Petition seeks to move bike hire rack from ‘no cycling’ zone
A petition has been started to move a bike hire rack from a “no cycling” zone in Hove to a more appropriate location.
Already 115 people have signed the petition, supporting concerns that Brighton and Hove City Council is giving out mixed messages by having the bike rack in a pedestrianised street.
The petition offers a constructive solution, moving the George Street stand to the nearby Tesco superstore which is willing to host it.
Councillor Andrew Wealls, who represents Central Hove and who started the petition, is keen for more people to add their names by the deadline on Monday 25 June. To sign it, click here.
The petition says: “We the undersigned petition Brighton and Hove Council to relocate the Bike Hire Rack stand situated in George Street.
“George Street is a ‘no cycling’ zone during the pedestrian hours of 10am to 4pm and the bike hire rack in George Street does not help promote or inform people of the ‘pedestrians only’ council policy initiative and of the existing law for these hours and its placement in George Street contradicts council policy.
“The bike hire rack in George Street appears to condone cycling in the street during these hours at best and confuses cyclists at worse.
“The bike rack also causes problems for the immediate businesses around its position.
“The perfect solution being: Tesco has expressed a willingness for the George Street bike hire rack to be relocated to their store and we request that this offer is accepted and implemented.
“We support safe cycling in our city and the proposal will enhance the safety of all users of George Street.”
Tim Caswell, the managing director of Hourbike, the company operating the bike hire scheme, said: “The George Street hub, positioned at the bottom of the road, was put in place following a council-run public consultation process in 2016-17.
“The hub is very popular and well used, adding to the footfall of the street which is great for business on the high street.
“We expect people using the George Street hub between the pedestrian hours of 10am and 4pm to walk the bikes while in the ‘no cycling’ zone.”
The petition organisers aim to present it to the council’s Environment, Transport and Sustainability Committee meeting on Tuesday 26 June 2018.
To start a petition, see which ones are live and to sign one, go to http://www.brighton-hove.gov.uk/petitions.
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I suspect this is more of a ploy to regain the parking spaces for when the road is open to traffic. Do they want to remove the public cycle parking which is also within the pedestrian areas too?
NO! All they want to do is stop people cycling during pedestrianised hours and cycling the wrong way up the one-way road at other times. It is dangerous! And illegal. And the rack being sited there invites people to do the wrong thing without necessarily being properly aware. It teases them. And putting them in front of Tesco is helpful!
Martin! It’s a lot more than that. Pop along to the council meeting and listen to the various points that logically shows you why it should never have been put there, without proper consultation, and the dangerous risks it has caused. Apart from it being a ‘No cycling’ street during pedestrian hours, our campaign is to make the street safer. A few near misses, a few people injured, but thankfully no one killed yet.
Go the council meeting, hear the statements.
Enforcement of no cycling in George St and on the promenade is much needed. Lot more offenders with the new bike scheme. People ignore the signs. If all cyclists in the cit ignored the rues it would be pandemonium. There are thousands of us.
Where was the councillor during the consultation period pointing this out?
Where wwere councillors during the committee meeting that approved the locations?
All The locations were mar public in advance.
Perhaps if he did his job properly on the first place this would never have been an issue.
Why didn’t transport officers SEE the issue for themselves?
A very good point! All asleep at the wheel!
This petition hasn’t just blown up, it is a last resort. Meetings were held with the civil servant that sanctioned this, and Tesco was put forward as a better alternative to everyone. But no, this person suffered from PPP (Personal Professionl Pride), can’t be seen to have made a bungling error! So it resorted to this to have it moved. The civil servant should be hung out to dry, named and shamed for the lack of logic and common sense!
Exactly! How it got by the Traffic officers is probably how it got past the public, a very quiet, low key so called ‘Council – run Public Consultation process’. For a street as large as George Street, how many letters were sent out to those it would concern? I know for a fact that very few if any received it. If anyone did receive it, it would only have been those directly affected, and so cover the civil servant as seen to do the democratic process. The Ward councillors would not have just let this go through, and would have informed the Save George Street campaign and local businesses for their thoughts on the matter. They never did because no one was informed.
How do you know what the left hand is doing if the right hand is not informed? There again, if you don’t want the right hand to know what the left hand is doing, the left hand does it quietly when the right hand isn’t looking.
Both councillors are furious that a proper consultation was not done, which should all come out in the wash at the meeting on the 26th June.
There was a consultation on the location of the BTN Bike Share bike racks: https://present.brighton-hove.gov.uk/Published/C00000823/M00006114/AI00054207/$Brighton%20Hove%20Bike%20Share%20-%20TRO%20representations.docxA.ps.pdf It was considered at the council’s transport committee on 14 March 2017. The link above is to the report which states: “Letters were sent to residents and traders in the vicinity of each site during August/ September 2016 informing them of the Bike Share proposals. Ward Members were also informed by email. Comments were invited within 21 days of receipt of the letter. Meetings were held with residents or businesses at four of the locations.”
I dont remember receiving a letter stating this. I did a couple of years ago when they wanted to site it at the top of George Street and I said it was a no cycling street between certain hours.
I know many that did not receive a letter, either at the top or the bottom. Is it 90 businesses in George Street? Wouldn’t have stood a chance in passing if there was a proper council public consultation! Skullduggery afoot.
Not good enough! It is obvious that it is group of Brighton Bike Racks and George Street was lumped in with them all. 31 letters to traders, that won’t be hard to crush. All the traders in George Street should have received a letter, not a selection, as this has affected the whole street, with the success of a decrease in cycling in a ‘No Cycling’ street, only for it to be increased by the introduction of the Bike rack! How the Traffic Officers missed this beggars belief!
You can see why the Brighton bike scheme would want a rack in a key destination like George Street – for people visiting there, to shop or to meet up. And you CAN cycle there out of the main shopping hours. So the rack is well-placed but the problem is cyclists ignoring the no cycling period of the day.
I guess one compromise would be to re-site the rack at the end of the street, perhaps with a reminder sign saying that George street is a pedestrian-only area at times. Tourists on these rental bikes probably just didn’t realise.
The recommended relocation site for the George Street is at Tesco, just through the twitten not far at all. Like your suggestion, we did put that site as one of the other relocation sites, and there were several others. I thought your comment about tourists was a good point, something that may have been overlooked.
Why not make the street shared pedestrian/bike use?? Plenty of other places are.
It is the dangers of collision that may injury someone we are trying to avoid. If you saw the speed and carelessness we witness you would see that it cannot be shared. It may work elsewhere, but for some reason we do experience some very antisocial cycling.
I do hope the hirees are not charged for the walking time out of George Street…
The other option is getting fined £50.00 for riding it up the street. Either way it hasn’t been well thought through by the civil servant that sanctioned this, and has embarrassed the council no end.
Tesco’s has not agreed to have the George Street BTN Bike rack relocated to their land.
Yes they have 100%. Speak to Cllr Andrew Wealls, it was discussed and agreed months ago, and even presented at the meeting as a better relocation site, but ignored. Fact. Don’t try and muddy the waters with disinformation. Pure and simple email Cllr Andrew Wealls and ask, and he will confirm.
I am aware of what Cllr. Wealls has stated, but I am also in touch with people who were at the meeting with Tesco’s discussing possibilities for bike racks and Tesco’s have not agreed.
The meeting you are discussing was only recent, and the approach to Tesco was not made by a council representative, but someone from the Brighton Bike Hire. A sneaky attempt to preempt and circumvent the original solution created for the relocation of the George Street rack. So if you know what Cllr Andrew Wealls has stated then you would be well aware of its truth and the timeline it was deiscussed with Tesco. Also, if you are in touch with the people who were at the meeting as you mentioned, they will tell you that the George Street rack that was mentioned in the above recent meeting. Which, in itself tells you and everyone that it predates you recent meeting to approach Tesco, and you are trying to hi-jack location so it won’t be able to be used as relocation site for the George Street rack. Whatever way you dress up you statement it is an untruth.
Becky Reynolds I can assure you Tesco HAVE agreed to take the cycle rack from George Street as I was there MYSELF at the original meeting late last year and have been there at the other meetings since, please do not embarrass yourself by making such comments on things you clearly have no idea at all about.
Becky Reynolds I can say right now that Tesco HAVE agreed to taking on the cycle rack as I was personally at the original meeting MYSELF late last year along with Councillor Wealls as well as as other meetings since, don’t embarrass yourself by saying things you’re clearly have no idea on at all.
Tesco have 100% agreed. Perhaps you need to clarify that for your own piece of mind before you embarrass yourself further
I have seen the report for the proposed relocation of the George Street rack, which was last November? Lots of people have seen it. I have also seen emails dated from that time, as other people have. Do you smell something that is not exactly cricket going on here? Not exactly being played by the rules? Wrap it up in political red tape, smoke and mirrors, and public won’t have a leg to stand on.
If I get a fine for cycling in an area with a rack I would.lbe furious. How can the council be this ridiculous? That’s like sending a butcher to a vegan festival – completely inappropriate
Thank you ‘Love for Lycra’! No we are getting somewhere. Now, we can reach those cyclists in Brighton & Hove, and maybe at a stretch reach those in Sussex, but what about tourists that visit and won’t know? What a nice advert for the City! We started the awareness campaign, and because of responsible cyclists cycling in George Street has reduced by at least 90%… that is the cyclists that have responded to this!
All my friends that are cycling ‘nuts’ all dismount when in the street and have done for years. It’s not anti-cycling, it’s pro pedestrian. This campaign will will win, not by numbers of non cyclists, but will win with cyclists.
This is NOT unreasonable at all. The Brighton Bike Hire is a good idea, but ruined by civil servants that implement it in the wrong street.
This campaign was never ‘just get rid of the Bike Rack’, we went in search of a beeper location, and we found it to make everyone happy.
People should crank their neck in, a ‘No Cycling’ law is the law. If you speak for or represent cyclists, you should be campaigning to car drivers of the merit if the ‘DUTCH REACH’, which will save injuries and lives of cyclists.
Oh dear… I may by mistake let on I’m a cyclist!
Come on people, lets support the pedestrian hours of George Street together, cycling hasn’t lost any ground by respecting the law that exists in George Street.
For goodness sake. Have you nothing better to worry about?