A third red route is being planned for Brighton and Hove – and with a fourth in the pipeline.
The first two are in Lewes Road and London Road. They look likely to be followed by one in Western Road and possibly Queen’s Road.
Brighton and Hove City Council said: “Work to tackle anti-social parking, improve safety and keep the city moving looks set to continue with the expansion of red routes in Brighton and Hove.
“Councillors will be presented with a report next week that will recommend bringing in a new red route in Western Road, between Holland Road and Montpelier Road.
“The report also outlines ongoing efforts to explore options for another in Queen’s Road.
“The report follows the success of the red routes in London Road and Lewes Road which have helped to improve safety and reduce congestion since they were introduced last year.
“Cabinet members will also be presented with feedback from Brighton and Hove Buses, the city’s largest bus operator, which says the new red routes have led to an 85.7 per cent reduction in passenger injury incidents in those areas.
“A full public consultation was carried out before red routes were introduced in London Road and Lewes Road.
“Brighton and Hove City Council has also met with local businesses and traders regularly since the new restrictions began.
“As a result of their feedback, the council added five additional loading bays, extended another and added a motorcycle bay for food delivery bikes following concerns from local residents.”
Labour councillor Trevor Muten, the council’s cabinet member for transport, parking and the public realm, said: “We’ve had a lot of positive feedback from public transport operators, cyclists and residents about the new red routes in London Road and Lewes Road.
“They’ve made travelling in those areas safer and journeys less congested and more reliable.
“It was particularly pleasing to see the figures from Brighton and Hove Buses showing a significant reduction in passenger injuries and improved punctuality.
“I’ve met several times with local shop owners and we’ve worked hard to support them with additional loading bays.
“We’re committed to working with traders, residents and visitors to ensure our Red Routes work for everyone.
“Western Road is an area where we see a lot of anti-social parking. A red route here would go a long way in helping to keep this busy part of the city safe and moving and we’ll be consulting with residents and businesses in the area later in the year to make sure we get it right.”
Red routes are roads marked with double red rather than double yellow lines. These place restrictions on stopping, loading and unloading in areas other than designated loading bays where signs give information on restrictions and timings.
Using CCTV cameras in conjunction with the double red lines gives the council additional enforcement powers.
The double-yellow lines on Western Road don’t seem to be mean anything unless we pay for a traffic warden to patrol them. A lot of the businesses will complain but they just seem to ignore the inconvenience and dangers they’re causing for everyone else
This should have been the first red route, continual parking abuse which can delay buses, block traffic etc. Make sure the businesses have sufficient loading bays and there is blue badge parking and this should work much better.
Much needed
Much needed?
In Queens Park Road?
Where are the residents of Queens Park Road going to park pray tell me?
Oh, it’s all good. The council is going to put in 5 loading bays. Ha ha ha. That’s 5 between London Road and Lewes Road.
But don’t worry the council is working with local traders. Ignoring them more like.
Is this a joke?
Queen’s road, not Queen’s Park road you muppet.
Ha Ha. Guilty as charged
Money spinner. But the increase in fines lead to a decrease in shops, and corporation tax and VAT paid, leading to decrease in business rates. But only half of the business rates go to the council and none of the corp/vat See how it works ?
‘keep the city moving’ they say.
VG3 is going to create enormous congestion – has BHCC factored that in?
Yes because, as the report says, the slight increase in journey times for private cars driving through is more than offset by the massive decrease in journey times for shoppers.
Tell us about the ‘massive decrease in journey times for shoppers’. Feel free to supply figures.
Can we quote you on that ?
Or is that just shoppers on bikes?
I cant fault your logic
Just read the report yourself my dude, no need to have someone else spoon feed it to you.
But as you’ve asked: the increase in journey times for private cars is due to the time shoppers have to wait at crossings being decreased, as stated in the report.
I’ve told Mike several times before; he’s not actually interested in the answer, he just appears to want to be adversarial.
Err, okay, so explain how the increase in journey times can possibly decrease journey times for shoppers ?
People who go shopping, not only use ‘Private’ vehicles but also Public Transport that will also be impacted by increased journey times and delayed by the congestion caused.
Many of us who are able to read the details of these schemes and vanity projects can see the problems and flaws long before the foundations are laid.
A lot of us questioned the i360 for instance and highlighted the many flaws in the business plan, but it went ahead anyway and we know how well that went don’t we.
The Old Shoreham Road bike lane fiasco was never going to work. BHCC already had a detailed report from a previous study on installing a bike lane and the impact it would have and the project shelfed due to requiring a complete reworking of junctions. But that also went ahead, and we know how well that went don’t we.
The re-vamping of Lewes Road, Brighton Station, 7 Dials and Elm Grove all had serious flaws with serious problems that were highlighted before they begun, but they went ahead anyway. Money was wasted correcting things at Brighton Station because they got it wrong and Elm Grove needed to be reworked to make it work better too.
The narrowing of North street and bunching up Bus stops and various flaws in the VG1/2 and traffic restrictions was always going to cause delays to bus services and well documented, but they went ahead anyway causing a serious requirement for bus mangers to increase bus running times to improve services, but by doing so, some journeys no longer run or operate via a different route from their previous workings and have made them less attractive or unviable to many passengers and some routes cut altogether.
BHCC told us they now need to make improvements between West Street and Basvic School via Brighton Station and 7 dials as the layout is causing untold problems and is dangerous.
Problems that were highlighted and weren’t evident before the changes and the traffic flowed reasonably freely, but we can see every single day how well that worked, especially around Surry Street, ironically outside the home of the ‘Greens’, who must be delighted with the congestion they can see from their office and breathing in the fumes they created.
No, they haven’t factored in the impact to passenger transport, the sensible, intelligent and knowledgeable can see what this VG3 will cause.
East Sussex County Council is responsible for all of these traffic designs.
Traffic engineers based in rural Sussex and experienced only with small communities designed these schemes years ago.
Look at the awful ring roads in most Sussex towns. Lewes County Town, Newhaven, Eastbourne, Hastings, poor old Rye….
Outdated then and outdated now.
Nope, designed by the Transport department of BHCC.
A design brief for Valley Gardens, based on public realm analysis and
consultation, was agreed by the council’s Transport Committee in July 20012.
Officers were asked to develop draft design options (a concept scheme).
If you read the report and knew the details you’d know that journey times for public transport is being reduced as well as for shoppers.
Your comments suggest you believe shoppers and car drivers are two different groups. Many shoppers will of course come by car. Especially the huge number who come from surrounding towns and villages. Slowing or reducing cars will simply reduce the number of shoppers and…. Ultimately the number of shops. It’s not the case that they’ll switch to other forms of transport – they’ll simply go elsewhere and seek out places which aren’t waging war on the motorist.
I’m still keen to see a Red Route leading up to and around the Royal Sussex on Bristol Gate and Eastern Road; this would be in line with every other South East hospital; the benefits of doing so are undeniable for emergency vehicles.
The introduction of RR has been very successful when considering the weaving that had to be done previously. Personally, I think the improved safety far outweighs the inconveniences of businesses, who are now forced to use the designated unloading points.
completely agree
Seriously Benjamin you’ve written some good piece’s but think you’ve lost the plot.
I know this area very well. On approaches to the RSCH on the Eastern road, from the West, there’s no vehicle parking except long bays on the Eastern side of the road that has very little impact on vehicles travelling Eastwards.
From the East, there are parking bays from Lidl on both sides up to Bristol Gardens, then a longish bay up to Chichester Place where there is no parking on either side of the road from that point to beyond the RSCH.
Bristol Gate isn’t a problem either, there are a few laybys on the approach to the entrance and any vehicles that are parked up on the main road are usually Taxi’s, Ambulances or NHS transport cars.
Oh, I kindly disagree. The area in front of Brighton College, heading Eastward from Sunderland Road, narrows due to on-street parking. A bus and an ambulance can’t safely pass each other during that section, and additionally, because it’s narrow and the camber of the road, alongside the poor visibility and heightened risk from the students nearby, it causes delays. Personally, I would see that parking section there removed (and the road levelled off, and the crossing improved, and control the double parking that happens there by the coaches).
You are mistaken, there are no laybys on Bristol Gate, just a small drop-off point for ambulances and taxis. Bristol Gate has one of the worst problems with idling. Taxis are one of the main culprits, and we regularly observe them on double yellows, parked half onto the pavement, and in front of the junction leading to children’s A&E. It is something even the HLG has acknowledged as a problem. Furthermore, it encourages public drivers to do the same. I’ve certainly had to weave around vehicles on several occasions because of this, although I do recognise the new developments will see drop off moved to the back of the building and purpose-built, as the HLG admitted the front on Eastern Road has been very much a failure. Therefore, I maintain, Bristol Gate has a very strong need for a Red Route.
I agree though, that I wouldn’t be considering westwards along Eastern Road, it’s a wide road and flows well at that particular point.
It would be good if the Council could stop the out of control pavement parking
I agree, Steven. Legalistively can be really complex, from my understanding, however, it’s a challenge that is made easier potentially with devolution.
The more parking spaces disappear, the more pavement parking you’ll see. A bit like the harder councils make it for people to go to the dump, the more fly tipping you’ll see. It’s not difficult to figure out how one ignorant stupidity provokes another.
Nobody is ‘forced’ to park on the pavement. It is a choice. A choice not based on ignorance or stupidity but based on being bone idle and selfish.
I disagree with you Mike. I have found the more people receive massive fines for fly-tipping, the less inclined they are to do it. I encourage a lot of reporting in my area, and have seen a significant difference in only a month. I’d go further and put up signs with a tally for how much people have been fined in a particular spot.
You sound like a zealot
This is a brilliant idea and long overdue. Just a few selfish drivers are having an enormous impact on other drivers, buses, pedestrians and cyclists. The cost of enforcing the existing unworkable system alone makes the change worth it. From the perspective of a local pedestrian and regular bus user please make it happen.
MORE anti-citizen and anti-business and anti-city profiteering. Also missing from the Labour manifesto.
Is the use of red paint to prevent asshats from blocking roads necessarily a manifesto commitment?
By ‘citizen’ you mean ‘driver’ – not quite the same thing! And as a driver and citizen I’m in support of these measures because so much congestion I get caught up in is the result of truly breathtakingly selfish parking.
East Sussex County Council is responsible for all of these traffic designs.
Traffic engineers based in rural Sussex and experienced only with small communities designed these schemes years ago.
Look at the awful ring roads in most Sussex towns. Lewes County Town, Newhaven, Eastbourne, Hastings, poor old Rye….
Outdated then and outdated now.
I think it’s ridiculous.
As a driver for a living you’re making it nearly impossible to make money. Putting red routes where majority of shops and restaurants are… how are we supposed to drop off/collect deliveries… all you think about is a certain % of the city.
Who replaces all the money we lose on a day to day basis becsuse the council are imbeciles..
Could start by not being the worst driver demographic on the road?
Delighted to see that Western Road is being considered. So many of those who park on the double yellow lines are shop owners who can’t be bothered to walk or get the bus to work like everyone else. I saw an entitled shop owner arguing with a traffic warden the other day saying “you can’t give me a ticket I’m parked in a loading bay”. Yes, but your car had been there for half the day and you weren’t actually loading or unloading anything.
But please re-direct the traffic wardens to the residential side streets as the selfish muppets will naturally clog up the side roads instead. In Hove, taxi drivers having coffee at Nord think it’s ok to park half on the pavement all the way up Lansdowne Street – how would an ambulance get past?
I’ve seen in Western Road and Church Road that traffic wardens generally ignore shop owners who leave their cars parked illegally as they know they are going to get abuse from them, they concentrate on residents who’s permits have expired or other unattended cars in residential streets because they are less likely to face confrontation. But the cars parked on double yellow lines are causing an obstruction and making it dangerous for pedestrians, cyclists and everyone else using the roads.
They haven’t added ANY additional blue bays down lewes rd but actually taken away the parking in the 2 laybys by making them loading bays only. I live off lewrs rd, and it is now completely inaccessible for me to shop on. The council are making more and more areas inaccessible for those disabled people who need their cars to get out.
https://www.brighton-hove.gov.uk/application-disabled-persons-parking-bay
Not really a great idea. If CCTV cameras are going, why not put them in now when double yellows to discourage bad parking/parking on pavements.
It is isn’t good for disabled people if you need a vehicle close to where you’re going, the ones on London Rd and Lewes Rd have proved this – why isn’t this in the article. A blue badge space here and there does nothing.