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 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.
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!