Back in the early part of September, there was an assault on and an attempted robbery of a man by two teenagers under the flyover where the A13 passes by the Tesco superstore in Pitsea: Plea for CCTV after knifepoint attack in subway by Tesco and Pitsea train station – http://www.echo-news.co.uk/news/15574869.Plea_for_CCTV_after_knifepoint_attack_in_subway/

We’ve commented in previous posts on here and on our predecessor, the Heckler, about the breakdown in community cohesion and solidarity that leads to an anti-social element feeling they can carry out these kind of assaults with impunity. We think the Independent Working Class Association pretty much nailed it on people like this with this piece: Dealing with the renegades – http://www.iwca.info/?p=10134 There have been calls for CCTV around Pitsea and other underpasses around Basildon in a bid to deter such opportunistic crimes. Sadly, until there’s a major social transformation, crimes like this will be a feature of an increasingly atomised society – more CCTV is merely putting a sticking plaster over a gaping wound.

As well as this crime yet again throwing a light on the fractured state of society, it also shows the folly of past planning decisions that have unintentionally planned opportunities for crime into the infrastructure of new towns such as Basildon. These places were conceived in more optimistic times when separating pedestrians and traffic seemed like a good idea. They were also conceived in a period that not only celebrated the motor car but also demanded that our towns and cities be planned around it.

Well, the result of that is the planning disaster that has separated Pitsea raliway station from pretty much every residential district in Pitsea apart from the affluent enclave of Brackendale. Pedestrians going to and from the station have the unenviable choice of walking under the A13 flyover as it passes by the Tesco superstore or negotiating the series of underpasses leading to the town centre. That can be a grim enough walk in daylight – after dark it can be downright scary!

Again, it’s going to take a major social and political transformation before we can have a planning and urban development process that puts people first and would avoid planning disasters such as the underpasses under the Pitsea flyover. However, while we’re working towards such a transformation, we would gladly welcome any initiative that creates a safer and more pleasant environment for pedestrians to get to and from Pitsea station…