hall will have to go through the Princess Royal Hospital – in and out (whether accessing it from the roundabout or via Colwell Road).

Currently…

  • The hospital is already very busy.
  • People are wandering around trying to locate the buildings they require.
  • Drivers try to find parking spaces.
  • Ambulances are coming and going – with regular patients and emergencies for A&E.
  • There are no footpaths on large stretches of the road
  • Lighting is poor
  • Visibility is limited

In addition to the car drivers using the community hall, pool and sports pitches throughout the day and into late evenings, there will be minibuses, coaches, taxis, delivery lorries and refuse lorries as well.

And then there’s all the construction traffic – the Town Council and Club have said that everything will have go through the hospital. It’s the only legal access.

Share your concerns with friends and family in the area. Ask them to comment on the planning application before Friday 21 April.

 

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What impact will the increase in traffic have on the Princess Royal Hospital?

Has the Haywards Heath Town Council thought about the real impact of this scheme on the Princess Royal Hospital? They have unanimously agreed to support the Social Club’s application, with a few caveats at their meeting. And only four days after the application was published. No consultation had taken place with residents.

Current users of the sports pitch and swimming pool are supposed to access via the Princess Royal Hospital (PRH) – either from the PRH entrance or by turning left at the mini roundabout at Southdowns Parks when coming in via Colwell Road. This is not what happens in practice as things stand, as residents will tell you.

The St Francis Social & Sports Club and Haywards Heath Town Council believe that some ‘strongly-worded signage’ will ensure that this is the case in future.

They have both agreed that all the works traffic for building the new hall will be required to come in and out via the hospital as well. The private road is far too narrow and the bends too tight on the west side for such traffic. And it is a private road intended only to service residential car parking. Public rights of access to the sports facilities are granted through the hospital.

But we have to ask: Is it really desirable or feasible for a major increase in traffic through this busy hospital? From early mornings through till midnight? Meeting the demands for large-scale events for up to 250 people? And in the shorter term, all the building construction works traffic.

The hospital has a busy A&E department. It is often extremely busy at evenings and weekends. Patients are coming and going for hospital appointments and day surgery all the time. Anyone living here who walks up to the hospital will tell you that there are people wandering around, crossing the roads – often lost, looking for directions to various hospital buildings on site. There are only pavements and footpaths for pedestrians on some parts of the road. It is hardly a safe environment at present. Any further increase in traffic on these roads is a real worry.

Do you use the hospital? What do you think?