Outcry at Hove road closure (From The Argus)
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Outcry at Hove road closure
4:50pm Wednesday 4th January 2012 in News By Tim Ridgway, Local government reporter
The A270 Old Shoreham Road in Hove, is closed
The first day back to work and school for tens of thousands of people was marked by the closure of a section of busy road.
Part of Old Shoreham Road, Hove, between The Drive and The Upper Drive, was shut in both directions yesterday (January 3) as part of construction work on a new cycle lane.
Crews started work today (January 4) and transport bosses have warned it will be closed until February 6, with delays expected.
The local authority apologised for any disruption, adding the changes, which include junction improvements, would improve road safety in the area.
But motorists complained of delays to journeys which, for many, were the first trips back to work or school after the festive period.
Chaotic
Conservative councillor Ann Norman said: “There was fairly light traffic today but it was absolutely chaotic. What it’s going to be like in peak hours when everyone is back at work I do not know.
“You have to ask how many people are aware of the work that is going on.”
Gary Robinson, 37, of Franklin Street, Brighton, said: “I’m sure the cycle lane will be a positive addition but does the road really need to be closed for a month?”
A spokeswoman for the local authority said it had closed the road so it could have gangs working on both sides of the road at the same time in order to get the job done quicker.
Brighton and Hove City Council transport cabinet member Ian Davey said: “We apologise for disruption to journeys.
"The Old Shoreham Road cycle route is a major piece of work and when complete will provide user-friendly cycling and pedestrian facilities for all, as well as increasing safety for children attending schools in the area."
Work on the £455,000 scheme to build a 1.5km cycle route, which will stretch from the Dyke Road junction to The Drive, began in November and is due to be complete by May.
The scheme was agreed after the local authority was awarded £330,000 from the sustainable transport charity Sustrans.
Has your journey been affected by the roadworks on the Old Shoreham Road? Share your views below or email news@theargus.co.uk.
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Comments(38)
Hovite
says...
5:59pm Wed 4 Jan 12
elanes.co.uk/
mustaphaLeeko
says...
6:04pm Wed 4 Jan 12
Hovite wrote:doh.... Hovite, It's not just painted line, they are creating divisions in the road to separate bicycles from cars. If you can do the same work to the same standard, please feel free to do it, else stop moaning.
Give me some buckets of paint and 2 weeks. I will also only work at night, all for £3k.
mustaphaLeeko
says...
6:04pm Wed 4 Jan 12
Hovite
says...
6:09pm Wed 4 Jan 12
Not actually moaning, just having a bit of fun.
Have you checked out the weird cycle lane link.
mustaphaLeeko
says...
6:15pm Wed 4 Jan 12
Hovite wrote:yes... so there are a couple of odd loony looking ones... would you prefer none at all?
mustaphaLeeko Not actually moaning, just having a bit of fun. Have you checked out the weird cycle lane link.
Personally I'm happy that cyclists are separted as far as possible from other road users for their own safety and maybe some of the fat slobs will get on a bike too? Car drivers (me included) don't own the road you know!
mustaphaLeeko
says...
6:17pm Wed 4 Jan 12
mustaphaLeeko wrote:aaaggh excuse my speeeelling of , "separated", typo. lol
Hovite wrote: mustaphaLeeko Not actually moaning, just having a bit of fun. Have you checked out the weird cycle lane link.yes... so there are a couple of odd loony looking ones... would you prefer none at all? Personally I'm happy that cyclists are separted as far as possible from other road users for their own safety and maybe some of the fat slobs will get on a bike too? Car drivers (me included) don't own the road you know!
Hovite
says...
6:37pm Wed 4 Jan 12
mustaphaLeeko wrote:Spelling mistake axsepted
mustaphaLeeko wrote:aaaggh excuse my speeeelling of , "separated", typo. lol
Hovite wrote: mustaphaLeeko Not actually moaning, just having a bit of fun. Have you checked out the weird cycle lane link.yes... so there are a couple of odd loony looking ones... would you prefer none at all? Personally I'm happy that cyclists are separted as far as possible from other road users for their own safety and maybe some of the fat slobs will get on a bike too? Car drivers (me included) don't own the road you know!
I never said I would prefer none at all. Just questioning the cost, but also looking forward to seeing what we are getting for our money.
As you have seen in the example web link I would be quite right to question it.
I am a very cyclist conscious driver and painted lines would be sufficient and probably be more practical than some over thought elaborate high cost design.
tez1959
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6:47pm Wed 4 Jan 12
rolivan
says...
7:20pm Wed 4 Jan 12
ray ellerton
says...
7:30pm Wed 4 Jan 12
bogs
says...
7:30pm Wed 4 Jan 12
Brightonscouse2
says...
7:37pm Wed 4 Jan 12
tez1959 wrote:Where to start. Ok firstly the cycle lane is costing £455,000. £330,000 is being provided by Sustrans a sustainable transport charity. That leaves a total outlay of £125,000 from council coffers. Not a lot when you consider every person that pays council tax contributes towards the up keep of roads. This is why taxing cyclists is impractical. Cycling costs next to no wear and tear to the road. The costs to the environment are nil. The costs to install cycle lanes are met by charitable contributions and those that pay their share of the council tax, towards the maintenance of roads, but only use them to cycle on.
thats typicall always putting cycle lanes in and around brighton and hove i hardly see anyone using them the only cyclist i see are the ones that go through red traffic lights they should start charging them cycle tax if theres so many of them then maybe we could all get a reduction in roadtax on our cars and vans anyone agree
You pay car tax for the use of your car, not the upkeep of roads.
Re: cyclists that jump red lights, yes it's wrong and those that do it should be fined. That money should then be put towards installing cycle lanes and cycling proficiency tests for children.
Maxwell's Ghost
says...
7:40pm Wed 4 Jan 12
So you want more people creating traffic?
The more people on bikes means more space for me on the road in my car.
Hovite
says...
7:40pm Wed 4 Jan 12
It's not about the cycle lane, it's the cost of the scheme.
Should do a trial with just paint or rumble strip first and you may be surprised at how effective and safe this would be?
thommy
says...
9:19pm Wed 4 Jan 12
longman
says...
9:33pm Wed 4 Jan 12
pistachionut
says...
9:42pm Wed 4 Jan 12
spacelab wrote:Absolutely agree. What a complete waste of money.
i drive up and down old shoreham road , sometimes upto four times a day , and never ever see a cyclist on that road , so what is going on is someone taking the pixx out of the motorist, what a waste of money for nothing.
I support the smaller lanes as this will hopefully stop the vehicles speeding off the lights at The Upper Drive towards Bhasvic which only slow down for the speed camera, however there will be more accidents when people try and jump the queuing traffic to cut down the side roads.
When they changed the traffic islands to The Upper Drive I saw two such accidents and numerous near misses.
Ilyich
says...
9:52pm Wed 4 Jan 12
Seems like Argus has been approaching this story hoping to stir up trouble. Happy for the good sense shown by most of the commenters so far. Less happy with the motivation of reporters seeking to make the news rather than just cover it.
Hovite
says...
10:10pm Wed 4 Jan 12
London doesn’t have this problem and is why it works well in there. Not forgetting the seafront route on a bad day of weather.
Doesn't matter how much it is promoted, it will never catch on.
Dragon Slayer
says...
10:30pm Wed 4 Jan 12
mustaphaLeeko wrote:Err, actually we do! Until Cyclists are made to have compulsory Insurance and prosecuted for cycling on the pavements and disobeying Traffic Signals.... We shall continue to do so!
Hovite wrote:yes... so there are a couple of odd loony looking ones... would you prefer none at all?
mustaphaLeeko Not actually moaning, just having a bit of fun. Have you checked out the weird cycle lane link.
Personally I'm happy that cyclists are separted as far as possible from other road users for their own safety and maybe some of the fat slobs will get on a bike too? Car drivers (me included) don't own the road you know!
Ilyich
says...
10:34pm Wed 4 Jan 12
Hovite wrote:Oh not really... possible to pedal from Saltdean to Shoreham along the flat (but windy) coast path. Going from Brighton to Lewes is not hill problem but hazardous car and truck problem. Bits Brighton centre too much of a challenge for myself - but Hove (of which you are ite) is pedalling joy! especialy fine cycle lane on Grand Avenue. And the promise of going up is that one will descend! Powered by gravity!
Brighton & Hove has an inherent problem for the average cyclist with the city being too hilly.
London doesn’t have this problem and is why it works well in there. Not forgetting the seafront route on a bad day of weather.
Doesn't matter how much it is promoted, it will never catch on.
Ilyich
says...
10:35pm Wed 4 Jan 12
Hovite wrote:Oh not really... possible to pedal from Saltdean to Shoreham along the flat (but windy) coast path. Going from Brighton to Lewes is not hill problem but hazardous car and truck problem. Bits of Brighton centre too much of a challenge for myself - but Hove (of which you are ite) is pedalling joy! especialy fine cycle lane on Grand Avenue. And the promise of going up is that one will descend! Powered by gravity!
Brighton & Hove has an inherent problem for the average cyclist with the city being too hilly.
London doesn’t have this problem and is why it works well in there. Not forgetting the seafront route on a bad day of weather.
Doesn't matter how much it is promoted, it will never catch on.
Hovite
says...
11:05pm Wed 4 Jan 12
Ilyich wrote:For sure there is much flat terrain if you only have to commute in the right area, but there are quite a few areas where the non serious cyclist are left pushing their bikes.
Hovite wrote:Oh not really... possible to pedal from Saltdean to Shoreham along the flat (but windy) coast path. Going from Brighton to Lewes is not hill problem but hazardous car and truck problem. Bits of Brighton centre too much of a challenge for myself - but Hove (of which you are ite) is pedalling joy! especialy fine cycle lane on Grand Avenue. And the promise of going up is that one will descend! Powered by gravity!
Brighton & Hove has an inherent problem for the average cyclist with the city being too hilly.
London doesn’t have this problem and is why it works well in there. Not forgetting the seafront route on a bad day of weather.
Doesn't matter how much it is promoted, it will never catch on.
Without doing a long list, Elm Grove is not very nice.
CaliforniaGirl
says...
11:49pm Wed 4 Jan 12
Hovite
says...
12:14am Thu 5 Jan 12
"It's not just painted line, they are creating divisions in the road to separate bicycles from cars."
However I have found some artist photo impressions of the scheme which you can see is just a painted lane.
http://www.brighton-
hove.gov.uk/download
s/bhcc/roads/OSR_200
9_Leaflet.pdf
How does this cost £455k?
Hove person
says...
2:17am Thu 5 Jan 12
Cash Cow
says...
4:16am Thu 5 Jan 12
Hove person wrote:I am a retard! A very happy imbecile! I live on the Old Shoreham Road and already the people who are trying to exist and earn a living are struggling to find an alternative route. I am looking forward to a peaceful month so I can exist without having to be inconvenienced by another living soul. Before the celebration of the birth of our Lord Jesus Christ there was a major event which would change my life forever. All the citizens rushing, trying to get to their place of employment on time to do an honest days work in order to provide for their families had to suffer further inconvenience. Long may Hove Person live happy ever after. The End!
I am delighted! A very happy bunny! I live on the Old Shoreham Road and already the traffic has calmed down. I am looking forward to a nice peaceful month. Before Christmas when there was a 3 way traffic signal at The Drive this road totally changed. All the losers speeding between the speed cameras at Hove Park and just before Bhasvic found other routes. Long may it last!
NickBrt
says...
8:38am Thu 5 Jan 12
Barry Trotter
says...
8:47am Thu 5 Jan 12
spacelab wrote:Not seeing cyclists is a common problem for drivers.
i drive up and down old shoreham road , sometimes upto four times a day , and never ever see a cyclist on that road , so what is going on is someone taking the pixx out of the motorist, what a waste of money for nothing.
Fercri Sakes
says...
10:22am Thu 5 Jan 12
tez1959 wrote:Ha, with such erudite thinking I was surprise to see a lack of punctuation.
thats typicall always putting cycle lanes in and around brighton and hove i hardly see anyone using them the only cyclist i see are the ones that go through red traffic lights they should start charging them cycle tax if theres so many of them then maybe we could all get a reduction in roadtax on our cars and vans anyone agree
And for the 134th time
1) there is no such thing as road tax, just VED based on the polution of your engine.
2) roads are paid out of Council Tax.
Fercri Sakes
says...
10:28am Thu 5 Jan 12
thommy wrote:I know they're crazy aren't they. I remember when they built the A27 Brighton Bypass. I argued against it as it would obviously reduce the number of visitors to Brighton. And look at Brighton now, it's a ghost town. Hardly anybody visits, house prices are the lowest in the country, crime is sky high, and not a tourist in site in the summer. :)
Why do residents sound surprised at the mentally ill greens deranged vision of shangri La. You have got what you voted for. Greens account for about 0.001% of the uk population and only through their trusty band of temporary resident students have managed to secure their very own socialist playground - Brighton and Hove, to try out all their ludicrous marxist experiments such as; "lets increase the population of travellers in the city by at least 40%", or "how about shutting off the roads and shooing away all those nasty cars, then we can ride our cycles everywhere". People outside Brighton cannot believe what is being done by the council under the orders of the cretinious green administration.
lydz25
says...
12:47pm Thu 5 Jan 12
It's never been easier to cross that road!
Dragon Slayer
says...
1:36pm Thu 5 Jan 12
Maxwell's Ghost wrote:YES ACTUALLY, what we want is them OFF THE PAVEMENTS!
tez1959, do you want cyclists taken off the road and put back in cars and vans?
So you want more people creating traffic?
The more people on bikes means more space for me on the road in my car.
mooog1
says...
11:47am Sat 7 Jan 12
Although the thought of being knocked off or being crushed out of existence is always in the back of my mind when I am on a cycle lane this fear dissipates then cycling becomes enjoyable.
I think cycle lanes are a fantastic thing and creates an infrastructure that’s far looking into future when petrol prices are prohibitive and people are even more health conscious than they are now, it’s possibly too late for some people and as such only see them as expense and wasteful but trust me I am very grateful to be able to use them and future generations will look back and thank those who had the vision and power to make them possible.
Bryan555
says...
2:30pm Tue 10 Jan 12
The money saved in quicker journeys (for all, not just cyclists) will easily outweigh what has been spent. That doesn't even include the health and environmental benefits.
My only worry is that it doesn't go far enough. Painting white lines does not work, it just creates extra parking spaces and, consequently, hazards as can be seen in other parts of Brighton.
I hope this doesn't turn out to be another residents parking scheme!
Bryan555
says...
2:31pm Tue 10 Jan 12
The money saved in quicker journeys (for all, not just cyclists) will easily outweigh what has been spent. That doesn't even include the health and environmental benefits.
My only worry is that it doesn't go far enough. Painting white lines does not work, it just creates extra parking spaces and, consequently, hazards as can be seen in other parts of Brighton.
I hope this doesn't turn out to be another residents parking scheme!
Bryan555
says...
3:27pm Tue 10 Jan 12
CaliforniaGirl wrote:1. the part of the road that is having the cycle lane fitter is a single lane.
What was formerly a four-lane road will become two lane....and much more pollution will be generated by the vehicles using the road as they idle in the queue waiting to turn one way or the other... I favour environmental concerns when they may really make a difference...but as a regular user of this road over the past ten years I cannot see ANY advantage to adding a cycle lane and removing a vehicle lane. From an objective point of view it seems laughable to me. What was the point of this expense? What was hoped to be achieved?
2. Encouraging cycling reduces pollution. Adding more lanes of traffic increases pollution (California is a good example of this).
3. I think the idea is that separating traffic that moves at different speeds reduces the risk of collision.
4. In the long term it will save money and lives.
Take the Netherlands as an example of how it can improve the economy, safety, culture and health for everybody.
Hovite says...
5:06pm Wed 4 Jan 12