Lewes Road re-vamp

[vegster]

Not sure what help this can be....

Bosses believe cutting the car lanes from two to one in both directions of Lewes Road, Brighton, will see a 10% reduction in car trips as people turn to walking, cycling or taking the bus instead.

So we lose 10% of cars but the remaining 90% have 50% less road space ? this is just going to make the road a mini M25 car park

 

[TWOCHOICEStom]

There's a whole infrastructure of roads and junctions across the city to consider.

Where's the extra money going? Don't know yet (I wouldn't mind some traffic calming in my road), apart from one part I know the council has said it would contribute to - the part of the cycle path / footpath from Woodingdean to Falmer that falls within the city boundaries.

Ah I see. The way it was written confused me a little bit - I assumed it was only for the Lewes Road improvements.
I actually think it could be a good thing to try and get everyone cycling. The more incentives people have, the more likely they'll be to cycle. Lewes Road seems infinitely more sensible than the Old Shoreham Road project.

I'm just still not too sure how pollution will be reduced with a 10% reduction in traffic (supposedly) and 50% less road space.. <-Edit: [MENTION=11928]vegster[/MENTION] beat me to it!

 

[Badger]

No doubt they'll also "upgrade" all the crossings and replace

with

 

[TotallyFreaked]

Lewis Road traffic is a mess, whether forcing the issue by making it more difficult for car drivers will increase people using sustainable transport or just make more angry motorists is difficult to judge. As a car driver and cyclist I can see both points of view. However I cycle to the Amex with my son (aged 12) and it's a really scary experience for him, very few motorists give any more concessions for a child and I think without my guidance (when to pull out etc) I am sure he would end up in an accident. For me it's important that we get the next generation using more sustainable transport and maybe having a good set of cycle lanes through the city might just help.

 

[marshy68]

f***ing madness - again another green disaster for the city - we will see plently more of bike train twats now

 

[Was not Was]

Overall I think I agree with most of it.

How dare you! What about motorists' inalienable right to primacy over all other road users? Life was rubbish when kids felt safe to cycle on roads, people kept fit instead of getting around in metal boxes, and people worked close to where they lived instead of spending hours commuting. Are you a communist or something?

 

[vegster]

The way to solve a HUGE amount of the Lewes Road traffic problems would be to bulldoze the BP garage and Sainsbury's and build an underpass or a bridge so as we have a permanant flow East-West and North- South.... thus destroying the Vague Gyratory.... simples

 

[brightonlass2009]

As I live in Coldean and have to go by bus to work everyday [my company don't supply car parking spaces for admin staff] I can see the benefits of some of what they are saying. Especially having the real time information signs and shelters. Also I can understand that the Vogue Gyratory does need to be made safer for cyclists if they are not going to insist on using the pavements all the time.

However as a car driver as well it's just going to cause absolute mahem. The Lewes Road is one of the busiest into the town centre, and cutting it down to one lane will just make the problem even worse. So many people have to commute to and from work along that road, and I know the Green Parties answer would be that we should cycle or use the bus. But buses are horrendously expensive and not all of us can actually cycle [I'm one of those offenders who can't cycle because of an injury].

The thing is in some cases the cyclists bring it on themselves. I'm not saying all of them are total idiots, however I have been behind a fair few who have not been on the cycle lane, have been on the phone whilst riding or have run through red lights whilst pedestrians have been trying to cross without a care in the road. Simply why should we make these roads safer for them when they don't take into account the safety of pedestrians? And if anybody says being hit by a car is worse then being hit by a bike, you can still sustain injuries whilst being hit by a bike even if it is just a broken bone or some sort of concussion. Also how many of the cyclists will still use the bike lane? I mean there is currently a cycle lane on the Lewes Road which is safe for cyclists if they stick to the lines, and still I see people riding on the pavement.

It is just an absolute joke.

 

[Garage_Doors]

For a start, anything that improves that basketcase of a junction at Vogue Gyratory is a good thing. I'm amazed that that whole system didn't have an overhaul the day it opened.

Secondly, it's ring-fenced money from central Government, so it's money that has to go on sustainable transport.

Regarding access to the Amex - to be honest, the central problem isn't Lewes Road - it's the junction with the A27 at Falmer. The bus journey is fine (and anything that encourages bus journeys - if only they were cheaper - is fine by me) until it gets to that junction. Then it's a crawl. A slow, time-stopping crawl.

The problem with riding on buses if you have to sit with complete strangers breathing in their stale air and odours/viruses etc. and it does not take you to the exact place you want to go using the the quickest and most direct route.
Cost has never even come into any considerations I have given to ever using a bus.
Even if it was free It would take a lot of reasoning and persuasion for me to even consider it.
I know the local council are slowly trying to get use to all use buses, but why would any free willed person ever choose to want to consider using one?
I had assumed that were for the sole use of school children and students, not free thinking adults.
Why would anyone choose to use a bus?

 

[BHAFC_Pandapops]

safer to cyclists eh. f*** cyclists. When I'm on the road they always seem to want to drive up to a junction, continue over the old give way and stop in the middle of the road, making me slow down, and giving the drivers behind reason to beep.

next these fook'n cyclists will want to use the big dual carriageways (this is becoming increasingly popular). Yes, even 70mph roads, cyclists think they have the balls to say 'yeah I'm going slow, f*** you, I do what I want because I'm green and ya ya soooo spiritual.'

get the sodding chuffing hell off of side roads and stop being idiots.

no amount of nincompoopery from green supporters will sully my opinion. If you're a cyclist in the middle of the lane (when you SHOULD be to the far left) I am going to roar past you. Don't you dare act surprised. Roads are for cars. Cycle lanes are for cycles. Dual carriageways are not also cycle lanes, and cycle lanes seem to be getting ever wider for some reason.

Really fook'n me off.

 

[BHAFC_Pandapops]

The way to solve a HUGE amount of the Lewes Road traffic problems would be to bulldoze the BP garage and Sainsbury's and build an underpass or a bridge so as we have a permanant flow East-West and North- South.... thus destroying the Vague Gyratory.... simples

Watch what you say about Sainsburys, brah.

 

[CheeseRolls]

I admit I am no expert here, but just want to question the assumption that two lanes of traffic will always move faster than one. Is there a problem in both directions ?
Travelling south there are no major fan out routes, so the lights and the bottleneck at the Brighton end must be the major determinant of queueing time ? Think of it like a funnel.

 

[Lord Bracknell]

Excellent news! On most of the occasions I travel along the Lewes Road, I'm in a bus. Anything that speeds my journey up is welcome.

 

[8ace]

They should knock down all the houses on the left hand side (as you head out of town) and widen the road.

 

[Lord Bracknell]

I know the local council are slowly trying to get use to all use buses, but why would any free willed person ever choose to want to consider using one?
I had assumed that were for the sole use of school children and students, not free thinking adults.

You obviously haven't been on a bus for YEARS. Brighton buses are packed full of free thinking adults. Apart from London, it's the only city in England where bus ridership has consistently been growing every year for the past 20 years.

 

[Lord Bracknell]

I'm in two minds. I drive and I cycle. I think making provision for cyclists is a good thing because the roads are dangerous enough. However I understand that it make driving around there even worse. You only need to look at the A259 between Peacehaven and Brighton to see what it has turned out like.

Yep. It's made bus travel much easier, more people are using buses and the service has improved dramatically.

 

[Common as Mook]

Excellent news! On most of the occasions I travel along the Lewes Road, I'm in a bus. Anything that speeds my journey up is welcome.

Pull the ladder up, Jack.

 

[8ace]

You obviously haven't been on a bus for YEARS. Brighton buses are packed full of free thinking adults. Apart from London, it's the only city in England where bus ridership has consistently been growing every year for the past 20 years.

Indeed, I get the bus and I'm in my thirties - I am incredibly immature though

 

[Lord Bracknell]

The greens appear to have an agenda of creating as much irreversible carnage to this great city of ours before they get ousted at the next elections. God help us!

The City Council's bid for government funding to introduce this scheme was put together when the Conservatives were in power locally.

 

[Superphil]

When they say 10km, I suspect that mean 10km in total. 5km on way, and 5km back again.

Why would you want 6 miles of bus lane into 3 miles of road?

Why on earth are they using kms, we do miles in this country, OK, they can ruin the traffic infrastructure for their own aims, when they get voted out someone will change it again anyway, but stop with the f***ing kilometres.

I haven't bothered driving into Brighton for quite some time now, use the P&R/buses/trains, they're just fine with me as they are. if they can improve it for cyclists, then that is a good thing, but I think constantly targeting users of cars/vans/trucks might ultimately backfire, and we could end up in an even bigger mess.