A controversial planter will be removed from Rottingdean High Street so that tests can establish whether it improves the air quality or adds to pollution.
Debate has raged about the planter ever since it was put in place in October 2019, with supporters saying that it had helped calm the traffic.
It was part of a wider project by Rottingdean Parish Council and Brighton and Hove City Council.
At the same, a hatched yellow box was painted by Dene’s Mews and traffic was barred from turning right out of West Street by the High Street and A259 traffic lights.
High Street has been an air quality management area since 2013 because nitrogen dioxide (NO2) emissions exceeded legal limits.
Opponents believe that it has done little or nothing to improve the levels of pollution and may even have made them worse than they would otherwise be. A petition calling for it to be removed attracted 694 signatures.
A proposal to remove the planter for four weeks is due to be decided in the coming week by a Brighton and Hove City Council committee.
A report to the council’s Transport and Sustainability Committee said: “One ward councillor invited feedback from residents in late 2022 on the proposal to remove the planter.
“There were approximately 30 responses, mostly from people who wanted the planter retained because it made them feel safer as slower traffic made it easier to cross.
“Messages of support included some students from St Margaret’s Church of England Primary School.
“Air quality was the main theme in the responses, with people saying they had noticed the improvement.
“By contrast, it was noted that social media messages were overwhelmingly in favour of removing the planter but it was not clear how many of the people posting these messages actually lived in Rottingdean.”
The report also said: “The temporary removal of the planter / chicane and the monitoring of traffic flows before and after this will allow an assessment of its air quality impact for the first time.
“This will allow officers to make a decision on the basis of air quality benefits rather than traffic management considerations.”
While air quality in the road has improved over several years, the trend has matched national decreases in harmful emissions, linked to the lower proportion of diesel vehicles in use.
The rate of improvement in air quality has been slower since the planter was put in place – even despite the drop in traffic during the coronavirus pandemic lockdowns.
Southbound traffic has become stop-start, with frequent queues and congestion.
The report to councillors said: “Hot combustion processes in air produce oxides of nitrogen (NOx). Nitrogen dioxide (NO2) and nitric oxide (NO) are both oxides of nitrogen and together are referred to as NOx.
“In the case of Rottingdean High Street, road transport is the main source of these emissions.
“For modern vehicles operating on the public highway, NOx emissions can be mitigated with selective catalytic reduction on the vehicle exhausts.
“This technology is less effective in stop-start traffic, when engines idle and exhausts have lower temperatures.
“Road traffic emissions disperse less effectively in confined spaces such as street canyons.
“This long-term trend (of air quality improvement) in the High Street is broadly comparable to the national trend.
“There are a variety of influences behind this trend, including travel behaviour in the immediate post-pandemic period (and) the diesel legacy of the UK fleet which contributes the greatest proportion of NOx.”
The report also noted the small but steady increase in hybrid and electric fleets, the effects of the fuel price crisis last year and seasonal differences, with colder temperatures produce higher emissions.
The report added: “Officers acknowledge the planter may cause revving as vehicles accelerate to get around it when there is a gap in northbound traffic.
“NO2 results from the nearest monitor have not improved significantly since 2020.
“Based on data currently available, it is not possible to say that the planter has had a positive impact.
“There is no base-line or post-installation data because traffic diverting along Steyning Road to avoid the lower High Street has not been monitored.
“There are counters on Chailey Avenue, but these will not count diverting traffic using Newlands Avenue to access the A259 avoiding the lower High Street.
“This means it is not possible to measure the contribution the planter has made though diversions.”
Officials are understood to have started a four-week traffic count in Steyning Road and, if councillors agree to the removal of the planter, another four-week traffic count would take place in September.
Councillors are being asked to the allow officers “to decide whether the planter will be reinstated based on air quality and traffic counter results”.
The Transport and Sustainability Committee is due to meet at Hove Town Hall at 4pm on Thursday (6 July). The meeting is scheduled to be webcast on the council’s website.
Is sanity returning to the city after years of green misrule?
It was placed there by labour, in 2019 they were in control of the council
2019 was a hung council in Brighton, with Labour having 23 seats to Conservate’s 20, Martha.
My issue with the planter is more safely concerns than supposed pollution or traffic delays for south moving vehicles. When the inevitable line of cars form southbound at peak traffic moments, it is extremely difficult for north bound traffic to see anyone near the pedestrian crossing. Even at very low speeds I have on several occasions had to brake hard to miss people already on the pedestrian crossing.
If you are going at a low speed, you would not have to brake hard. Drive defensively and EXPECT people on a pedestrian crossing. Stupid planter causes more congestion and pollution with idling traffic.
I agree, Jonathan. Also heading south you have to cope with oncoming traffic mixed with traffic doing a virtually blind exit from Park Road at the same time.
There’s simply no evidence that this planter serves any direct benefit in reducing NOx levels.
It does however cause extensive traffic queues, driver frustration and increasing risks of accidents.
It’s a very poorly thought out experiment
that would not pass any scientific scrutiny, consequently it should be abandoned.
0 /10 see me !!
“There is no base-line” well there you have it. Basically it just got plonked there without any research what so ever. Will be good for the sake of this to have a current situation model with air quality, traffic flow and numbers and do the same with planter gone. Add a couple of speed loops so that can be checked at the same time.
Amateur hour comes to mind
I lived on the high street 2019 to 2023 opp Denes Mews and developed a cough living in a listed house there. I had X-rays and tests to determine cause, medication and even discussions about possible cancer but the cough went away after moving in February. Within a month or two the cough has gone. I feel sure the house snd high street pollution were the factors that triggered this cough
Traffic was often at a standstill outside our house due to people not observing the yellow box outside which was designed to keep traffic flowing and not emitting directly outside dwellings at that part of the high street.
Anything to make the hard done by motorists life easier eh? I’d say widen the road as it’s the narrow lane that slows us motorists down. Pesky residents getting in the way of us taking the quickest route to the shops, school, gym, or even work etc.
Another decision by a Transport department that has run amok when the Greens were in charge. Labour look like they are beginning to make them see the error of previous decisions.
The road structure itself would be better looked at in my opinion. One way traffic might be a better solution considering the narrowness of the road.
“Help calm the traffic….” ?? Been driving through Rottingdean High Street for the last 50+ years and it’s always been at a standstill anyway – you can’t get much “calmer” than that!
When traffic is held up going North it forces long queues going south as no one can pass the planter . This causes longer tail backs and more pollution. It is also dangerous when cars turn left into the high street only to find a car being driven on the wrong side of the road coming towards them.
The solution is to remove the planter, repaint the yellow box and put up clear stop signage.
Bin the planter off as you don’t need to be a professor in traffic management to understand it’s a Dumbo idea. While your at it, viaduct road. Those planters are so dangerous. I cycle and it’s like riding a death race with those.things and the random bins half out in the road.
Agree, it’s bad enough in my car, I don’t go down that road on my bike for that reason
From this small sample of comments it suggests that the majority of people are not in favour of this planter. I don’t know what the answer is but I do know what it isn’t and that’s the planter. You really don’t need to be smsrt to realise this adds to the problem not detracts from it. Get rid of it is my vote and don’t let the previous people who made the original decision anywhere near it-NIGHTMARE.
I must say, the controversial planter in Rottingdean High Street has certainly sparked a lot of debate and discussion. While opinions on its presence vary, it’s clear that it has become a focal point in the community.
Change is often met with resistance, but it’s interesting to see how public art, even when controversial, can ignite conversations and bring a community together to voice their views.
Kudos to Brighton and Hove News for keeping us updated on these local happenings, and I’m looking forward to hearing more about the resolution to this planter predicament.
Best regards,
Barbara