Work will start today on the seafront cycle land on the A259 between the Palace Pier and Fourth Avenue, in Hove.
“All cars must be removed from the south side of the A259 between the Palace Pier and Fourth Avenue before 12pm on Tuesday 4 August,” Brighton and Hove City Council said.
The council added: “Any cars remaining here will be towed or relocated so that work can begin on time.
“The cycle lane will be used by cyclists travelling westbound and will eventually extend to the western boundary of the city when the second phase of work is completed later in the year.
“Eastbound cyclists will continue to use the existing footway cycle facility – and lines and signage will be altered accordingly.
“Work is expected to take around two weeks to complete, with the first week of construction due to take place at night.
“Every effort will be made to keep this work and the associated noise to an absolute minimum.
“The temporary cycle lane was part of the Urgent Transport Action Plan produced in response to the covid-19 pandemic and agreed by the Environment, Transport and Sustainability Committee on (Tuesday) 23 June.
“It will be funded from money awarded to the council by the Department for Transport’s Covid-19 Emergency Active Travel Fund.”
The council said that the cycle lane would be up to three metres wide on the seafront side of the road.
Plastic bollards and barriers like those used for the Old Shoreham Road cycle lane, in Hove, will be used to segregate traffic.
The council also said: “As a result of the work, around 60 per cent of parking spaces between the Palace Pier and Fourth Avenue will be lost.
“Those that remain will be offset from the kerb to maintain an uninterrupted cycle lane.
“Parking on the north side of the carriageway will be unaffected.
“All disabled parking bays will be retained although some will be offset from the kerb with additional space provided on either side of the bays with new facilities to ensure additional safety and access.
“All signal-controlled pedestrian crossings will be retained and cyclists will be required to stop in the same way as motor vehicles.”
For a few cycles using the new lane on the 259 , 60% parking spaces will be lost, where are they supposed to go? Utter ridiculous, no sense at all. Bad enough parking anywhere let alone loosing another 60%.
Why do we need more cycle lanes? Money could be spent on fixing the roads, more bins along the seafront, fix Madeira Drive and the Hippodrome.
I’m keen to see how it goes. I saw a big mix in opinions on other media.
This is probably the fastest and cheapest way the council can test the idea before making a massive commitment. People were complaining about the cycle lane still being used on the pavement but there are at least three decent reasons for that: cut the pavement cycle lane traffic roughly in half (I would say that the west-bound side is a bit busier in the afternoons and evenings following typical work hours, and is also roughly when the most pedestrians are around to use the pavement); people get more time to get used to the idea, and east-bound cyclists don’t have to skim too close to west-bound motorists depending on how these plastic bollards and barriers will look and if they’ll be placed along the whole length; and no costly traffic signals to install on the east-bound side for what is just a trial at this point (as cyclists on the new lane will now be sharing the same traffic signals as the motorists).
I think that the city could definitely benefit from some more parking facilities, but there are so many more efficient options which could be built and wouldn’t keep entire stretches of road reserved for what is just empty cars for hours at a time and not people actually going anywhere like a cycle lane would facilitate (for both cyclists and pedestrians).
More underground parking, where possible, could be a brilliant space saver.
Some people hate the idea, some people love it, but I don’t see the sense in hating it until it’s tried. I bet it will bring more good than a lot of people expect.
Go for it Brighton and Hove! We did it in Tynemouth in the north east. All cyclists including families cycling safely along the sea front. It is also a buffer between the promenade and the coastal road so it is much more relaxing for walkers on the sea front.
A more relaxed atmosphere all round !
Tynmouth’s seafront road is not exactly a main thoroughfare. Its not a “A” road as the A193 is a couple of blocks back from the seafront. Our seafront road is the A259 and is a main East to West link road. You aren’t comparing like with like.