The Aquarium roundabout will be removed in January to be replaced by a new traffic light junction.
The seafront road will be closed overnight by the pier for two weeks from Tuesday 6 January. The exact road closures and diversions will change during this time.
Buses will divert via West Street and the seafront. Vehicles travelling on the A259 from the east will be diverted via Edward Street.
The work is part of the third phase of the revamp of Valley Gardens, which started in November 2024, and which is also seeing the creation of a new public square, a cycle lane linking the seafront and the rest of Valley Gardens, and the rerouting of traffic along the eastern side.
The council says the new traffic lights will use smart technology which will let it improve traffic flow during busy periods.
It says the timing of the removal of the existing traffic islands has been deliberately chosen for early January, as this is the quietest time of year in terms of traffic and visitors.
Council officers will be available to answer questions on the scheme at the Jubilee Library on Thursday 8 January from 4pm to 6pm and Wednesday 21 January from 3pm to 4.45pm.
Councillor Trevor Muten, the council’s cabinet member for transport, said: “The new Aquarium junction is going to be a very positive change.
“It will make it much easier and safer for pedestrians and cyclists to cross and use smart technology to help the flow of traffic and public transport.
“We’re doing everything we can to minimise the disruption while the work takes place, scheduling it in early January and doing some of the work at night when there are fewer people on the roads.
“Phase 3 of the Valley Gardens project will bring so many benefits to this busy part of the city, with new public spaces, improved transport links and better access for everyone.
“We’re entering the home stretch for this project now, and I’m really excited for the summer when we can all begin to enjoy the benefits.”
Oh no, it won’t!
@Tracy Ward Oh yes it will
Classic show!
Un;ess you’re planning on chaining yourself to a traffic light on a cold, dark, wet & windy night I think you;ll find it will!
Why are the council bent on acting against the residents’ wishes in this and against their elected mandate? Perhaps you can offer a legal and moral explanation for this blatant misconduct in public office including abuse of the public purse, while claiming to have no money to actually run and maintain the city properly.
You can absolutely argue about design choices or disruption, but claiming illegality or misuse of public funds just isn’t accurate.
And stop claiming to talk on behalf of residents. You don’t talk for this resident.
I’m not a lawyer but any complaint for misconduct in oublic office has a high bar.
There are some lovely people in an office in John Street who wear some smart blue uniforms who will happily talk to you if you have any actual evidence of misconduct.
I see no abuse of the public purse. Every decision on the scheme and its funding was discussed in public at various council committee meetings alongside pubilcly available officer reports and meeting minutes.
Well having driven through this for the first time, I can report it’s about a million times better than what we there before. Looks better too. I don’t understand why change causes boomers to self implode.
It may well be an improvement at the moment, but certainly not the main works. The main road and the three bus stops in front of the Royal pavilion will be closed off completely. New Bus stops will be placed outside the old RBS Building, this means buses queuing all the way up North Street.
The road closure also means buses will be forced to turn left at the War memorial, where Southbound buses will also be active, therefore increasing vehicle movements and increasing the risks. There will be around a 100 buses converging at the bottom of St James street an hour without the ordinary traffic, limited space with a high volume of traffic and Pedestrians in such a narrow amount of space. Who ever thought this is an improvement seriously needs medical help.
Historically, road improvements around this city have always been poorly designed and always needed further works as they have always been a disaster, period.
This scheme will be no better and will not improve anything and will create delays and congestion for Bus service’s and passengers alike.
This is nothing more than a Vanity project that will have little benefit.
You do not speak for this resident either, I welcome these changes, in fact I think they’re overdue.
On the subject of VG 3 I would very much like to thank Councillor Trevor Muten for replacing my old Steine bus stop which was a proper shelter with seats and an indicator board with a pole on the pavement with no cover from the elements, no seating and no indicator board. Thanks Trev you’ve really made my experiance of using public transport so much better!!!
On the subject of VG 3 I would very much like to thank Councillor Trevor Muten for replacing my bus stop which was a proper shelter with seats and an indicator board with a pole with no cover from the elements, no seating and no indicator board. Thanks Trev you’ve really made my experiance of using public transport so much better!!!
Which stop is this?
The project isn’t finished yet so still time for thhihs like this to be installed
Bus stops in front of the Pavilion are going and being put around the old RBS building.
The impact will mean major delays in North Street and creating a more dangerous area at the bottom of St James street where buses will be turning.
Not correct. They aren’t going they’ve alrerady been moved!
There is a new stop (N4) where the old RBS is. It doesn’t replace those previously located around the corner. It allows a better spread of stops on North Street which will make things easier.
There is a new R1 stop farther up from their previous location.
Maps can be found here = https://www.buses.co.uk/city-centre
Ok, so when they close the road off and pedestrianize the area in front of the Pavilion, where are the NEW stops going to be placed, outside the RBS and War memorial, so the bus stops WILL be moved.
Martin when was the last time you were down there?
The stops have ALREADY been moved and are in operation!
Someone on this thread has complaied about the lack of a shelter outside the stop on North Street outside the RBS so clearly in operation.
The whole road infront of the Pavillion Gardens has already been closed off and dug up!
Obviously it’s still a building site so the bus stop shelters are coming.
Are you seriously saying your going to miss the urine soaked, smashed window art deco bus stops as somewhere to wait for a bus.
Danger to life as allthe road adaptation has been throughout the Brighton area… absolute joke!!
The councilor is available to answer any questions you have after it been finished.
The council’s own business case suggests that replacing the roundabout with traffic lights will worsen the traffic delays and thus air pollution so it’ll be bad roundabout whether you’re on foot or bike, in a car or in a van or lorry.
That’s not quite accurate Graham, the various models used provide a range of results both ways. Some approaches see small increases in average delay, others see small decreases. Therefore, we can’t conclude either way!
Important to note as well that the scheme was never about maximising car throughput, but rather about safety, public realm, and mode-shift, according to the documentation.
Hi Ben,
As with everything, the various models used were estimates and predictions with timings provided by BHCC who claim only a 30 second delay at traffic lights. The timing has been questioned, and I want to offer a flaw in that timing.
A 30 second hold at a Red light is correct for a single unit, like a pedestrian crossing, but not for major Junctions.
Various sources including DfT give an average for a ‘Green’ light of between 60-90 seconds, therefore, corresponding lights must be RED for that length of time. So already the quoted 30 seconds is incorrect and is in fact at least doubled.
When we consider this is a busy artery road, the ‘Green’ sequence is likely to be increased to a minimum of 90 seconds according to DfT’s traffic flow charts to allow more traffic to disperse at peak times. With this in mind we can expect a more realistic 90 second delay.
90 seconds will have a serious impact at peak times, but we will have to see.
Interesting that you mentioned Documentation that highlights decreases and increases in delays, those parameters are for the traffic flows recorded at the time, it hasn’t catered for the additional Bus and other traffic that will be dispersed away from St James Street when they close that off in a planned future project with half the service’s diverting up Edward Street and others the coast Road, and that will impact bus passengers, but we can debate that a a later time.
On a similar theme, but related in connection to delays, the documentation states that more room is being made for buses to overtake each other, that will not be the case, as there will be a two way bus lane and two lanes for traffic with little wiggle room for maneuvering, but we will have to see.
On a final thought, you quote one reason for the removal of the Roundabout is safety. Evidence produced by BHCC indicated a crash ‘hot spot’ and if I recall numbers were quoted. On further investigation, the numbers were questioned as they included accidents and incidents that were Cycle v Pedestrian on the pavement on the seafront and lower prom, car incidents by St James/Old Steine, Lower Rock gardens and West Street to name a few, the roundabout itself recorded very few incidents so claiming it was a dangerous roundabout is wildly misleading when you consider Severn Dials has had more incidents with less traffic and in a shorter time scale.
I will look forward to your comments as usual, as you often put up a good debate.
I do enjoy our discussions Martin, I always learn new things from our debates!
On the light timings, the important thing with this scheme is that the junction will be running smart adaptive signals. Those continually adjust cycle lengths based on sensor data, so there isn’t a fixed red or green duration in the way older junctions had. And it’s easy to fall into the trap of thinking “red light = delay”, but in traffic modelling delay is calculated from the overall flow conditions, queue lengths and green splits, not the length of a single signal phase. So a 30 second red phase doesn’t equate to a 30 second delay for each vehicle, which I admit is counterintuitive!
On buses, I’m actually quite aligned with your thinking. The movement from the stop into lane 3 northbound is definitely something that could be awkward in practice. It’s one of those elements where real-world behaviour matters more than drawings, so I agree it’s a wait-and-see situation.
Regarding safety, the collision data is plotted using police location defined junction influence areas, so I’m not sure conflation applies here. The fact it went through the independent Road Safety Audit process and came back with problems that needed addressing is really what triggered the VG redesign in the first place. And I’d gently suggest that comparing Seven Dials with the Old Steine roundabout isn’t very meaningful; completely different geometry, flows and risk profiles.
As always, I’m keen to hear your thoughts!
As someone who walks through the Steine to the beach most days to walk my dog its nice to see this taking shape. Phases 1 and 2 have transformed the approach from a bleak, dangerous and ugly strip of land into a gateway to the city centre that one can be proud of. Its not winning Unesco World Heritage site status anytime soon but its certainly not unpleasent to walk through. As much as the Greens made some spectacular mistakes, notably the i360 financing, both they and labour deserve recognition of this.
The current works are a pain for me as a pedestrian and i appreciate it must not be ideal for bus users but its only for a while. I’m sure we will muddle through. However, I’ve definitely noticed tensions starting to rise in recent months amoung the car drivers in the roundabout area already. I fear they might be a bit more fragile and that its going to kick off when the real inconvienience kicks in.
So nice to read a positive comment about these works, instead of the usual relentless negativity of Brar Road resident and others.
Agreed I too believe it will be a great improvement
Hi Clint,
I’m afraid I am going to have to disagree with you on a couple of things.
You say phases 1 and 2 have transformed the approach from a bleak, dangerous and ugly strip of land into a gateway to the city center that one can be proud of.
Valley gardens is nothing to be proud of, the area looks shocking after all the events have ruined the grass area, there’s no rubbish bins, no toilets, so could have been so much better. Correct its not going to win any awards anytime soon but down to personal opinions if it’s pleasant to walk through.
The current works are a pain for most of us, but as you say its only for a while and most of us deal with it.
The road layout around St Peters is, in my opinion, a more dangerous area with removal of the Bus lanes and allowing all traffic to use the same limited space.
What genius decided it is ‘safe’ to have Buses, Taxi’s, delivery vehicles and ordinary traffic all converging together.
Your comments on the roundabout are interesting. Ever since the plans were published there has been plenty of debates on the subject. The council quoted safety and crash black spot as a main reason for it’s removal, evidence however has proven that not to be the case.
Official bodies, DfT, motoring experts and other organizations have quoted this scheme as being of ‘poor value for money that will bring little benefit’.
That is very concerning and DfT have been quoted as preferring roundabouts to junctions where possible, but that is a general theme.
Point is, many of us could see the flaws in many of the projects introduced across the city, and highlighted them officially and unofficially on such sites like this. The i360 being a prime example where we could see from the business plan it was never going to make the numbers required, least of all achieve the predicted numbers, and that was even before the foundations were built.
Many of us have highlighted the many problems that will be created with this scheme, yet BHCC are going ahead anyway no matter what impact it will have for Businesses, Transport and delivery companies, disabled and bus users to name a few.
September 2026 it’s due to Finish.
What about the bus stop at bottom.of St.James Street is it going to be put back never mind roundabout bus stops Street important for elderly and disabled which no one is thinking of
Which bus stop?
The one near Morrisons hasn’t been touched.
If you mean the one that used to be next to the War Memorial then that has been moved closer to North Street.
Which has added 10 minutes to my bus journey home from work. Also, has any thought been given to the elderly or disabled who used to move from the war memorial to Morrisons to do their shopping. Unless a new bus stop is going to be added back in near the war memorial/St james St area, this has not been thought through and is both inefficient for all and unfair on those with mobility issues coming into the city from lewes rd/London Rd
A stop will not be added back as it would cause more congestion as buses would need to cross lanes from there the left lane where busees could stop (next to Sainbury’s) to the right hand lane that goes around the gatdens to the new stops.
And remember that the scheme isn’t finished yet so of course lane restrictions are going to cause slightly longer journeys but to be frank saying it’s causing 10 minute delays just don;t hold water,
Hmm, so passengers will have further to go to access St James’s Street, so no improvements for bus users, in fact making it worse for people. Great, and people wonder why people don’t use buses.
The average delay times for buses is around 7-10 minutes depending on time of day.
And means further away from St James’s street, a main shopping area, that an improvement, I don’t think so.
im just thankful i live in hove
As long as they don’t congest the roads in Brighton to make bottle necks and claim pollution in order to bring in congestion and toll charges like they are trying to do in a city that has almost no way of getting round it!!
Sure making it safe for pedestrians and cyclists, however you also need to consider the law abiding tax paying insurance paying fuel paying much more vast contributers, weather that is normal undiagnosed resident’s, disabled residents, contractor residents, transportation residents, emergency service residents and then tourists!!
The ‘Green’ party wanted to introduce a congestion charge when they first ran Brighton back in 2012 I think it was. The idea was thrown out as there was no need for it at that time. It is interesting, that since then, every so called ‘Traffic Improvement Scheme’ has done the complete opposite, they have created the congestion in an effort to make a case for C C.
There are plenty of things BHCC could have done immediately to reduce congestion now, but it is clear, they have no interest in reducing congestion, pollution or the health of it’s residents. Instead, they provide little in the way of alternative transport options and at the same time, reduce road space even more.
SAY NO TO LABOUR CONGESTION CHARGES
I think it’s a fantastic opportunity to have less accidents at this dangerous roundabout!! Well done for accommodating the safety and cyclists in our wonderful city
Interesting comment, crash Data has proven that this roundabout isn’t dangerous.
There have been 20 incidents recorded over the last five years so 4 per year with no fatalities. This roundabout has around 50K vehicles running through it a day. So an incident every 12,500th vehicle.
By comparison, 7 dials has recorded 19 incidents in the same time scale yet only 26K run through it and an incident every 6,500th vehicle.
I rest my case.
SAY NO TO LABOUR AND OR GREENS PAST PRESENT AND FUTURE PLANS TO BRING IN UNAVOIDABLE CONGESTION/CLEAN AIR CHARGES!! FOR RESIDENTS THAT HAVE BEEN HERE LONGER THAN A UNI DEGREE OR (An equivalent of) RYAN AIR RUBBER BOAT TRIP AROUND EUROPE
If it’s unavoidable, Luke, surely it wouldn’t matter either way! 🙃
I see the ‘I’m all right Jack’ council apologists who think the city can thrive on a few cyclists with no pockets deigning to buy the odd Chai Latte while they admire the new multimillion pound road layout built just for them, are out in force.
Show us the economic risk impact for this project. I dare you.
The pubic-viewable business case includes an economic appraisal, James.
Not the same as an economic risk impact assessment James. Never mind ‘public viewable’ it should all be viewble if there is nothing to hide. The council do not have a right to have secrets from us. Public transparency is legally required.
That is because the thing you’re asking for is a unicorn. There is a risk register in the business case.
Odd to claim secrecy when it’s very clearly public.
All it does is creates more spaces for th down and outs tom hang out in!
Who will own responsibility when it all goes wrong?
Cllr Muten – it could be you
Watch the gridlock go all the way up to Patcham and all because former Green convenor Kitcat didn’t like driving round it. Also, don’t forget the rise in Nox from stationary traffic so congestion charging can be introduced. Merry Christmas Brighton.
Congestion charging?! It’s a marvelous idea unless you can make a cogent argument contrary to “the polluter should pay.”
The operable word being “cogent” of course – wibble from the Murdoch-Rothermere orbit is not good enough.
Smart-signal junctions tend to perform more predictably than multi-lane roundabouts with heavy pedestrian flows, from what I’ve been reading.
I’m so happy about this – that horrid roundabout is such a danger when using a bik. Plus it’s really pedestrian-hostile too
Dave, have you ever really walked along the seafront there? Every approach has a decent crossing with a good amount of time allowed to cross the road. I walk and cycle along the seafront several times a week and the issue near the Aquarium Roundabout is the common issue when lots of drivers, cyclists and pedestrians all want to use the same narrow space. That could yet change. It looks like the whole of the Royal Albion might have to come down and open up opportunities there. Realistically though, the A259 is a key trunk road for bringing people and goods into and out of that busy part of Brighton. The bypass has relieved pressure too. There needs to be a balance, and with cleaner, greener cars and lorries, it’s exposing the zealous politics of envy and of a vocal minority who are anti free movement. Before these roadworks started, I faced relatively few unreasonable delays on my bike. My journeys may get even better but I know I’m in a minority when I cycle, even on the seafront. This whole scheme is badly skewed for a modest number like me and the benefits don’t justify the cost.
Why does it look like “the whole The Royal Albion might have to come down?” It is only a crack they have discovered! This hotel is a Grade II* Listed building which needs to be legally reconstructed and reconstruction works should have begun long ago. It has never been in the way of the Aquarium roundabout, which used to be significantly larger than it is now, so why should it be in the way of a junction? Are you really suggesting a Grade II* Listed building should be demolished to solve some problem which has never existed until now?
I spent twenty years cycling from Fiveways to the seafront and was always amazed at how separated the long seafront cycle track was from the rest of town – it was a bit of a nightmare getting to the cycle lane. So I’m more than happy to see this change. Along with all the other things that have been changed over the last few years Brighton has and continues to expand its appeal.
Hear, hear,
This boomer on a bike can’t wait for this scheme to finally come to fruition. I’m anticipating that it will give me a much smoother commute in to work.
Thumbs up for traffic policies that aren’t solely focussed on car drivers.
The roundabout is a proud British invention which quickly went worldwide owing to its safety and efficiency. If the Council thinks it knows better than a British invention which has been serving most of the world since 1907, they are deluded. Removing the roundabouts from Preston Circus and the bottom of Dyke Road have been a disaster for safe and efficient traffic flow in this city. It is also static vehicles which cause the most emissions if the Council claim to care about the environment.
Roundabouts had to be reinvented in the 60s; the first iterations were actually not safe or efficient at all. Luckily, we don’t have to rely on “knowing better than a British invention” and nineteenth-century geometry – Modern transport engineering accepts that multi-lane urban roundabouts in pedestrian-heavy city centres are high risk.
Removing the roundabouts from Preston Circus and Dyke Road both have both resulted in reduced injury collisions, so your claim there is also unsupported by data.
I’d encourage you to speak more within the realms of reality and factual basis.