Environmental campaigners have painted “guerrilla” bike lanes on roads in Brighton overnight.
Extinction Rebellion said that activists sprayed the bike symbols as part of a campaign “to highlight the urgent need for more cycling space “.
The group said that dozens of bright pink, yellow and green bike stencils were sprayed on roads in London Road and the Hanover and Old Steine areas.
It said: “The pop-up bike lanes draw attention to the fact that dangerous polluting cars must give way to bikes in order to tackle our environmental crises and the dangers of travel during a pandemic.
“Toxic air pollution and greenhouse gas emissions from road transport have dropped in the city – and across the world – after lockdowns were imposed to tackle the coronavirus crisis.
“Less cars on the roads has also led to more cycling and walking as our neighbourhoods have become safer.
“As lockdown is eased, climate change activists, academics and politicians are calling on cities to dedicate more road space to active travel to prevent emissions returning to previous levels.
“Offering a viable alternative to cars would also help avoid an emissions surge from private vehicles as social distancing means public transport cannot meet demand.”
The group added: “We have seen ambitious cycling and pedestrianisation schemes in other cities in the UK. London, for example, is closing some of its busiest roads to cars completely.
“We’re pleased that Brighton and Hove City Council is looking at this issue, but the action taken so far doesn’t go far enough – and falls short of what other cities are doing.
“Brighton residents want to see faster and bolder policies so the quality of life improvements we’ve seen during lockdown don’t evaporate.
“Cycling and other forms of active travel must be prioritised across the city. In particular there needs to be wide, ideally segregated, bike lanes on all major roads leading into the city centre.
“Brighton residents want to be able to breathe clean air instead of choking on car fumes. They want to be able to get to work in a safe, socially distanced way. They want pedals, not pollution.
“We hope these makeshift bike lanes will encourage people to see our public spaces differently and realise the benefits of clean safe active travel.
“The pandemic has been a horrible and tragic experience but it has shown us that another better future is possible.”
Brighton and Hove City Council has reallocated more than a mile and a half of the A270 Old Shoreham Road as a temporary cycle lane.
The council is also looking at new bike lanes on the A259 seafront road and a stretch of the A23.
It may also close Sydney Street and Gardner Street in the North Laine to cars on weekdays.
That is a stupid and dangerous thing to do…
It will also cost the taxpayers to remove..
More thought less action needed…
CDB
C-
It is chalk paint 😊. Great symbolic action 😊. We will get through this acute problem; Corona,but we need to deeply think about, and adapt to our chronic problem of global warming; our climate and ecological crisis. During lockdown the air has cleared+wildlife has been flourishing.
We have had the time to reflect and realise our impacts on nature. This time should be an opportunity to choose not to go back and to change for the better. To Act Now!
That’s great and all but how do I commute to work considering my job is 20miles north of Brighton and no where near any bus or trains…
I’m a Brighton resident and all I want is for morons to stop painting stupid messages on the road
That’s all you want. big ambitions, bless ya
Why don’t they get a life with all the problems we have at the moment hope they don’t have grapes bananas etc imported by air or sea in their households
Fab initiative! making roads safer for everyone:
How about getting cyclists to obey traffic laws and regulations! Red lights mean them too! Talking of lights, how about FITTING some when you’re out in the dark! Cyclists seem to think th traffic laws don’t apply to the.
Well said! But if only that were the case. Encouraged by our totally brainless council members, they think they are a law unto themselves. This pandemic has brought them out like a plague of its own, with pavements and pedestrian footpaths in parks overcrowded with them. And a lack of education has produced a generation of ignorant morons who cannot understand the words “No Cycling”?
How about making car drivers stop speeding and enforce the rules on close passing bikes?
There are idiots across all of society and it is statistically impossible for them all to be in one group of road users. There are just as many idiot cyclists as there are drivers, runners etc.
The uncomfortable truth is roads are funded out of general taxation and there for everyone to use. Anyone who can’t or won’t share is in the idiot group.
Echo!
A lovely creative way to get the council to look at the possibility of extending cycle lanes…its so.needed in this city woth the air being so polluted by cars
Great to draw attention to the ease of cycling when there’s much less petrol traffic on the roads- cleaner, safer…and I’m sooo loving this clean air.
It’s not “us & them”…I’m a motorist, cyclist, pedestrian, and I have been known to get on a bus and a train too!
How about making them stop at red lights. Cyclists are unbelievable! Rude when you call them out for it and when they do get hit for not sticking to traffic laws it’s never their fault!!
How about making car drivers stop speeding and enforce the rules on close passing bikes?
There are idiots across all of society and it is statistically impossible for them all to be in one group of road users. There are just as many idiot cyclists as there are drivers, runners etc.
The uncomfortable truth is roads are funded out of general taxation and there for everyone to use. Anyone who can’t or won’t share is in the idiot group.
How about charging them Road tax and liability insurance like othervehicles have to pay.
No such thing as road tax. It is a vehicle excise duty. A tax on owning a vehicle. If a Tesla is £0 “road tax” then a bike should be too. But if you want to fund issuing a £0 tax on bikes every year then I am sure you would be happy to pay the extra income tax to cover it.
Oh and I’m insured an pay over £750 per year in “road tax” already so I have paid. Deal with it and stop being a baby.
I agree with you on liability insurance but there is no such thing as ‘road tax’. It is a vehicle excise duty.
If it is £0 on a Tesla than a bicycle is surely the same?
Why is it always “them” not “us”?
It’s so funny to watch the cycling haters squirm. Usual tosh about obeying the rules of the road. Like nobody in a car speeds or does anything illegal.
They are too afraid to admit they just want all the space to themselves. Get over it and learn to share. If my 6 year old can do it so can you.
I’m a cyclist, a regular walker, and my work means I’m a van driver.
I like cycle lanes, I don’t like to see bikes on the pavements or on the seafront promenade, but I also understand the need for roads. If I could swap my diesel van for an electric one, then I would, but we still need roads.
I drove along the Old Shoreham Road today at morning commuting time and there was not one single bicycle in the new cycle lane heading in either direction. There was however one cyclist on the pavement.
We can have solid green ideas about encouraging people out of their cars and onto healthier forms of transport but it’s a fantasy to assume that people will use bikes in hilly areas, or on rainy days, or indeed in the winter months.
It’s a step too far to close major car, bus, and lorry routes in favour of bike lanes which will not be used for the majority of the time if at all.
So let’s have new cycle lanes, but only where they will be used and not just by closing down roads. Let’s not self-harm our local economy at a time when half our livelihoods are under threat.
Let’s not have a knee-jerk change in road policy just because locked down householders have temporarily decided it’s OK to ride three abreast without helmets on Hove prom.
When I see stupid signs painted on the road like this. The only thing I think, maybe a kid might cycle in front of a HGV now, pretty counter productive tbh.
If you force cars into 1 Lane they drop speed and stop start more thus creating more pollution. But extinction rebellion have kinda been over shadowed by something that actually is killing everyone. Please news stop reporting on these idiots
I agree that more cycle lanes should be provided but I also think that cycles should have insurance also a test to make sure the cycles are road worthy just like a car or motorbike also they should pay road tax for the upkeep of the cycle lanes
Insurance yes but roads are funded from general taxation.
Vehicle excise duty is a tax on a vehicle not how roads are paid for. It is structured mainly as a tax on pollution. If a Tesla is £0 (and indeed some petrol cars are) then a bike should be £0 too.
I’ll happily have a £0 “road tax” if it makes you feel better but I imagine the costs for administering it would be considerable and lead to greater increases in the “road tax” we all already pay.