Park and Ride in Brighton?

[Carrot Cruncher]

The bus company have a rail link to prop up and shareholders to please. The local council enjoy huge revenue from parking.

The city will not be mended. Too much money to be had.

Sad but oh so true.

 

[8ace]

Whilst the 27 offers a stopping bus to the city centre (rather than the non-stop service that the former dedicated park & ride service used to provide), it's still worth considering, since parking at Withdean is both hassle-free and free of charge. Offset those benefits against the hassle and cost of city centre parking and the Withdean option still looks OK.

No-one is sadder than me that the original Withdean dedicated p&r bus no longer runs - a victim of council spending cuts a few years ago.

Many's the time I saw one of those "dedicated" buses scoot by with about 3 people on whilst passengers were left waiting ages for a delayed 27. We are well shot of them.

 

[atfc village]

And there was your first mistake.

The lady i was with insisted best not to argue

 

[atfc village]

it was my first visit down since the first game at the Amex v Eastbourne Sports,nice to see the city sober for a change.Not been on the prom since an unprovoked brown sauce attack on me by a poster on here nearly 10 years ago,i have to say i left very impressed.A good day out

 

[Peter Grummit]

The bus company have a rail link to prop up and shareholders to please. The local council enjoy huge revenue from parking.

The city will not be mended. Too much money to be had.

True. A cheaper P+R fare meant leakage from the 27 and other local bus/rail services.

The main issue (in a parallel to the protracted search for a Stadium site) is that there are no obvious sites for a good size P+R. Braypool was seriously looked at but many objected to the loss of green space, footie/cricket pitches.

PG

 

[virtual22]

True. A cheaper P+R fare meant leakage from the 27 and other local bus/rail services.

The main issue (in a parallel to the protracted search for a Stadium site) is that there are no obvious sites for a good size P+R. Braypool was seriously looked at but many objected to the loss of green space, footie/cricket pitches.

PG

What do they use The Bridge car park for when Brighton are not playing? Or for that matter, Bennet's Field on non match days? I'd rather have a P&R all the days there is not an Albion game than not at all. Just close it on match days, plus it has good bus links already, and a bit of extra cash for the club. In fact, why's this not sorted out already? Barber Out!

 

[Lord Bracknell]

True. A cheaper P+R fare meant leakage from the 27 and other local bus/rail services.

The main issue (in a parallel to the protracted search for a Stadium site) is that there are no obvious sites for a good size P+R. Braypool was seriously looked at but many objected to the loss of green space, footie/cricket pitches.

PG

Interestingly, as well as the lobbying to preserve the open space that is Braypool, there was a lot of lobbying from green interests against the whole principle of park and ride - on the grounds that P&R simply encourages driving. I always took the view that, whilst P&R might not save the planet, at least it's a way to reduce city centre traffic congestion. But, there again, the business lobby actually LIKES congestion - they read it as a sign of a thriving city economy (and reduced congestion is seen as a sign of "the council driving visitors away").

... damned if you do, damned if you don't.

 

[Westdene Seagull]

Brighton could do with following what they have done in Portsmouth (with a P&R, not football).

Tried it there yesterday, a large car park just off the M275 with brand new buses nicely done up with wooden floors and leather seats which use bus lanes to get into the City Centre and then carry onto the Harbour all within 15 minutes, unlimited use of the P&R bus is included in the price too. The cost for the entire day - £2 per car and any amount of people can use the bus on the ticket.

If Brighton had something like this, travel would be so much easier especially as it would discourage people going into the centre of town to the rip-off car parks and reduce congestion - its madness that a City like Brighton and Hove doesnt have a P&R considering its size and the issue with congestion.

The challenge being - where would you put a P&R site ?

 

[Lord Bracknell]

The challenge being - where would you put a P&R site ?

Ideally, somewhere near the intersection of the A23 and the A27 bypass. Waterhall and Braypool are big enough, but sensitive. Withdean is not badly located, but not big enough. Patcham Place - perfectly located, but outrageously unacceptable. Horsdean? Mill Road?

 

[Lord Bracknell]

Does anyone remember the Brighton councillor who outraged all of the citizens of Hove when she announced, many years ago, that "I've always thought of Hove as a Park and Ride facility for Brighton"? But that was in the days when Hove Borough Council refused to even think about introducing on-street parking charges in the borough.

 

[Westdene Seagull]

Ideally, somewhere near the intersection of the A23 and the A27 bypass. Waterhall and Braypool are big enough, but sensitive. Withdean is not badly located, but not big enough. Patcham Place - perfectly located, but outrageously unacceptable. Horsdean? Mill Road?

The problem being that the junction isn't really suited to the role. As Labour found out when they pushed for Braypool and Horsdean - there was a lot of opposition - partly because it was wrong to tarmac over playing fields and allotments as well as making people lose their homes. Their eyes were always on the huge grant offered if they could get the plans through but bugger the locals.

Waterhall / Mill Road I guess could work but there are severe pinch points top and bottom of Mill Road and Waterhall would require tarmacing over playing fields.

Personally, the best of a bad bunch would be Toads Hole Valley but it would be expensive and obviously there are plans to build a huge amount of housing there.

 

[Uncle Buck]

it was my first visit down since the first game at the Amex v Eastbourne Sports,nice to see the city sober for a change.Not been on the prom since an unprovoked brown sauce attack on me by a poster on here nearly 10 years ago,i have to say i left very impressed.A good day out

Those pesky vegetarians...

 

[HawkTheSeagull]

The challenge being - where would you put a P&R site ?

And that is the issue. With Portsmouth, they stuck it in a run down area to the North of the City, next to the M275 with a new motorway junction. With Brighton, its a bit more difficult. One issue is that unlike Pompey, there is more than 1 route into the city, though of course being near the A23 would be the best option. Another issue is the lack of brownfield sites in that location, so it would need building onto fields which would then face massive opposition. Withdean was once acceptable, but since the city has massively grown and developed since the last dedicated P&R ran, it would no longer be suitable.

Yes, the council may lose parking money from people no longer parking in the city, but (assuming it would be council owned) they could stand to make more from a P&R which would surely also attract more people, it would surely also look good for them to be reducing congestion in the city. A parkway train station could also be an answer, but the best location for any Park and ------- site would be the A23 junction, which is too close to Preston Park station, and there is also no site near there either.

 

[Lord Bracknell]

The problem being that the junction isn't really suited to the role. As Labour found out when they pushed for Braypool and Horsdean - there was a lot of opposition - partly because it was wrong to tarmac over playing fields and allotments as well as making people lose their homes. Their eyes were always on the huge grant offered if they could get the plans through but bugger the locals.

Waterhall / Mill Road I guess could work but there are severe pinch points top and bottom of Mill Road and Waterhall would require tarmacing over playing fields.

Personally, the best of a bad bunch would be Toads Hole Valley but it would be expensive and obviously there are plans to build a huge amount of housing there.

Therein lies the dilemma.

The two options are:

1. Go ahead with a P&R scheme that would be a compromise that didn't tick all the boxes;
2. Do nothing, because the ideal solution isn't achievable.

It's in the nature of politics that, when these are the only two options (in any area of activity, not just transport), politicians tend to go for the easiest outcome - option 2.