Brighton roads to be pedestrianised and roads given to cyclists

After consultation with businesses and residents, Brighton and Hove City Council is looking at closing Sydney Street and Gardner Street in North Laine to traffic on weekdays as part of a “low-traffic neighbourhood” policy.

A stretch of the A23 is to be turned into a cycle lane and the eastbound A259 bus lane looks likely to extended so that it starts from Roedean.

These are among several measures in the council’s emergency response to the coronavirus crisis.

Some of the proposals will require public consultation and may take months before a final decision is made but the measures do not include a park and ride scheme.

On Thursday, senior councillors authorised officers to push ahead with the measures which have already included turning part of Old Shoreham Road, Hove, into a cycle lane.

The proposals are part of a plan to encourage more walking and cycling after a big drop in car and bus use during the coronavirus lockdown.

Labour council leader Nancy Platts and Green opposition leader Phélim Mac Cafferty called for a feasibility study to look at the A259 cycle lane proposal.

The lane would run between the Aquarium roundabout and the bottom of Preston Street near the i360.

One possibility would be to use one of the existing lanes of the road on the southern side solely for cyclists, who could ride both ways.

Another option would be to take out a lane on both sides of the road and turn them into conventional cycle lanes, as has happened along Old Shoreham Road, Hove.

At a virtual meeting of the policy and resources urgency sub-committee, Cllr Mac Cafferty said turning part of the A259 into cycle lanes would “signal a city doing something differently” to help the recovery from the coronavirus crisis.

He also said that during the Green administration from 2011 to 2015, feasibility studies and engineering reports had been produced as part of a desire to make parts of Brighton more pedestrian-friendly.

He urged officers to “dust off” the reports and said: “We can’t go back to our failed fume-filled past.”

Cllr Mac Cafferty said more active travel would help fight Covid-19 because it would improve people’s physical fitness and reduce pollution.

Levels of the toxic gas nitrogen dioxide and particulate matter exceeded legal limits in the centre of Brighton because of bus and car traffic, he said, causing lung problems.

But before new measures were brought in, he called for consultation with residents, traders, businesses and blue badge holders.

Cllr Mac Cafferty said: “I would really welcome us working much more proactively and engaging especially with the many brilliant local cycling and walking groups.

“They, in my mind, can act like the Praetorian Guard for these policies.

“They can help us safeguard the future.”

A report on the transport proposals said that closing two lanes of the A259 to cars would cost £58,000 and creating a contraflow on the southern side would cost more than £60,000.

Cllr Mac Cafferty said: “There is a lot said about funding and while I would take the point about funding in more usual times, the London boroughs are pushing ahead with this in the face of Transport for London’s impending bankruptcy.”

Cllr Platts urged people to contact the council’s environment, transport and sustainability committee with their ideas before Tuesday, June 23, when progress is due to be reported.

Conservative group leader Steve Bell welcomed much of what was proposed, saying that it was rooted in Government advice.

Cllr Bell said the drop in general traffic and bus passenger numbers meant that some bus lanes could be given over to cyclists.

Council officers are looking at whether this would be worth doing.

Future

He said: “There is no doubt our lives in the city are changing and I don’t believe we’ll ever go back to the pre-pandemic norm.

“It is only right now that we look to the future and plan for the future.

“This is the commencement of the way forward and how we will see our lives moving on.”

Cllr Bell asked how the new cycle lane along Old Shoreham Road would affect the reopening of the tip in Hove on Monday.

The council’s executive director for the economy, environment and culture Nick Hibberd said officers were monitoring the cycle lane.

Mr Hibberd said that traffic management plans had been drawn up to try to prevent problems when the council’s two rubbish and recycling tips reopened.

He urged people to take their

time and “not all rush at once” to the sites.

People have already been urged to use the tips only if it is really necessary.

Cllr Bell also called for a proper level of public consultation about the various transport measures so the council could hear people’s views.

And with a desire to encourage public transport for visitors, he added: “Surely we should be looking at park and ride and a coach park.”

Mr Hibberd said the council was following the correct processes while moving quickly to respond to the public health crisis.

It was consulting with pedestrians, bus users, taxi drivers and cyclists, he said.

Money was available for a feasibility study into a park and ride scheme but the study had not started because of the pandemic.

Last week, Transport Minister Grant Shapps announced Government funding of £2 billion for pop-up cycle lanes and wider pavements.