One of Brighton’s busiest shopping streets looks likely to have a revamp aimed at making it better for pedestrians, cyclists and bus passengers, the council said.
Brighton and Hove City Council plans to simplify the road layout along Western Road, Brighton, with “improved pedestrian crossings”.
The council also plans to resurface the road and pavements between the Clock Tower and Montpelier Road and give greater priority for pedestrians crossing side roads.
Other changes in the pipeline include “improvements for cyclists at junctions” and “improved junctions at Dyke Road and Clock Tower”.
The revamp is one of a series of “active travel” measures due to be debated at a special meeting of the council’s Environment, Transport and Sustainability Committee next week.
A central strip for pedestrians is planned to help those on foot to cross the road in places, with wider pavements by the Imperial Arcade and Churchill Square.
If the proposals are voted through, bus stops would be removed at Clarence Square and the westbound stops by Waitrose would be moved closer to Sillwood Road.
The council said that the scheme would remove “unnecessary street furniture” and allow more cycle parking and benches.
The Department for Transport is expected to give the council £1.5 million to cover the cost of resurfacing Western Road.
And some of the funding is expected to come from a £2 million “active travel” grant, also from the government.
A report to councillors said that the Western Road project was subject to further design work, including engineering and materials.
About 6,000 vehicles a day travel along Western Road, the report said, and over a fortnight in April and May, an average of 860 cyclists a day were recorded using the road.
But the proposals do not include a cycle lane. The report said: “A cycle lane concept design has been considered. However, this would be relatively narrow.
“In addition, for it to be continuous, pedestrian islands would need to be removed and pavements narrowed in some areas.
“Given the very high footfall in this location and high demand for pedestrian crossings, this was not considered appropriate in this location.”
If the project goes ahead, construction work would be expected to take two years. It would be phased to reduce the adverse effect on traders.
The proposals are due to be decided by the Environment, Transport and Sustainability Committee at Hove Town Hall next Wednesday (21 July). The meeting is scheduled to start at 4pm and to be webcast on the council’s website.
“Active travel’…Hmmmm.
I wonder what ‘inactive’ travel would be?
That’s where the beggars and street sleepers come in, or do they class as street furniture?.
Inactive travel = sitting on your backside in a car
The utopian picture doesn’t show the beggars, tents, scooters, graffiti, vandalism and rubbish.
West Street needs ot more no traffic grass and trees no clubs but gift ships make it beach friendly
This is great news. That whole area is not pedestrian friendly at all even though it’s a main shopping area. Even if this new design isn’t perfect it sounds like it’s a big step in the right direction.
Here we go again.
There’s no mention here that Western Road is the major cross-city bus route, with buses being our only form of public transport.
If you remember what they did in North Street, they narrowed the road and shifted bus stops which then meant an overtaking bus could not get passed another one taking on passengers at the new stops. So the North street log jam was created, making it the most polluted road in the city centre.
Plus sometimes the bus flow through North street is so slow that if you’re on the number one bus it’s quicker to get off the bus at Churchill square and walk to pick up another at Old Steine.
Let’s hope those obvious mistakes aren’t repeated in Western road.
And as the majority of Western road is already car free it’s a bit unnecessary to have a dedicated cycle lane.
Yeah I don’t really get this either. There are so many buses that stop at Churchill Square. How can pedestrianising further not make it worse for the buses? What’s not ‘pedestrian friendly’ about it already anyway?
Trying to cross is not pedestrian friendly. High curbs (in areas) and a dash across two lanes of buses.
It is a main bus route and a pedestrian shopping area. It is very similar to Oxford street in London so it’s good to look there and see what developments they have made.
This is welcome news. People avoid that stretch of Western Road, even those who live nearby, and this means that enterprising shops struggle.
“Wider pavements by Imperial Arcade and Churchill Square” = single file traffic only and no room for buses to pass, much as they have done in North Street
“improvements for cyclists at junctions” and “improved junctions at Dyke Road and Clock Tower” – a two minute phase for cyclists to leave Western Road and 30 seconds for a bus to go through.
How about putting that money I to the disgusting toilets in Churchill square.
These toilets used to be pristine, i moved away for a few years and came back to the horror of those absolutely vile toilets.
I’d rather online shop than have to deal with those atrocities.
Because the toilets in Churchill Sq are in the shopping centre owned by some large investment company. The funding is coming from the Department for Transport and they won’t be very pleased if it is given away to improve a privately owned shopping centre.
How about scrapping Western Road shops altogether and building a brand new Mall to accommodate the present shops and maybe some new ones (having said that I actually dislike Malls as a place to shop) but has anyone else got any suggestions !!
The present Mall one was never actually completed as far as I can remember . it was supposed to continue further down towards the seafront.
They may as well give the whole of western Road over to the buses, there’s only a handful of decent shops there anyway.
I would love to see more attention paid to the whole of Brighton but I guess this is start.
I used to be proud to live in this fantastic city but now I and many other residents feel sad and ashamed of what it’s become.
As usual council living in dream land no mention that it is the main route through the city for busses and the amount off people who shop there How are they meant to travel to the area. I remember when they did the main shopping centre they had the same sort of pictures and said the road would’ve covered and become a pleasant place to shop As with most projects they try and rub off on the public they never turn out anything like they say
How about consulting the public in a detailed survey?
At present it seems we have proposed more town plan tinkering leading to more congestion and pollution as designer type development has caused today.
What about an example, something like Oxford City Centre which has had a park and ride scheme and seems to be very successful. Has similar mix of commerce, culture, students, sport, tourism and local government.
Brighton desperately needs a large indoor shopping centre which stays open late such as Manchester’s Trafford Centre. The weather gets cold and wet in winter we need a large indoor shopping centre as Churchill Square shopping centre is way too small and there are few restaurants and takeaways or bars inside and no cinema or bowling alley. So boring.