Bus lanes

[brighton bluenose]

Down to the Vogue Gyratory, up Bear Road, right down Bob Wilson Avenue, left at the lights by Roedean firestation and carried on east along the coast road. My wife was navigating as she does it every day and obviously knows the best way. (I write that last sentence with perhaps the merest trace of irony). As I mentioned I haven't driven in a Brighton rush hour for decades and hadn't a clue which way was best.

Sorry the obvious question I should have asked was how long it took for that journey?

And where were the hold ups? Down to the Vogue I would guess - but that is always busy in rush hour and I'm sure even more so with the current works. But after that going east-ish out of town its not that bad - is it?

 

[Brovion]

Sorry the obvious question I should have asked was how long it took for that journey?

And where were the hold ups? Down to the Vogue I would guess - but that is always busy in rush hour and I'm sure even more so with the current works. But after that going east-ish out of town its not that bad - is it?

Just over an hour door-to-door, but that's with the detour into Saltdean (which at a guess added about 10-15 minutes). As you suspected by far the worst part was the bit down to the Vogue, after that it was just slow-moving traffic - I never knew Peacehaven was that far!

Like I say it was a bit of a shock. I usually walk round Brighton, I walk to the station every day, (somewhere else I can't get to easily by bus) but it's usually early when I do that and I don't really pay much attention to the traffic anyway.

 

[Gwylan]

Just over an hour door-to-door, but that's with the detour into Saltdean (which at a guess added about 10-15 minutes).

Peacehaven to Brighton is 18 miles, add another one to Fiveways, that's 19 in say 50 minutes (taking away your Saltdean detour); just under 21mph on average. That's faster than most cities - London's peak speed is about 10.6 mph and even Hereford clocks in at 11.5 mph).
http://www.london24.com/news/transport/london_crowned_slowest_rush_hour_city_1_3631519

This reminds me of the complaints coming out the Amex with people moaning they're not at home with their cocoa 15 minutes after the match ends. You're not going to get out of a stadium of 25,000 people in a hurry and you're not going to drive nearly 20 miles in an urban environment at rush hour in 30 minutes

 

[Psychobilly freakout]

Peacehaven to Brighton is 18 miles, add another one to Fiveways, that's 19 in say 50 minutes (taking away your Saltdean detour); just under 21mph on average. That's faster than most cities - London's peak speed is about 10.6 mph and even Hereford clocks in at 11.5 mph).
http://www.london24.com/news/transport/london_crowned_slowest_rush_hour_city_1_3631519

This reminds me of the complaints coming out the Amex with people moaning they're not at home with their cocoa 15 minutes after the match ends. You're not going to get out of a stadium of 25,000 people in a hurry and you're not going to drive nearly 20 miles in an urban environment at rush hour in 30 minutes

He is not on about the Amex is he, we all know its gonna be murder and I go by bus whats the point of going on about the Amex.

& who cares about other cities speed averages, London is a different beast all together no point making a comparison. It is clear that the traffic could move alot better in Brighton there are far too many bus lanes and traffic lights that are simply over the top or not required to be honest.

 

[Brovion]

He is not on about the Amex is he, we all know its gonna be murder and I go by bus whats the point of going on about the Amex.

& who cares about other cities speed averages, London is a different beast all together no point making a comparison. It is clear that the traffic could move alot better in Brighton there are far too many bus lanes and traffic lights that are simply over the top or not required to be honest.

Exactly. Mind you, Gwylan's stats do prove that Brighton can take a LOT more cars before it even begins to approach a level where people need/want to stop driving.

 

[Gwylan]

He is not on about the Amex is he, we all know its gonna be murder and I go by bus whats the point of going on about the Amex.

& who cares about other cities speed averages, London is a different beast all together no point making a comparison. It is clear that the traffic could move alot better in Brighton there are far too many bus lanes and traffic lights that are simply over the top or not required to be honest.

The point about the Amex is that people have unrealistic expectations about how quickly they can get out of a stadium just as they have unrealistic expectations about how quickly traffic moves.

You say London is an unfair comparison but what about Hereford's 11.5 mph, Hull's 13mph, Bradford's 13.7mph, Cambridge's 11.3 mph, Sheffield's 14.9mph, Dundee's 15.5 mph - all slower than Brighton?

As I said before, 30 mins (or even 25 mins) to do 12 miles or 50 mins to do 19 at rush hour is not especially slow. In no other city in the UK can people travel at 30 mph at peak time, I really don't see why conditions should magically change in Brighton

 

[Gwylan]

One other thing about those average traffic speeds - one of the best in the country is York, a city that has a lot of pedestrianised areas and a comprehensive cycle network. (In fairness, it should also be pointed out that Cambridge, another cycling city, has some of the lowest speeds).

 

[ditchy]

Peacehaven to Brighton is 18 miles, add another one to Fiveways, that's 19 in say 50 minutes (taking away your Saltdean detour); just under 21mph on average. That's faster than most cities - London's peak speed is about 10.6 mph and even Hereford clocks in at 11.5 mph).
http://www.london24.com/news/transport/london_crowned_slowest_rush_hour_city_1_3631519

This reminds me of the complaints coming out the Amex with people moaning they're not at home with their cocoa 15 minutes after the match ends. You're not going to get out of a stadium of 25,000 people in a hurry and you're not going to drive nearly 20 miles in an urban environment at rush hour in 30 minutes

Have i missed something and correct me if iam wrong but are we talking distance from Peacehaven to Brighton .. i thought it was more like 6

 

[Gwylan]

Have i missed something and correct me if iam wrong but are we talking distance from Peacehaven to Brighton .. i thought it was more like 6

You're quite right, I looked it up but must have picked a dodgy site, really not sure where I got 18 from

Having said that, Brovion's journey is still at around 8 mph, slow but not outlandish compared to other speeds, given that there are major works going on (and he says that's where the main problems were). I do think my general point still stands - there are some unrealistic expectations about travelling in rush hour

 

[Westdene Seagull]

Have i missed something and correct me if iam wrong but are we talking distance from Peacehaven to Brighton .. i thought it was more like 6

7 according to Google maps

 

[ditchy]

7 according to Google maps

was that east or west Peacehaven

 

[Brovion]

You're quite right, I looked it up but must have picked a dodgy site, really not sure where I got 18 from

Having said that, Brovion's journey is still at around 8 mph, slow but not outlandish compared to other speeds, given that there are major works going on (and he says that's where the main problems were). I do think my general point still stands - there are some unrealistic expectations about travelling in rush hour

It felt like 18! But I didn't have 'unrealistic expectations' and I certainly wasn't expecting a clear run. In fact as I mentioned my wife had warned me, and really in my original post I was only expressing my sympathy with people who do it on a daily basis. Then we're on to why they do it, which is a whole different argument!

 

[Gwylan]

It felt like 18! But I didn't have 'unrealistic expectations' and I certainly wasn't expecting a clear run. In fact as I mentioned my wife had warned me, and really in my original post I was only expressing my sympathy with people who do it on a daily basis. Then we're on to why they do it, which is a whole different argument!

Well quite. There's a whole other topic about the notion of the rush-hour in the first place. It seems pretty poor planning to have a situation, like Psychobilly, where people live miles from work, forcing people onto the roads and then insist that millions of people do it at the same time - that's what really should be tackled. But that's beyond the council, whatever shade it is

 

[foul old ron]

Peacehaven to Brighton is 18 miles,

Bloody hell, which way do you go?

 

[Gwylan]

Bloody hell, which way do you go?

Do keep up

 

[foul old ron]

Do keep up

Sorry, I was miles away.

 

[Gwylan]

Sorry, I was miles away.

Boom ... tish

 

[Guinness Boy]

I had been reading previous threads like this with the smugness - yes smugness - of a South Portslade resident. Buses every five minutes, mainline railway station, street parking, flat cycling and 10 min drive to the bypass. That was until the last few days.

On Saturday I had to go to a memorial at the Bear Rd end of Woodvale Crem with a 3 year old but no car, followed by a gathering at a house in central Brighton. Getting there from my house took 40 minutes and 20 quid because I went by cab. The traffic from Old Shoreham to the railway bridge and from Lewes Rd and from Fiveways was gridlocked. The alternative would have been two buses and a walk up Bear Road in the rain with a 3 year old and, for at least part of that the traffic would have been just as bad. I felt terrible thinking we were going to be late but actually my friend who was coming in from Central Brighton was even later, again due to the traffic round Lewes Road. This is not rush hour or match day, this is 2.30 on a normal Saturday afternoon.

A lift was arranged for us to get back at which point the three adults present - three long term residents of Brighton one of who occasionally has to drive a van round the city - spent five minutes discussing the best route to drive back, which we still got wrong. Not one of us could remember every shut road, one way street and bus lane.

Anyone who says you can get by without a car is lying.

Anyone who says there aren't massive traffic problems in the city is lying.

 

[Guinness Boy]

Meanwhile the council that cares can't agree upon which 25 yards of road they need to put a crossing on (hint, it's the bit with the island and dropped kerb already present) while the Green Party prove that they really, really care until they have to fill in a few forms.

http://www.brightonandhovenews.org/...r-lorry-route-close-to-portslade-school/35944

 

[Westdene Seagull]

Meanwhile the council that cares can't agree upon which 25 yards of road they need to put a crossing on (hint, it's the bit with the island and dropped kerb already present) while the Green Party prove that they really, really care until they have to fill in a few forms.

http://www.brightonandhovenews.org/...r-lorry-route-close-to-portslade-school/35944

Hawtree is a fool and a menace. He lives on a different planet to the rest of us. I can't describe what joy it brings me knowing he's standing to be the MP for Hove and Portslade in May !