Southend seafront is here to stay. Like Marmite, some people love it and others hate it.

I am sure, however, it will bring many extra visitors to the seafront.

The lighting columns are innovative, the fountains are great for kids, the planting and layout are attractive.

However, the road layout is disastrous. There is no designated crossing area from the seafront to the arcades and shops. There aren’t even any road markings.

Worst of all, the busiest section of the road does not even have a definite pavement between the pedestrian area and the road.

How are children and visually handicapped people supposed to know when they are stepping into danger?

The council argues the area is a “shared space”

area, in which pedestrians and vehicles have equal rights of way.

It insists this system works in Tenerife and in other places in this country.

That may well be true, but does anyone know this main road from east to west of the town is a “shared space” area?

We need proper signage and a marked division between pavement and road.

We need it now, before someone is killed or seriously injured.

Ted Lewin
Councillor, St Laurence
Little Thorpe
Thorpe Bay