I FIND it ironic on the day The Argus comment (Tuesday, August 10) says "we need to listen to the children who will be most affected by climate change" that Labour and Conservative politicians ignored their needs and concerns and voted to remove the Old Shoreham Road temporary cycle lanes.

This decision placed convenience of the motorist over the safety of vulnerable road users. It was not based on evidence and ignored the fact that many residents had not engaged in the consultation, particularly the younger generations.

Now the road will be revert to a racetrack facilitating speeding motorists breaking the law, because "not enough" people were using the cycle lanes. Based on this flawed logic, we should also be ripping out electric vehicle charging points that aren't well used at the moment.

Worryingly this came a day after the stark warnings issued by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) when councillors could not have been unaware of the dire situation we're in. Given that transport is the most polluting sector in the UK, urgent action needs to be taken to reduce carbon emissions by reducing traffic levels. Converting to electric vehicles cannot happen quickly enough.

Yet achieving that necessary traffic reduction is now going to be much harder. For without a major piece of infrastructure and with potential loss of funding to make future changes how will the council achieve the shifts to walking and cycling that are needed?

Talk of producing alternative routes is just that: talk. For without the wholesale relocation of the many schools, Hove Park and numerous shops and services, how do Labour and Conservative councillors propose to provide safe access to these places by putting cycle lanes elsewhere? It's nonsense and they are misleading themselves, if not the public, by suggesting these are options.

In the same edition of The Argus we also have a councillor trying to convince us that Labour still supports active travel and is committed to becoming carbon neutral. Yet their support for the removal of a key piece of cycling infrastructure and obsession with park and ride, which can actually increase carbon emissions, says otherwise.

What is clear though is what was already a tough challenge, has just become that much tougher.

Chris Todd

Planning and transport campaigner

Brighton and Hove Friends of the Earth

Hollingdean Terrace

Brighton