Is park and ride the answer to cutting congestion?

But what if, a century on, the relationship with the car was doing more harm than good to Brighton and Hove?

A ban on cars would undoubtedly boost the health of the city’s 280,000 residents and 8 million annual visitors, but what impact would it have on our economy?

This week Brighton and Hove Chamber of Commerce held a lively debate at City College on whether business would be better if cars were taken out of the city centre.

Business leaders, transport experts, politicians and residents all had their say on what a ban would mean and what improvements it would bring.

The Netherlands, Germany, the US and South America were all signposted as examples to follow, while underground car parks, trams and “Boris bikes” were all suggested as the cure to our transport ills.

Most present at the debate agreed that despite recent awards praising the environmentally-friendly innovations in the city’s transport schemes, more was still needed before we match the transport ideals of Germany and the Netherlands.

Has city deliberately been made ‘car-unfriendly’?

Martin Williams, head of employment at Mayo Wynn Baxter, said a London friend described a recent journey to Brighton and asked whether the city had been deliberately made “car-unfriendly.”

He said the city was blighted by poor signs and traffic lights that never seemed to change.

Mr Williams said his own first experience was sitting in traffic in Lewes Road for two hours in the 1980s.

He said: “It’s awful for a lot of people and yet they still come. That traffic has never gone away since the 80s.

“The major project of the A27 was designed to take traffic away from the centre but that has contributed to more traffic.”

Mr Williams said while we could lessen car use, he disagreed that it would be possible to have a completely car-free city centre.

He said many people still relied heavily on their cars and would put up with the high price of parking and finding a space.

He said a ban would work like the current resident parking schemes, pushing the problem into the area just beyond the exclusion zone, and he also asked what would happen to all the city centre land that is currently being used as car parks.

Chris Todd, from Brighton and Hove Friends of the Earth, said taking cars out of the city centre would create a “much more human” space and that a more liveable city centre would encourage more businesses to move in.

Mr Todd said a greater emphasis on public transport, walking and cycling would create a healthier population.

He added: “A fit and healthy workforce would mean less absenteeism and less cost to employers in looking after their workforce.”

Fewer cars would ‘save millions for the NHS’

Health was considered the major benefit of a car-free centre or even a centre with fewer cars, which could save millions of pounds for the NHS.

Dr Rachel Cottham, Brighton GP and lead on sustainability at the Brighton and Hove Clinical Commissioning Group, said she was “astounded” that all the discussion had been about access rather than health benefits of a car-free Brighton.

She said: “The greatest health threat we are facing is climate change closely followed by obesity.

“Inactivity costs the NHS in Brighton £3 million a year and there are hundreds of deaths attributable to particle pollution.

“The health needs of people must come first.”

‘Let’s behave like Victorians who thought bold’

Resident Henry Christie agreed with the health concerns, stating that one million young people nationwide have asthma.

He said: “Do people have the right to drive around putting these particles into my daughter’s lungs?

“It’s about time we behaved like Victorians who thought bold. It’s time we stopped being so timid. We need to be bold and think like Europeans.”

Europe, and especially its focus on and promotion of bicycle over car, was an inspiration that many at the debate thought the city should follow.

One resident stated that a car ban would not be impractical and that the city should take inspiration from the Netherlands, where many towns and cities are practically car-free and residents from aged eight to 80 move around by bicycle.

But Simon Forrest, commercial director at Oakley Property, said having lived in the Netherlands for eight years, there were some fundamental differences with Brighton and Hove, chiefly the hills that cyclists have to negotiate in the city.

Nigel Furness from Ukip also said that cycling was “all well and good” but as a man riddled with arthritis and gout, it was simply not possible for him.

He also questioned whether current transport policies in the city were helping or hindering the health of residents.

He said: “I would like the professional opinion about what 20 mph zones and all these roadworks are doing for all pedestrians’ lungs.

“And what will get people walking more is if we get these bikes and lycra-clad terrorists off the pavements.”

Chris Shanks, Conservative council candidate for Queen’s Park, was among a few people who argued that a ban would have a direct impact on the economic prosperity of the city. He was worried about what impact a car ban would have on the city’s eight million annual tourists.

He said: “If we live and work here we can manage without a car but the lifeblood of the city is that eight million people come in.

“We need to get these visitors parked first and then we will get them walking.”

Also worried about the financial impact was artist Kellie Miller.

She said at present large trucks making deliveries were blocking out her shop front in Market Street for up to four hours.

She said: “It means that people don’t see my work and the work I am selling in the gallery.

“But if we made the centre more pedestrianised how are people going to pick up their artwork? It would cost me a lot more to wrap up and send artwork to my customers.”

‘Parking should be a pleasure not a torment’

Anne Martin, manager of the Palace Pier, said the city’s vital tourism industry had to be supported by a traffic system that makes access easier and parking a “pleasure not a torment”.

She said: “Considering banning cars ignores the bigger picture. The real question is how do we design a traffic system that enhances the city, whilst addressing environmental and social concerns?

“It almost seems like amputating a leg when the problem is a corn on the toe.”

But others suggested that environmentally-friendly and business-friendly did not have to be mutually exclusive.

Transport consultant Mark Strong argued that any decision should be made based on data and not anecdote.

He said while people could look to the Netherlands, the major steps forward in car reduction were happening in big American cities and no one could accuse them of being anti-business.

Stephen Young from pedestrian charity Living Streets said a recent meta-study revealed that every £1 spent on pedestrian improvements brought £13 of benefits.

One recurring point of discussion was the revival of the long-held dream of some for Brighton and Hove to have a park and ride which would restrict cars from the centre of the city but not deter motorists outright.

Chris Gull, manager of the Emporium in London Road, said large parts of Brighton and Hove were already traffic-free with visitors driving around the city edges to park up on the seafront and then walking to the pier, hotels, shops and attractions.

He suggested that it would make more sense to set up a park and ride further out of the city.

He said: “Possibly where the A27 and A23 meet. Maybe it could go underground.

“I know all these things cost money but my understanding is there is funding for infrastructure.”

Mr Furness said that the park and ride solution was underground and closer to the city’s heart.

He said: “We should have put a car park under The Level. There is a site where people could whizz in and out of the city.”

But Julie Roff from ABC Translations questioned the viability of an underground park and ride.

She argued: “You cannot put it underground because we have a very high water table. You cannot dig down or it will flood.”

Munich, Germany, has more than 45 park and rides

Ann Townsend, of the London Road Town Team, said a visit to Munich revealed to her the German city’s transport system of trains, trams and buses as well as in excess of 45 park and ride sites dotted around the city.

She said: “This is the way forward – lots of satellite sites. A lot of people do food shopping in London Road and people don’t want to carry lots of big bags around the city. They want to get back to their vehicles fairly swiftly.

“We are competing against out-of-town supermarkets and people will think: ‘Why do I have to pay a high price for parking and lug my shopping around when I could just go to an out-of-town supermarket?’”

She added that the South Downs National Park Authority had indicated they would consider the economic case for a park and ride inside the national park.

But Mr Strong said that out-of-town supermarkets were on their way out, with Tesco themselves admitting they would be building no more because they had become loss-making – as people increasingly shopped at inner city stores.

He said that studies in Bristol and elsewhere of shoppers’ use of transport had tackled received wisdom.

He added: “Every retailer said visitors came by car but when the study looked at it and asked shoppers they came by bus, by walking and by bike and then car was the fourth most popular.”

Other contributors agreed that changing trends such as a reduced use of out-of-town supermarkets needed to be taken into consideration.

Mr Young said that current trends suggested car ownership was not as prevalent among the younger generation.

He said: “With Google self-driving cars and [ride sharing service] Uber, people are beginning to see that you don’t need to own a car to get around. You just need a smartphone and a bunch of apps.

“It is a very different scenario when you don’t have people fetishising car ownership.”

Most at the meeting agreed that to reduce car use, viable alternatives had to be available.

Councillor Geoffrey Theobald, Conservative group leader, said any discussion about cars also had to include alternative options.

He said: “I hope everybody will support BML2 [Brighton Main Line 2] because we need a second railway line from London to the city.

“Over the past four weekends, we have basically had no rail service into the 14th biggest city in the UK.

“That second line would make a huge difference on how many people come here by car.”

Speaking to The Argus after the debate, Mr Strong said that the next step he would like to see in improving the transport systems within the city was to take the process away from “the ding dong of everyday politics”.

He said: “The phrasing of the question by the chamber was quite provocative. I don’t think anybody is advocating banning everything, all the time, everywhere.

“But I think there was a lot of agreement on the need for restrictions.

“I like the idea of establishing a traffic commissioner to look at future transport need.

‘Let’s de-couple transport from party politics’

“The political disputes over transport can be very dispiriting and we need to de-couple the issues from party politics.”

Mr Young said studies had shown that car use reduction had been shown to lead to a reduction in car crime, improved mental health and improved academic performance by pupils.

He added: “Masses of evidence links car dominance with urban sprawl, obesity, pollution and poor economic performance. “A growing body of studies supports the idea that cities, and the people who live, work and visit them, are more prosperous, more attractive to businesses and workers, have higher real estate values, if they tackle car domination and car dependency.”

Councillor Ian Davey, lead member for transport for the city council, praised the chamber for organising a “bold debate”.

He said: “We unanimously agreed that we need to shift the focus from motor vehicles to people – after all it’s people, not cars, that walk into and spend money in our shops and restaurants.

“The reality is that the only way we can keep our city moving and economy growing is by making it easier for residents and visitors to choose walking, cycling and public transport.

“Our work in the old town area will bring that uplift from a more people-friendly environment to the heart of our city.

“The transformational Valley Gardens project is key to fulfilling the vision of a city that will continue to thrive by putting people at the centre of transport and our urban environment.”