A proposed new crossing in Old Shoreham Road should prioritise children, according to a councillor and school governor.
Independent councillor Samer Bagaeen welcomed proposals for a new crossing between a secondary school and a sixth form college but was concerned about the safety of the location.
Councillor Bagaeen, who represents Hove Park and Westdene ward, is also a governor at the secondary, Cardinal Newman Catholic School, in The Upper Drive.
He spoke out as Brighton and Hove City Council began a public consultation about some form of crossing near the corner of Old Shoreham Road and Silverdale Road.
The council’s now disbanded Environment, Transport and Sustainability Committee put the location on the priority list for a crossing in 2023.
The road is a key route to school and college for thousands of children and young people every day.
After raising concerns about the proposed location, Councillor Bagaeen was told that the initial request for the crossing had come from dog walkers using the community field – not parents.
He said that there was no mention of school children in an email from a council transport official about the current survey despite a petition from parents last year.
One of Councillor Bagaeen’s concerns was the suggestion that Silverdale Road was used regularly as a rat run from the seafront up Holland Road to Old Shoreham Road.
He said: “Putting a pedestrian crossing at the top of this road is not ideal – at the end of a rat run. I guess the safer streets team think it’s safer.
“That’s where the dog walkers want it. It’s the quickest access to the field.
“You’ve got the BHASVIC crossing on one side and the Newman lights on the other. Those Newman lights can get very busy when everyone leaves. You need something in the middle.
“There’s a minor bend in the road as you come over the bridge but the first thing that meets you is the Silverdale (Road) junction.
“By Glendale (Road) is where I would have gone if the narrative is about a safer route for school kids.
“I will object to this because we’re prioritising dog walkers over children and that’s not what public money should be used for.”
Last year, father of two Aidan Lavelle started a petition, signed by more than 300 parents, for a crossing in Old Shoreham Road, midway between Dyke Road and The Upper Drive.
He said that he walked his children to Stanford Junior School across the BHASVIC field and would like a safer crossing point to encourage his 10-year-old to walk independently.
Mr Lavelle contacted Labour councillor Trevor Muten, the council’s cabinet member for transport, who said that the site had been included in the council’s Safer Better Streets programme.
The current consultation is open on the council’s website until Sunday 22 February.
A road crossing is for everyone, not just children.
The proposed crossing location makes perfect sense to me.
It’s east of Silverdale Road; those using Holland Road will almost certainly turn west onto Old Shoreham, so it safely avoids being placed in front of that. Drivers heading east are likely to continue along Lynhurst Road before turning north. Bagaeen’s concern appears to be directly addressed by this location.
It’s placed where the natural walkway is used by dog walkers, BASVIC, and Newman students, heading to and from the courts. Crossings already exist outside the BASVIC school building itself and at the other end, at the Upper Drive junction. As Tracy says, a crossing is there for everyone, regardless of origin, and it’s good for the petitioners to advocate for one. However, that does not mean they get an exclusive or preferential choice, any more than if another group petitioned for it.
There’s not a compelling reason I can see to move the crossing further east in favour of where it’s proposed now, but reasons to keep it where it is. On balance, that makes me think it should stay where it is?