Two lanes of the main A259 seafront road should be given over to cyclists, according to a senior councillor.
Former mayor Pete West, Brighton’s first Green councillor, called for the “safe” cycle lanes at an election hustings.
Councillor West questioned why four lanes were needed along the seafront at the transport themed hustings at the Brighthelm Centre.
He said: “You’ve got a four-lane dual carriageway that is the preserve of motor vehicles because no one apart from the foolhardy like me is actually prepared to cycle along the road.
“So they’ve got it all to themselves whereas the cyclists and pedestrians are crammed together, milling on the prom.”
He said: “I think we need to dig up the A259 between the Aquarium and at least West Street and perhaps beyond.”
There were too many cyclists and pedestrians, he said, for some sections of the upper promenade which are currently shared by both groups.
Councillor West was responding to a question about the poor state of the National Cycle Network along the seafront.
He was speaking at the hustings organised by Brighton and Hove Friends of the Earth, Bricycles, SCATE (South Coast Alliance for Transport and the Environment) and Brighton Bike Hub.
He said: “I think there can be hardly anyone who uses a bike in Brighton and hires that hasn’t had a terrible experience on that stretch.
“And that goes for all the pedestrians, particularly, visitors are totally uninducted in what to expect as they wander around the cycle lane.”
When all candidates were asked by a cyclist to give a yes or no answer to whether they would commit to reducing the four lanes on the seafront to allow more dedicated space for bikes, it was a resounding yes from the Green.
He was immediately followed with a “no” from Conservative group deputy leader Councillor Lee Wares.
Liberal Democrat candidate Christian Chadwick, who is a regular cyclist, was also in favour.
Labour group leader Councillor Daniel Yates managed to get away without answering yes or no.
He said: “It’s a piece of architecture just like anything else? If it becomes redundant, fine with me.”
The audience gasped for a controversial moment when Councillor Yates declared he “did not care” about the planned removal of the Aquarium roundabout.
The roundabout is due to become a traffic light controlled T-junction as part of “Valley Gardens phase 3” – the revamp of the Old Steine and the area in front of the Palace Pier.
He said: “The decision has been taken to take away a roundabout. I genuinely don’t care.
“If you want me to be honest about it, it’s a roundabout. A roundabout is a piece of road infrastructure.
“Whether there’s a roundabout or a junction, it doesn’t matter to me. What matters to me is the people who want to move through that space.
“How are they engaging with that space? How well are they moving with that space.
“If you’re upset, I’m the leader of the council, I’m up for election. Let the people of Moulsecoomb and Bevendean decide what they want to do with me.”
During the discussions the four candidates had the opportunity to present their party’s position on transport.
Councillor Wares said that he had heard the city described as having a “transport mess” and a “toxic transport crisis” with different groups sharing different and conflicting reasons why it was a problem.
He said: “The city isn’t dealing with the subject very well.
“We all see projects that don’t appear to be joined up or don’t appear to be well thought out or actually have a negative impact somewhere else.
“And then what we do is we chase our tails, spending money and time trying to correct one problem that creates another problem.”
He said that the Conservative group wanted a full and comprehensive integrated transport review and strategy for the next 30 years.
Councillor West cited BBC TV presenter David Attenborough giving the world a call to arms, warning of the need to take dramatic action or face irreversible damage to the natural world and collapse of society.
He spoke of more than 1,000 campaigners willing to be arrested as part of the Extinction Rebellion protests.
Councillor West said: “We need a radical response to the threat of extinction. And that requires a radical rethink of travel and transport too.”
He described the previous Green administration as leading the way with sustainable travel by transforming Lewes Road, introducing the low-emission zone and 20mph speed limits.
The Greens, he said, would develop a local cycling and walking infrastructure plan, support investment in electric buses and other vehicles and look into delivery services using electric vehicles for the last mile.
Mr Chadwick said that the Liberal Democrats wanted to make the city more connected and to reduce air pollution.
Key to this would be supporting Brighton and Hove Buses to develop a neutral emissions bus fleet and create infrastructure for electric cars.
He was keen on improving and expanding the city’s cycle network and said: “Another policy aimed at reducing congestion is investigating the development of the park and ride system to help facilitate our tourist industry – not bringing their cars into the city to queues and traffic and congestion.
“And hopefully, again, looking at electric vehicles to bring our visitors to the city.”
Councillor Yates described the city as trapped between the sea and the Downs with roads designed for the horse and cart.
He called on a change in mindset to think about moving people rather than moving vehicles as he spoke about catching the bus to the Brighthelm Centre, which was quicker and easier than driving.
He said: “There’s no reason for my car to move from outside my house, other than the fact that I want to be somewhere else.
“The car doesn’t want to be somewhere else. A lorry doesn’t want to be somewhere else.
“It’s about a person. And we need to therefore think how does that person move in a different way other than using the car to move from one part of the city to another.”
Currently, Councillor Yates said, about 60 per cent of the city’s population used some form of sustainable transport to get to work.
At the hustings on Thursday (25 April) he said that 21 per cent walked, 19 per cent went by train, 14 per cent took the bus and 5 per cent cycled.
The Brighton and Hove City Council elections take place on Thursday 2 May when polling stations are open from 7am until 10pm.
The count – where the results are announced – is due to take place on Friday 3 May.
These are the morons wrecking our city. Unfortunately, when you look at the voting papers I fear you will only see the same bunch of deluded nitwits. Somebody stump up the money so I can stand
I have three bicycles but I am not so selfish as to want to stop everyone else getting around the city.
As it is, there is already a seafront cycle lane I use most days and the only problem bit is where it has to pass along one section of narrow promenade that is shared with pedestrians. The road is also very narrow in that same section. The rest of that cycle lane already takes up part of the Madeira Drive road, and uses all the empty parts of Hove lawns and promenade. We cyclists also have the option of using several other roads through the city, which cars no longer have access to.
Cars using the seafront road may be locals or commuters or tourists from elsewhere. When travelling from west to east or east to west to cross the city they have NO other option. Digging up half the road to make a better cycle lane would also impact on public transport. So how stupid is this idea?
It would be great if all the political parties could drop their ideologies for a minute and think these things through. People need to get to work and not everyone can cycle.
Imagin an electric tram running east to west along the seafront, say Worthing to Newhaven.
I’m surprised we get any visitors to Brighton. The roads in and out are a nightmare. High pollution because of all the traffic lights making stop start. People still cross Inbetween regardless of the amounts not of crossings.
Cyclists have a right to cycle yes I have nothing against them but there is plenty of room to share with walkers on promenade.
Yet again people who make decisions want to waste more of our tax payers money on a pointless scheme when we have a perfectly usable cycle lane along the seafront.
The proposals mention are discriminating against wheelchair users. The buses in current use are not wheelchair friendly. In order to get my chair on the bus, I must stand up and fold it to get it to turn into the aisle. My only option is a diesel wheelchair vehicle. Not everyone can ride a bicycle. And a wheelchair in the cycle lane would be a hazard.
Just to clarify, this report actually mixes up the answers to a few different questions. I asked the Question about removing one of the four vehicle lanes between West St and the Aquarium, to give more space to pedestrians and cyclists. The Greens, Lib Dems and Labour all supported this. Lee Wares, the Conservative, didn’t agree or disagree, but just spoke about Valley Gardens, instead.
If I read the above correctly, it was Cllr. Yates, Labour Leader, who didn’t answer the question and spoke about Valley Gardens!
I have shorthand notes and a recording confirming Lee Wares said no and Daniel Yates described the road as a piece of architecture
The council leader also spoke about the roundabout becoming a traffic light junction on the Vote on Latest TV. My take was that he has no strong view one way or the other. Tony Janio is pro roundabout. Interestingly, he seems to be the only cyclist out of the three party leaders.
It’s interesting that in the planning for Valley Gardens and the Aquarium roundabout there was plenty of consultation with bus companies, taxis and cycling groups, but no one representing motorists was involved.
And now Pete West is again wanting more resources for cyclists! Perhaps time the council listened to all road users rather than just focusing on “sustainable transport” and then, yet again, making pollution levels even worse.