Work will start later this month on the final phase of the North Street Road Safety project which aims to improve safety at one of the city’s worst accident hotspots. The work will include relocating and improving pedestrian crossings, providing a much safer way for people to cross the road in all directions.

The Clock Tower area has been identified as one of the most dangerous junctions in the city for pedestrians, with 51 people injured over a 3 year period.

Statistics show that more than 16,000 pedestrians use Queen’s Road, North Street and Western Road each day. This new scheme has been designed with pedestrian safety as a priority, while still allowing traffic to flow smoothly through the city centre.

A new pedestrian crossing will be created between Air Street and Churchill Square while other pedestrian crossings will be move nearer to the clock tower junction, and widened to increase safety for shoppers.

In addition, North Street Quadrant will be transformed by de-cluttering and replacing steps and paving and providing modern new granite seating and feature lighting. Building materials have been chosen to compliment those used in nearby Churchill Square. Landscaping and tree planting will also be carried out to create an attractive environment around one of the city’s most famous landmarks.

The whole project is due to be completed by next Spring, in time for next year’s Brighton Festival.

Specialist building company Stonewest has been chosen to carry out improvement work to the Clock Tower and surrounding Quadrant. The company, which specialises in restoration, conservation and new builds are currently working at the Royal Pavilion and has previously carried out work at Trafalgar Square and St Martins in the Field, London.

There will be no road closures while work is being carried out, but contraflows will be in place at times. All work will stop during the busy Christmas period, however there may be slight disruption for pedestrians as access to the Quadrant will be limited.

Plans for the improvements to North Street were drawn up following lengthy consultation with local residents, businesses and other stakeholders.

The aim of the work is to increase safety for pedestrians and improve the environment for all road users

The package of improvements are part of a scheme to improve road safety from the Old Steine up to Churchill Square and is part funded by the government’s Department for Transport. The aim of the scheme is to reduce bus and pedestrian collisions by 30%.