Portfield roundabout traffic 'beyond belief' says restaurant owner

Canadian café chain Tim Horton’s opened on the roundabout on Thursday, September 29, joining a McDonald’s drive-thru and Costa Coffee.

The roundabout is already subject to high levels of traffic with problems arguably peaking in June this year when high levels of traffic left motorists trapped in the John Lewis car park for more than four hours.

Cas Casson, owner of Tangmere restaurant Casson’s, told this newspaper: “I have got to say when I have been around that roundabout the traffic has been backed up all around the roundabout.

"If you are coming from Sainsbury’s sometimes you can’t get out. You have got to try and edge your way out of the traffic and it is frankly dangerous.”

Mr Casson said the issues have not been helped by the arrival of Tim Horton’s, adding: “You have now got three take-aways outlets. It was bad enough where there were two.

"I don’t honestly know who did the traffic analysis but they really didn’t think about the traffic and I think, with the issues at Oving traffic lights, this has really exacerbated that.”

Mr Casson expressed his views on the local social media website Nextdoor and found dozens of resident who agreed.

"You have got people there who are saying that the traffic is so bad going into Chichester that they don’t bother going. In the pages of [The Chichester Observer] everybody moans and groans about the amount of traffic and then they go and do something like that – it’s beyond belief.”

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