Plans to close a shopping street to all traffic except cyclists have won official backing despite objections from disability groups.
Now councillors are to be asked to decide whether to go ahead with the closure of Gardner Street, in Brighton, from 11am to 7pm seven days a week.
A report said that 115 comments supporting the plan to allow only pedestrians and cyclists to use the street were sent to Brighton and Hove City Council along with 75 objections.
The report, to the council’s Environment, Transport and Sustainability Committee, included a summary of the comments and where they came from.
People living in Gardner Street who backed the plans said that the street would be better if it was pedestrianised for residents and businesses.
But objectors living in Gardner Street said that the loss of disabled bays would limit access to shops and the Komedia theatre and cinema.
The proposed removal of blue badge bays is also understood to have a direct effect on a disabled resident of Gardner Street who has limited mobility.
During the covid-19 lockdown, the road was closed to traffic except for cyclists and those requiring disabled access. Café and restaurant businesses expanded into the road – as they currently do at weekends.
Last year, the council’s consultants Mott McDonald recommended reopening the street because of problems with access for people with disabilities.
Two groups – Brighton Access for Disabled Groups Everywhere (BADGE) and Possability People – met Mott McDonald.
They raised concerns about safe access for disabled people – and the “sprawl” of café furniture and clothing rails into disabled parking bays which they want kept clear for those who need them.
The two groups were also concerned about a plan to move disabled parking bays from Gardner Street to neighbouring Regent Street.
Seven more disabled bays are proposed for Regent Street, partly to make up for those lost in Gardner Street. BADGE is listed among the objectors to the current proposals.
The committee is being asked to support the changes by approving two “traffic regulations orders” (TROs) at a meeting next week.
If councillors refuse, officials have advised them to approve extra disabled parking bays in Regent Street anyway – to improve access to the North Laine for blue badge holders.
The report said: “The removal of double yellow lines and creation of these disabled parking bays will make it an offence for delivery drivers to load and unload in these dedicated spaces.
“Local deliveries which currently use the double yellow lines for deliveries prevent blue badge holders from parking on these double yellow lines.
“The proposed time-limited disabled parking bays in Regent Street will also generate a turnover of use for all blue badge holders visiting the area.”
The council’s Environment, Transport and Sustainability Committee is due to meet at Brighton Town Hall at 4pm next Tuesday (20 September). The meeting is scheduled to be webcast on the council’s website.
Cannot understand why we cannot have the partial closure like last time where only blue badge holders could access the road. Seems wrong that bikes, ebikes and eventually scooters can use this but not those with the most sever mobility issues. Officers should be ashamed of themselves for recommending and any councilor that backs this don’t ever claim again that you want equality and fairness within this city.
I don’t see the logic of allowing bikes and e-bikes to use the road. There’s so much clutter on the pavements and road, when it’s closed, that it would seem much safer and more pleasant to only allow pedestrians and mobility scooters. How you would stop cyclists doing what they please is another matter.
Official backing from who!!! 75 objections is substantial considering that only 3 weeks was given to find out about this and then comment. The Council emailed out to a huge number of local businesses to let them know they should agree, but didn’t do the same for groups or organisations that would oppose any road change…so the question is why wasn’t there more people agreeing with the Council? This wasn’t properly publicly consulted on, and as it say’s above even the Council’s private consultants said Gardner Street should be re-opened because of disabled and Blue Badge access! what happened to wonderful inclusive Brighton ? exactly where do the council want Blue Badge people to live and be
Brighton is already a very inaccessible city. The council seems to have limited understanding of its legal duties to disabled people. So these plans to thoughtlessly stop disabled residents and visitors from accessing a very popular part of the town centre are not surprising. Knowingly trapping disabled people in their homes, however, is a horrifying new low. This is a scandal and if the council don’t see sense soon then it’s likely to become a national scandal.
More council (our) money to be spent defending a disability discrimination act claim. Ho hum.
People’s views don’t matter to the Council.
Greens out
If only!
When I mentioned Gardner St maybe being closed, my friends said they knew nothing about it and would’ve objected if they’d had heard. They didn’t like it that blue badge holders were being stopped and they think this is really wrong to exclude people when all of Brighton should be for everyone, so I think there would be a lot more objections than 75 if the council had put this out properly and let people know. It sounds like all the businesses knew so why didn’t we?
Greenwashed attempt to turn a residential street into a commercial street via the backdoor.
In this matter why do disabled people not matter to Brighton Council? Why does it want to make life even more difficult for us? Why is a Local Authority being so cruel in 2022?
Bhcc are clearly just evil