A recent accident and speeding traffic have led to two petitions calling for improved safety on a busy road in Hove.
The petitions, asking for a 20mph limit along Portland Road and an improved crossing, were presented to Brighton and Hove City Council at Hove Town Hall today (Thursday 15 July).
Conservative councillor Robert Nemeth presented a petition, signed by 687 people, calling for the speed limit to be cut from 30mph to 20mph.
He favoured corner build-outs and entrance humps on side roads – and he said that before the pandemic he had met representatives of local schools and parents and they supported the proposals.
Councillor Nemeth said: “We are under no illusions over what 20mph means. Having experimented ourselves, we feel that a 20mph limit would be a much safer experience for all concerned with little, if any, time added to journeys.
“Twenty miles per hour simply smooths the journey, rather than curtailing it. Will it be enforced? No, probably not. Will this matter? If a few miles per hour is shaved off top speeds, and the number of accidents is reduced, then we got it right.”
Former Green councillor Christopher Hawtree said that he had seen an accident at a zebra crossing in Portland Road, near Westbourne Street, in May.
He presented a petition signed by 804 people calling for an electronic crossing “with buttons and lights”.
Mr Hawtree said that Portland Road was a thriving and popular centre with a wide variety of shops that people “relish”.
He said: “I was struck by the number of people troubled by cars speeding along the adjacent roads and screeching to a halt at the many junctions.
“Councillor Lewry reminded me his brother Phil was hit in a similar way on that zebra crossing a few years ago and was in some pain for quite a while afterwards.”
Both petitions were referred to before the council’s Environment, Transport and Sustainability Committee meeting on Tuesday 21 September.
Thanks for the article! As I said at the Council meeting, when speaking to the Petition, there are so many factors which affect Portland Road.
At the end of my three minutes, I said that, in going around with the paper incarnation of the Petition, I heard so much – above all: two women signed it and commented that, on the afternoon of the incident, they had chanced by and, being off-duty nurses, they helped at the scene. Since then, they have heard that the victim is recovering, which is heartening.
We need to ensure that there is less risk of such incidents. Life can change, indeed come to and end, in a few seconds.