More than 250 people have signed a petition because buses are to be diverted along Upper North Street and Montpelier Terrace while work is carried out in Western Road, Brighton.
Work on the revamp of Western Road is expected to take up to two years and involves resurfacing the road and pavements, creating a “central strip” and more crossings.
While work is under way, buses will continue to travel westbound along Western Road, but eastbound traffic will be diverted up Montpelier Road and along Upper North Street to Regent Hill.
Retired doctor Gillian Durham started the petition – “Stop half a million buses on Brighton’s Upper North Street and Montpelier Terrace” – on Change.org on Sunday (18 December).
It raised concerns about air quality and the increased volume of traffic along the narrow road.
Dr Durham said: “I believe the council’s decision on this diversion is wholly unreasonable given the substantial health and safety issues that will arise from the street traffic and the potential for damage to heritage homes which are currently protected by a 7.5-tonne weight limit.
“The original consultation on the Western Road improvement project was clearly defective as it did not include how the council intended to implement the works.
“Those who responded to the consultation would have assumed that two-way traffic was to be managed in Western Road using temporary traffic lights.”
The public consultation took place early last year and members of the council’s Environment, Transport and Sustainability Committee approved the project in July last year.
Dr Durham said that she searched Brighton and Hove City Council’s consultation leaflet about improvements to Western Road and found no reference to “diversion” or “Upper North Street”.
She also found a map from the leaflet, which she shared on the petition, and which does not show Upper North Street or Montpelier Terrace.
Mobile vehicle-activated signs are being installed in Montpelier Terrace and Upper North Street to alert drivers if they exceed the speed limit and collect traffic and speed data.
People commenting on the petition have raised concerns about the increased number of large vehicles in the Montpelier and Clifton Hill Conservation Area.
Work has already started on the Western Road project, with bus diversions due to start on Monday 9 January.
The council’s website said that each side junction was expected to close for three to four weeks while work was carried out – and residents would be contacted beforehand.
The multimillion-pound revamp is being funded by government grants, including £2 million from the “Active Travel Fund” and £1.5 million from the “Highways Maintenance Challenge Fund”.
The council will also use a portion of the £27.9 million grant from the Department for Transport for the “Bus Service Improvement Plan” to help fund the revamp.
The Bus Service Improvement Plan aims to reduce journey times and bus fares and provide a “more comprehensive” service across Brighton and Hove.
Will wait to see, in the end, if this improves bus services with the removal of one bus stop.
The problems with buses queuing westbound on Western Road at Dyke Road will remain, as will those coming up North Street where it can be faster to get off a bus at the Old Steine and walk up to Churchill Square.
However, I’m sure our council traffic planners have fully analysed predicted vehicle flows, and that the government investment will be well spent.
In the interim 2 years these works will likely impede bus services further and encourage travellers to use alternate modes and/or go elsewhere. If only all east-west bus traffic didn’t have to filter through this one route.
Well, that’s another 250 people who will probably not be voting for the Greens – the arrogant party that always ignores the public – next time round.
This is quite an interesting story really, because it covers so many other city transport issues.
On the face of it, we should be pleased that Western road is being remodelled, although there’s a strong argument that all they really needed to do was to resurface the potholed road, and that could be done at night.
There’s no getting away from the fact that Western road is the sole cross-city bus route, and so disruption is inevitable. I use this route a lot but I won’t be getting on buses that divert up Montpelier road and along upper North street – because the extra time taken means it will be way quicker to walk. Upper North street is already busy with traffic as cars are not allowed on Western road, so we can expect a log jam.
If a one way system is needed during the works period, then it would make more sense to direct eastbound buses along the seafront. That idea is of course a non-starter because of the mess the council have already made on the seafront with the log jams they created there.
The cycle lobbyists argued for a second cycle lane when it would have made far more sense to put a bus or tram lane along the seafront with a new service that runs from Hove Lagoon to the Marina.
The new plan for Western road talks about widened pavements and traffic calming measures, but of course they also intend to put in a new cycle lane, taking away from the existing limited space, and you have to wonder where any pedestrian or bus-user gains will actually come from.
Those of us that cycle along Western road already know that a bespoke cycle lane is a luxury that is not really needed there when the road is already car free.
Why not instead employ traffic wardens to do their job and to have the parked cars removed from outside businesses where shop owners currently take the mickey on a daily basis, blocking the road for buses and cycles and genuine delivery lorries?
What we do know is that this scheme will go ahead anyway, simply because the council got some extra funding to spend. It’s like a coalition between a stupid council and a stupid government, determined to splash out tax payers’ money on making our public transport worse.
Why not instead employ traffic wardens to do their job and to have the parked cars removed from outside businesses where shop owners currently take the mickey on a daily basis, blocking the road for buses and cycles and genuine delivery lorries?
QUITE!
The 7.5t limit applies to goods vehicles. Buses are exempt. In order to keep to a schedule without losing much time, Upper North Street IS the way to go. The seafront is out of the question. Temporary lights are going to mess up timings. Some routes give you less time than it takes to GET through lights.