Two petitions about cycle lanes have been started, showing the dividing lines in pedal-power politics Brighton and Hove.
And another calls for Madeira Drive to be reopened to all – after temporary barriers were put up to keep cars, vans and coaches out to make it safer for pedestrians and cyclists.
The first of the petitions – on the Brighton and Hove City Council website – runs until Monday 22 June and was started by Elly Hargreave, from the Pedal People charity.
It calls for “more space for walking and cycling during covid-19” and urges the council to “implement a swift programme of temporary measures to enable safe walking and cycling for physical distancing”.
The petition, signed by more than 700 people, sets out five specific measures
- Widen pavements with barriers/cones for safe access to shops, services and essential daily exercise Widen and add additional cycle lanes starting with the seafront and key access routes
- Close more streets to vehicles and use temporary traffic calming measures
- Enforce speed limits
- Reduce green person crossing waiting times
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The next petition was started by Peter Challis to “remove the temporary cycle lane extension from the Old Shoreham Road … pending a full planning review and consultation with all affected parties including residents”.
The petition runs until Wednesday 22 July and currently has 181 signatures although it was not possible to sign the petition today, with the council website showing an error message, saying “Page unavailable.”
Mr Challis said: “Many people have expressed concern about how the Old Shoreham Road cycle lane was implemented over the VE weekend with little consultation, how it is little used by cyclists and has resulted in increased congestion for other road users, especially as the government eases ‘lockdown’ restrictions.”
He hopes to attract enough support to ask Brighton and Hove City Council to consult people properly at a meeting of the full council on Thursday 23 July.
A third petition, started by Laura King, calls on the council to reopen Madeira Drive to all users and has attracted more than 1,100 signatures.
The petition, which runs until Thursday 6 August, urges the council “to reopen Brighton’s Madeira Drive to all users without further delay to save the businesses operating there, reinstate access for motorcyclists, scooterists, taxis and coaches and enable visitor parking.
“Brighton and Hove has suffered enormous economic damage owing to lockdown and needs all the help it can get to recover.”
The government has allocated almost £600,000 from its emergency travel fund to Brighton and Hove to try to encourage more walking and cycling as lockdown restrictions are lifted.
And the council could be given a further sum of almost £2.4 million to make temporary changes permanent.
It looks likely to be used to pay for a number of schemes. These include
- Widening pavements and adjusting parking and loading bays at the Clock Tower and in St James’s Street and Western Road
- Widening pavements, removing parking bays and managing access to the Old Town and the North Laine
- Creating cycle lanes on the A259 seafront road west from the Aquarium roundabout, on the A23 between Preston Park and Preston Circus and on the A270 Old Shoreham Road
- Putting up cameras to enforce cycle lane parking restrictions
- Putting up cycle lane signs along Basin Road South and raising awareness in partnership with Shoreham Port and neighbouring councils
- Supporting the bike share scheme
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To find an e-petition on the council’s website – and to sign it – click here.
Closing Madeira Drive is lunacy, prior to the closure no one was asking for it to close we had adequate room for all, now this ablist administration looks to remove all those vital blue badge bays there – the only ones on Brighton seafront. OSR is the right idea in the wrong place. West Brighton needs a cycle route to the city, (or connecting to the seafront), this one is just plain lazy and connects nothing. It will also cause huge congestion as lock down eases.
What on earth were they thinking, closing Madeira road and the ridiculously dangerous new cycle lanes?
The mad thing about closing Madeira Drive for pedestrians and cyclists is that it’s mayhem down there now. There’s no order. Everyone’s walking, cycling scooting or whatever wherever they like in the road. At least before cyclists stuck to the pretty wide cycle lane and pedestrians mainly stuck to the rest of the very wide pavement.
What’s this more money to spend and waste on cycle lanes etc, why not spend on cleaning up the city eg London Road and pot holes, verges and pavements,some cyclists in the city ignore traffic lights, flout the highway code and are abusive. Please bring back cycle proficiency tests.
Hi have tred to sign petition but page not responding. AM VERY AGAINST OLD SHOREHAM RD CIKLE LANES. HAVE NOT EVEN SEEN ANY CIKLISTS ON IT. WHAT A WAIST OF MONEY. WHEN THE POT HOLES ARE A HAZZED. HOW DO THE COUNCIL GET AWAY WITH WASTING SO MUCH MONEY.
Page is responding now.
The ePetition to remove the Old Shoreham Road cycle lane extension is working again. We currently have 383 signatures but need over 1,250 to present to fill council.
If you would like to support the campaign please go to https://present.brighton-hove.gov.uk/mgEPetitionDisplay.aspx?ID=696
Thank you
For those that welcome more space for cycling and skating, as well as clean commuting and school runs, there are two great bike lane celebration events – one this weekend 14th: https://xrbrighton.earth/event/bikexercise-carnival-20200614/ and another summer solstice event on the weekend after on the 21st: https://www.facebook.com/events/644070193118394. Come and exercise and join the Bike lane celebration, see what its like for yourself 🙂
For those that want to celebrate and support or just experience one of our wonderfull new bike lanes on Old Shoreham Road please join on us on the 14th 2-3 pm see: https://www.facebook.com/events/595774587734067/?active_tab=about or the 21st see: https://www.facebook.com/events/644070193118394 .
The Council has 4 weeks to spend 600K on new cycling and walking structures. We can encourage them to be BIG and BOLD, and show the way with more high quality cycling infrastructure.
Let’s celebrate, and show the public support for councils to ACT NOW! #NoGoingBack
I am so fed up with cycle lanes in Brighton! I am a pedestrian and to hear when I am getting off a bus to be aware of cyclists really annoys me!!! Why because they don’t pay any attention to pedestrians and are on pavements when there is a cycle lane right next to the pavement! What a waste of council money in Brighton!
I had a cyclist demand I move out of the way when I had right of way. Had he been walking with his bicycle, then fair enough. But if you have provisions to move faster than me, then I have right of way. Even if I am already on the pavement walking in a straight line.
Then hurls abuse at me.
TOTALLY CRACKERS. BRIGHTON & HOVE DONT BOTHER TO VISIT. Live on outskirts to expensive on buses and no parking. TOTAL STUDENT PLACE.
Some people have better things to do than sit in a queue of vehicles next to an empty cycle lane that could eliminate the congestion. Access to Olive Road, Homebase, municipal tip, etc. can be problematic. CRAZY IDEA.
The cycle lane on the OSRd is little used by anyone , if you do see a cyclist then they are riding on the pavement. The traffic backs up at most times of the day , which means stationary vehicles belching out fumes waiting to get through traffic lights at Carlton Terrace going west. Vehicles are driving around normally quiet residential areas to avoid the congestion, which puts pedestrians/ children in more danger.
Now that traffic levels are returning to nearer normal , this temporary cycle lane should be removed.
Exactly the same circumstances will happen if a similar lane is put on the A259 seafront road , more congestion , more stationary vehicles – more pollution.
I keep well away from Brighton these days it’s just too much hassle. But I do need to use the Waste and recycling site just off the Old Shoreham rd, and I note the right turn has been closed off. So I will need to take different route causing more road pollution and traffic congestion. I can’t understand why those making these decisions aren’t capable of weighing up the pros and cons before implementing such changes.