Work to put a new bus lane on the seafront begins next week.
The new lane will run westbound along Marine Parade from the Sea Life Centre to the junction of Lower Rock Gardens.
A new pedestrian crossing will also be installed east of Camelford Street and the whole stretch of road resurfaced.
The construction is being done in stages to minimise the disruption to events like the Brighton Marathon in April.
Because of the width of the road, the new bus lane is being built without the need to remove any lanes for other traffic.
Once finished, it will operate 24 hours a day and can also be used by taxis and cyclists.
Work will begin on Monday, 3 March on the pavement to prepare for the new pedestrian crossing.
Towards the end of the month, the area will be resurfaced, before work begins on the crossings along Marine Parade.
The full resurfacing of Marine Parade will take place later in the spring.
Councillor Trevor Muten, Cabinet member for Transport, Parking and Public Realm, said: “The new bus lane will make journey times so much more reliable in this busy part of the city, improving services along the seafront and encourage more people to travel by bus.
“We listened carefully to the feedback we received during the consultation, making changes along the way. We’ve also been able to design the scheme without removing traffic lanes, keeping the taxi rank and the new crossing will make it safer for pedestrians to cross.
“We’ve worked carefully with contractors and our events team to make sure that any disruption is kept to a minimum and major events like the Brighton Marathon won’t be impacted. I’m looking forward to seeing the finished scheme in place later in the spring.”
Marine Parade is a major bus route, with more than 250 buses in each direction per day.
Traffic flow can vary throughout the day and the time of year – and congestion at busy times can be unpredictable. This makes bus journey times unreliable, sometimes causing buses to terminate their route early or start late.
A public consultation was held on the scheme last year that received almost 900 responses. As a result of the feedback, the council was able to tweak the design to keep the pedestrian crossing east of Camelford Street.
The bus lane will be implemented under an Experimental Traffic Regulation Order (ETRO). This will allow for changes during the first 18 months, if needed.
A statutory public consultation period will run for the first six months, before a decision is made as to whether to make the bus lane permanent.
They hold consultations but couldn’t care less what residents say in them.
Well, a public consultation was held on the scheme last year, which resulted in the design to keep the pedestrian crossing east of Camelford Street. That is evidence that your statement is factually incorrect, Al, isn’t it?
councillors make the decisions not residents
This is true, Derek, but their decisions should also be informed by residents’ thoughts, and given the appropriate weight, depending on the articulations. A well-structured comment could be very useful!
Derek,
Councillors are voted for by residents to represent them in their elected areas. As residents, we have every right to be involved in projects that concern us individually or as a city where council taxes are concerned.
Consultations are in place for this very reason, so we the tax payer can have our say, opinion or question the project details.
The Council has no obligation of course to act on any consultation results and that is entirely their decision and responsibility.
As history has proven, these consultations often turn up flaws and errors that will cause problems elsewhere and are often ignored. History has proven that ignoring residents can cause catastrophic disaster, the latest a£51milloin disaster that was predicted as being a failure by those of us with intelligence long before it was put up.
Yes Derek, councillors will make the decisions and and always us residents end up paying for it.
Someone doesn’t know their east from West
This short bus lane gives buses queuing at the new Palace Pier junction some sort of priority, and is being installed because the bus company already know how cross city traffic will be slowed by that new junction.
I’d normally being in favour of bus lanes where they speed up the flow of public transport, but in this case
it’s a token response from the council in anticipation of the traffic gridlock they are knowingly creating.
Our thoughts must be with those commuters living in Rottingdeaan, Saltdean and Peacehaven at this difficult time.
They could always get the bus
😂
Is the A27 generally better for anyone looking to cross to the West side of the city from Rottingdean, Saltdean, and Peacehaven, though?
If you live in Saltdean or Peacehaven, how do you get to the A27?
(For non-drivers here, check the map.)
And if you were, say heading to the Churchill square car parks, perhaps with a car full of kids, or to pick up some goods you’d bought, how would using the A27 help with that journey?
I’m a big fan of public transport but I also need to drive a van for my work. I have a vested interest in this story because I live in Hove and often work in Kemp Town, and I can tell you that crossing the city west to east or east to west is a nightmare at the moment. To suggest I use the A27 instead is not practical, and certainly no green solution.
Your initial question didn’t mention Hove to Kemptown. That route is best served heading Eastbound on Kingsway, I agree with you. The only difference I can see that would affect your route is the roundabout now being a signal-controlled junction, which is going to have minimal difference practically. Then heading back, it’s even less of an issue, as there is a dedicated straight-on lane, which means that likely 2/3 phases are going to allow you to continue unabated.
And for heading into Churchill Square, as many have said, public transport in Brighton is pretty good. I agree driving around the middle of the city is stressful, it’s why I get everything delivered!
We’re going to have to differ on this one, but I will try and explain.
The big mistake is to remove the Palace Pier roundabout – and it’s no coincidence they have the same roundabout in Worthing, as the most efficient way to keep traffic moving.
The key thing is we currently have the busiest junction in the city, where the A23 meets the A259, and the last remaining cross city route, plus the current roundabout keeps traffic moving while offset pedestrian crossings also allow walkers to get across each individual road to reach their various destinations.
The new traffic light junction sends all pedestrians straight at the smaller junction so that one walker can stop all the traffic in all directions. This stupidity is added to by the addition of a cycle lane which runs straight through the middle of the junction – when cyclists passing through Valley Gardens could easily have been directed to a different part of the seafront.
In other words, the stupidity of the new design is where it unnecessarily directs all users to one bottle neck. There is no gain for cyclists or for pedestrians, but for buses, taxis, visiting cars, commuters, and commercial vehicles the gridlocks at key times are now inevitable.
I suspect the knock on effect will also be to clog up all the side roads through Kemp Town.
My earlier point was that landlocked commuters from places like Saltdean and Peacehaven have no choice but to use this route – and the new short bus lane anticipates this issue whilst not really solving the problem.
That’s fair, I think a turbo would have been a much better choice of junction, and also I would have liked to see pedestrian bridges instead.
Almost an admission by BHCC/Muten that VG3 and in particular, removing the Aquarium roundabout, is going to result in increased congestion (and therefore pollution). It will also cost local taxpayers £6 million . What a clusterfvck!
Do you not find that to be an extremely minimalistic view though that ignores the myriad of other aspects of the project?
Whoever wrote this needs to get a compass.
The new lane will run westbound along Marine Parade from the Sea Life Centre to the junction of Lower Rock Gardens.
If it is Westbound should read Lower Rock Gardens to The Sea Life Centre…
You spin me right round, baby, right round
It’s a perfectly reasonable and accurate sentence, Matt – although I get the confusion between describing traffic flow as Westbound and then geographical location from West to East. I almost mixed it up myself just now in writing this!
Bearing-wise, I think it’s somewhere between EbS and ESE and/or WbN and WNW mostly, except for the Sea Life part.
I am somone and all my family and partners family who were born and bread in brighton. We have all moved to towns on the out skirts now as its a shame. All they have done is pushed people out of Brighton, from living there and shopping there. Its a student town now which is why the green party do so well but they also have destroyed the town. I would rather travel to Crawley, Worthing or Eastbourne than go Any where near Brighton.
I think you will find that your family were born and bred in Brighton unless you are the full loaf. Being as, by your admission, you’ve all moved away from the City then how relevant are your comments?
I don’t know David, Scott might be just acting aloaf, he’s a little bit seedy.
What’s going to happen traffic wise when buses need to leave the lane at the sea life junction to enter the Old Steine and most if not all the other traffic wants to continue along the seafront?
Going Westwards, then heading North in Old Steine? The junction is signal-controlled within the design, and Rule 243 and Rule 239 of the Highway Code are very clear on what traffic should do to allow a bus to navigate over. I imagine a bus would move from the bus stop to lane 3 as the road splits from two lanes of traffic to three, allowing other vehicles aiming to continue Westwards, and as long as they are following correct lane discipline, in lane 1.
I do wish this council would just pause spending 10s of millions on bus lanes of dubious value and channel the money into repairing the roads around town. The condition of some are just unsafe.
What a criminal waste of public money when it is not needed and people are damaging themselves and their vehicles on POT HOLES on a daily basis! Vehicles are legally obliged to be roadworthy, but it seems roads are not legally obliged to be vehicle-worthy and some are more like Victorian cart tracks across our city. Or third world roads for first world taxes as my neighbour often remarks.
Hate to be a buzz kill but the wind in Brighton is horrendous so I don’t bother to cycle in these lanes I will just go on the long road one block back in Kemp town where the line of buildings shelter me from the wind
I really wish the cycle lane was there instead
“westbound along Marine Parade from the Sea Life Centre to the junction of Lower Rock Gardens”
But from SeaLife to Lower Rock Gardens, is eastbound,
Does it mean to say
“..along Marine parade westbound from Lower Rock Gardens TO the Sea Life Centre” ?