A proposed red route for a stretch of Western Road has been “called in” by opposition councillors who want the issue to be debated by the full council or sent back to the council’s cabinet for a rethink.
The call-in request was made by Conservative councillor Alistair McNair and co-signed by 15 councillors including fellow Tories as well as Greens, a Brighton and Hove Independent and an Independent councillor.
The request is due to be discussed at a special meeting of the council’s Place Overview and Scrutiny Committee next Tuesday (6 October).
Members are expected to question the decision made to approve an “experimental traffic regulation order” by the council’s cabinet earlier this month.
The grounds are that
- there is no Western Road-specific evidence that supports the scheme’s “stated primary objective”
- the consultation summary did not include business comments
- loading bay provision has not been tested against demand
- the economic impact would be assessed after the red route is in place
The red route will prohibit drivers from stopping in Western Road between Montpelier Road, Brighton, and Holland Road, Hove.
Labour councillor Trevor Muten, the council’s cabinet member for transport and city infrastructure, has previously said: “The red route will help tackle long-standing problems with obstructive parking, congestion and delays.
“This will benefit residents, businesses, bus passengers and other road users alike.”
The experimental traffic regulation order is due to come into effect once major repair and resurfacing work is completed along Western Road.
At the cabinet meeting on Thursday 17 September, campaigners raised their concerns about the proposals.
Western Road Community Group member Catherine Lane cited a claim in a council press release – but not in the official report on the proposal – that bus journey times had become 16.7 per cent longer since 2015.
Ms Lane has previously raised concerns about the effects of the proposed red route on disabled people as they will not be able to stop as they can on double yellow lines.
In June, she shared her concerns about the effects on disabled people who cannot walk unaided to the shops and services they require.
The Labour leader of the council Bella Sankey said that quicker bus journey times were not the legal purpose of the red route but the council would monitor congestion to see whether it reduced.
Drivers repeatedly parking illegally on double yellow lines had been one of the key issues that the council hoped to address.
According to the report to the council’s cabinet, there were 705 enforcement visits to vehicles parked on the existing double yellow lines from April to August this year.
Officers issued 684 penalty charge notices – or parking tickets – but vehicles were driven away 2,315 times before a ticket could be legally issued.
Traders and residents are understood to be consulting their legal advisers to decide whether to challenge the council’s decision in the courts by way of a judicial review.
The council’s Place Overview and Scrutiny Committee is due to meet at Hove Town Hall at 5.30pm next Tuesday (6 October). The meeting is scheduled to be webcast.
Good. Every reason for installing the Red Route on Western Road is demonstrably false. It is an evil adminstration indeed which actively seeks to destroy local businesses through turning a large community village area into some authoritarian highway, unwelcoming to all.
A handful of opposition councillors have called in.
What you may have forgotten is labour have a majority, so they will push it though regardless as it’s obviously needed.
As it’s experimental the calling in can happen after they install it. So it’s an exercise in locking the door after the horse has bolted.