I understand that a group of motorists are lobbying the council to add half a mile or so of extra motoring lanes to the A270 Old Shoreham Road in the Hangleton and Knoll ward of Hove.

At the risk of sounding like a nimby, I have made a basic observation that that space is currently being used by cyclists, including children on their way to school, and I’m sure they’d hate to upset them.

In any case half a mile of extra lanes is a bit limited in ambition considering the rest of the road is single carriageway anyway. So I would urge the council to broaden their scope and consider some alternatives.

Take Portland Road for example. It runs, more or less, the same way, and people seldom cycle there (certainly no children) as it’s far too dangerous. It’s a bit of a compromise, but there are parked cars either side that could be removed in favour of driving lanes. This would certainly allow motorists to obtain higher speeds past the shops there on their way to wherever Portland Road goes.

Or consider New Church Road. It’s wide and straight and currently under used. It could easily accommodate a four-lane dual carriageway to which, if done properly, I see no reason why the national speed limit couldn’t be applied. This in turn might encourage large container trucks from Shoreham Port to pass this way. That would certainly liven up what is a bit of a sleepy backwater.

Now these are all worth serious consideration, but perhaps the best solution of all is to widen the A27. Again it runs (roughly) east to west and could make a splendid six lane motorway along its entire length through Hove. There are no pesky pedestrians, cyclists or, indeed, residents to moan about it. No indeed the only inconvenience might be to a few badgers, and no one cares about them anyway.

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