A cramped car park is to be revamped with bigger bays but fewer of them, Brighton and Hove City Council said today (Wednesday 28 May).
The switch to electric cars has meant that newer vehicles tend to be not only bigger but heavier so the reduction in the number of bays will also reduce the structural load.
The car park is more than 50 years old and its brutalist architectural style matches that of the early 1970s Hove Town Hall building opposite.
Work on the revamp is due to take place over two nights later this week, keeping half of the car park open at any one time as the capacity is cut by almost 40 per cent.
Charges range from £1.50 for an hour on weekdays (£1.70 at weekends) to £6.40 for four hours (£6.10 at weekends) to £10.70 for 12 hours.
And although the car park often currently has spare places, the annual loss of revenue could easily run well into six figures.
The council said: “Work will begin tomorrow to improve the Norton Road Car Park in Hove.
“The overnight work is scheduled for Thursday 29 May and Friday 30 May and forms part of a broader plan by Brighton and Hove City Council to modernise the city’s car parks.
“As part of the upgrade … the layout of the parking bays will be reconfigured to better accommodate the size and needs of today’s modern vehicles, with the number of bays reduced from 290 to 180.
“The changes are being made to reduce the capacity and the structural load on the car park and gives the council the opportunity to make spaces larger and carry out essential maintenance and improvements.
“To minimise disruption, the car park will remain open throughout the work, with only half of the car park affected each night. Season permit holders will still have full access.
“Access details will be available on-site and on the council website to guide drivers.
“Visitors needing alternative parking can use King Alfred Car Park, located a 10-minute walk away.”
Labour councillor Trevor Muten, the cabinet member for transport and city infrastructure, said: “Norton Road Car Park plays a vital role in supporting residents, visitors and local businesses.
“These changes will mean a better experience for drivers and form part of our commitment to modernising public infrastructure and creating accessible, well-managed spaces that reflect the way some people choose to travel.
“We appreciate the public’s patience as we carry out this important work.”
Surely, if the modern cars, especially electric are heavier, is the structure able to cope with the additional weight above the ground level?
Also, if it is thought bigger bays are necessary, are the ramps between the parking levels large enough?
Just means more debt, less parking for central Hove (like they don’t need it!) and two sleepless nights for residents of Norton Rd! Why on earth does everyone need to drive around in tanks anyway! It isn’t helping parking availability with all these mopeds and electric bikes who illegally take up car spaces (middle of Tisbury Road, go take a look, group of about 5 delieveroo type lads crammed into one tiny flat, who all have mopeds/bikes) using the road/pavements as their parking spaces and the pavement s as their racing tracks!
Each car is being allocated more valuable space so the Council should increase the fees. It’ll be more attractive to park there because drivers it’ll be easier for them to manoeuvre into and out of the bigger spaces and it’ll be easier for passengers to get into and out of their cars.
Don’t fall for the trap of blaming this on EVs. Yes, electric vehicles are heavier than ICE cars of the same class. But the trend towards antisocially large and heavy cars weighing TONS is entirely unrelated to electrification. My little Zoé weighs half of what most SUVs do. Not to mention the even more obscenely large pick up trucks people are now buying.
Spot on , the move of people in urban areas to buying stupidly long and wide cars started years ago a
Personally, for me, it’s the spacial awareness of drivers of things like utility SUVs, overestimating their size, straddling lanes because they thing they are too wide, etc. But that lends it down to a general poor standard of driving across the board.
The parking spaces at Norton Road were way too small. But more and more are choosing big EVs. And ironically the council’s head of transport, who kept telling us to switch to walking, cycling and buses, drove a whacking great 4×4 himself.