The Lewes Road bus lane/traffic congestion

[ofco8]

AS someone who cycles or buses it up The Lewes Road and can assure you my journeys have got better! Another excellent decision by the THREE political parties that agreed the scheme ( originally Tory, believe it or not)!

I might also remind Albion fans on here that the extension to the Amex was dependent on sorting out the transport corridor. Lord Bracknell, does that mean if the A 270 is turned back into a disgusting urban motorway for 20th century petrolheads, the capacity at the Amex could revert to 22,300?

Yes, and none of the THREE political parties could organise a p*** up in a brewery.

 

[Govinda Tim]

Oh scaremongering or what?

I'm glad your journey is better, no really I am, but it is at the expense of gridlock across parts of east Brighton. Nothing wrong with cycle lanes or bus priority, but the scheme in Lewes Rd as it stands is dangerous and also does not work for the majority of road users...

Don't abandon it, change it before someone gets killed...

This.
I was turning left from Lewes road into Coombe road yesterday when a man walked out directly in front of my car, I pulled up about 2 inches from his legs and in doing so, a cyclist had to also pull up to avoid going into the side of my car. Someone is definitely going to get injured or killed before long.

 

[£1.99]

Anyway I am alright Jack as from 11th November I have a new job in London so will be using the much admired public transport network to get to work - so there will be one less car not moving on the lewes road.

Good luck with your new job.
Get yourself a folding bike for when you get off the train in London, you'll save yourself some money.

 

[Lord Bracknell]

This.
I was turning left from Lewes road into Coombe road yesterday when a man walked out directly in front of my car, I pulled up about 2 inches from his legs and in doing so, a cyclist had to also pull up to avoid going into the side of my car. Someone is definitely going to get injured or killed before long.

It's obviously impossible to apportion blame for a double near-miss like this but my first stab would be to question why the pedestrian wasn't looking out for turning traffic and, second stab, to ask why you seem to have turned left across a cycle lane, without giving way to the cyclist who was using it.

 

[Lord Bracknell]

I might also remind Albion fans on here that the extension to the Amex was dependent on sorting out the transport corridor. Lord Bracknell, does that mean if the A 270 is turned back into a disgusting urban motorway for 20th century petrolheads, the capacity at the Amex could revert to 22,300?

The stadium wasn't the reason that the Lewes Road scheme got government funding - although the scheme undoubtedly benefits supporters by speeding up the Mithras House park & ride service (as well as benefiting fans who cycle to games). And I'm certain that no-one will advocate funding the restoration of the road to its former state. The question of the capacity of the stadium therefore doesn't arise.

The ONLY circumstances in which capacity could possibly become an issue is if it became apparent that the transport system could NEVER adjust to 30,000 spectators. That isn't at all likely.

 

[queens park pete]

This.
I was turning left from Lewes road into Coombe road yesterday when a man walked out directly in front of my car, I pulled up about 2 inches from his legs and in doing so, a cyclist had to also pull up to avoid going into the side of my car. Someone is definitely going to get injured or killed before long.

The left turn into Coombe road is much safer now!
I rode southbound through this junction four or five times a week for years with my fingers crossed. Every month there was an altercation with someone not looking where they were going unable to see a 6'3" cyclist wearing a luminous yellow jacket in FRONT OF THEM! Drivers now have better sight lines than before unless they are in a Clarkson style anti-bike rage which has rendered them temporarily blind.

 

[queens park pete]

The stadium wasn't the reason that the Lewes Road scheme got government funding - although the scheme undoubtedly benefits supporters by speeding up the Mithras House park & ride service (as well as benefiting fans who cycle to games). And I'm certain that no-one will advocate funding the restoration of the road to its former state. The question of the capacity of the stadium therefore doesn't arise.

The ONLY circumstances in which capacity could possibly become an issue is if it became apparent that the transport system could NEVER adjust to 30,000 spectators. That isn't at all likely.

Cheers LB, not scaremongering, just aware that the extension to 31k was dependent on sorting out the transport.

 

[Southover Street Seagull]

There is absolutely nothing dangerous about parking on the pavements in Elm Grove. I have friends with prams and buggies who go up and down it every day and there's always plenty of room even with the cars parked up at 90 degrees to the road. A bigger problem is the rubbish dumping by students in the roads between Lewes Road and Upper Lewes Road.

I tell you what would really win favour with people though - if a bus ride into town and back for 3 people wasn't more expensive than getting a taxi. There's absolutely no justification for such high bus pricing. And please - none of this nonsense about 'all day fares'. I don't know anyone who's bought one of those and used it other than to get to town and then back again.

I have to disagree with you about the parking on the pavements in Elm Grove. I have seen cars parked on the pavements on the corner of Howard Road and Elm Grove that make it near impossible to see traffic coming down Elm Grove, this aligned with the selfish people who have parked on the double yellow lines obstructing views too. Selfish not dangerous parking also takes place on the pavements on Elm Grove where cars partly obstruct the pavement because they've been parked badly. I also witnessed a woman drive onto the corner of the pavement at Milton Road and Elm Grove recently so she could park further down the pavement parallel to Elm Grove. You're bang on about the rubbish dumped by selfish residents outside their own houses with the main culprits being HMOs, this happens further south of Elm Grove too in the area bounded by Albion Hill and Islingword Road.

The cynic in me agrees with Westdene Seagull's theory that the current Elm Grove parking clampdown is based purely on spite, spite for us residents rejecting a controlled parking zone two years ago. The simple solution would be to create proper parking spaces along the length of Elm Grove which would make everyone happy and encourage safe and unselfish parking. The residents were offered some sort of a solution by the council earlier this year and this was rejected, but I have know idea why.

You've hit the nail on the head with the bus fares too. A cheap £2.00 go anywhere ticket would increase bus usage massively. The trouble is that since the buses were deregulated in the 80's we have private companies running bus routes throughout the UK which means putting profit before service and high prices for bus fares.

 

[surrey jim]

http://www.theargus.co.uk/news/1425...nd_fails_to_combat_air_pollution/?ref=mr&lp=3

A £4 MILLION award-winning transport scheme is causing hundreds of motorists to avoid the area and it has not helped to reduce air quality which breaches EU standards, according to a new report.The report by the city council has found that the Lewes Road is suffering pollution problems a year after the scheme's completion and drivers are heading through Woodingdean and Rottingdean instead.
The report blames a “street canyon effect” of close together buildings which is preventing pollutants from escaping while a council spokeswoman said the weather could also affect readings.

Council officers said the effects on safety, air quality and traffic will continue to be monitored and that the full impact of the scheme could only be properly measured after three years.
But some councillors said awards for the scheme were given too early as it is causing huge problems to residents living where traffic is being displaced.
The Brighton and Hove City Council report revealed the number of bus passengers as well as bus reliability and punctuality has increased, as have journeys by bike and by taxi journeys while general traffic has reduced.
Journey times have only increased by around a minute with lowered speed limits partly to blame and less than the five minutes predicted before the scheme’s implementation.
But councillors have taken issue with the report’s authors who claim that alternative routes such as Falmer Road had seen “a negligible increase” in traffic from motorists avoiding Lewes Road.
Falmer Road now accommodates 16,104 more cars per day compared to 15,292 two years ago while Ditchling Road now has more than 500 than in 2013.
The report’s authors also claim that side roads have generally not experienced substantial changes in queuing but morning peak queue lengths in Hollingdean Road have tripled despite the addition of an extra lane.
Concerns have also been raised about the failure of the road changes to bring about a reduction in air quality which continue to exceed EU safety limits.
Rottingdean councillor Mary Mears said: “By certain measures in this report, you would not be able to claim it has been successful.
“Even those figures seem quite a low percentage, in reality at certain times of the day I would say there is a lot more diverted traffic than that.
“And this is not just once a week or once a month, this is constant."
A Brighton and Hove City Council spokeswoman said: "The council will use all the information gathered to look at whether minor changes are needed to improve performance of the Lewes Road scheme."
Martin Harris, Brighton and Hove Buses managing director, warned that air pollution could have increased in Lewes Road if the improvement works had not taken place and more improvements might be seen this year with more low emission buses on the route.

As a bus user along the route my opinion is the times have got worse if anything. Getting from Elm Grove to the bus garage now seems to take much longer than before the works

 

[albion534]

That's because the Green Party were morons

Although the Labour Party are just as bad

 

[Acker79]

As a bus user along the route my opinion is the times have got worse if anything. Getting from Elm Grove to the bus garage now seems to take much longer than before the works

Isn't that the only part of lewes road where there isn't a a bus lane (at least until the gyratory)?


Also, from that article:

The Brighton and Hove City Council report revealed the number of bus passengers as well as bus reliability and punctuality has increased, as have journeys by bike and by taxi journeys while general traffic has reduced.​

Shoddy.

 

[Postman Pat]

Coldean lane is at standstill between 8-9am and 5-6pm. Only since Lewes Road changes.

 

[Ninja Elephant]

It's a fantastic journey by bike, which really is all the Greens were concerned about - so congratulations to them.

 

[vegster]

It's obviously impossible to apportion blame for a double near-miss like this but my first stab would be to question why the pedestrian wasn't looking out for turning traffic and, second stab, to ask why you seem to have turned left across a cycle lane, without giving way to the cyclist who was using it.

The pedestrian was probably stumbling along with his headphones on clutching his required pint of Costa Coffee oblivious as usual. The Cyclist should have been trying to read the road ahead and starting to brake when he saw the car in front of him turning left and possibly going to stop or collide with a Zombie pedestrian.
As is customary when driving in a line of vehicles and one of them indicates left and starts to brake, vehicles behind slow down so avoid concertinering in to each other. Cyclists have brakes for this purpose too although they are seldom used at junctions and red lights.

 

[surrey jim]

It's a fantastic journey by bike, which really is all the Greens were concerned about - so congratulations to them.

It makes the journey around Vogue Gyratory [northbound] safer but as for the rest of it I never had any issues before, and personally I don't find the cycle lanes are any safer /easier to use now.

 

[BensGrandad]

I do not use the roads of Brighton during rush hours but it has always struck me as strange that they have the bus lane on the A23 going into Brighton but why they dont change it and move the traffic over 1 lane to give a bus lane leaving Brighton during afternoon rush hour. I assume the same with Lewes Rd why do you need a bus lane going into Brighton at 4.30pm. I suppose it is possible that those lanes are busy at all times but I haven't seen evidence of it.

 

[Ninja Elephant]

It makes the journey around Vogue Gyratory [northbound] safer but as for the rest of it I never had any issues before, and personally I don't find the cycle lanes are any safer /easier to use now.

How can you not find them easier to use? And how are they not safer?!

 

[surrey jim]

How can you not find them easier to use? And how are they not safer?!

as an example cycling past preston barracks, busses and taxis come by very close, and travel much faster than traffic used to [IMO well above the 30MPH limit]. Also cycling 'behind' the bus stops many people walk straight off the bus and step out into the cycle lanes without looking. A particularly bad area for this is by Sainsburys,

 

[Lord Bracknell]

I do not use the roads of Brighton during rush hours but it has always struck me as strange that they have the bus lane on the A23 going into Brighton but why they dont change it and move the traffic over 1 lane to give a bus lane leaving Brighton during afternoon rush hour. I assume the same with Lewes Rd why do you need a bus lane going into Brighton at 4.30pm. I suppose it is possible that those lanes are busy at all times but I haven't seen evidence of it.

The buses going into Brighton from the two universities on Lewes Road are incredibly busy. I've regularly found that the high-capacity bendi-buses are full when they reach the Mithras House bus stop, travelling south, at that time. And that's with buses running every two minutes.

 

[halbpro]

As a bus user along the route my opinion is the times have got worse if anything. Getting from Elm Grove to the bus garage now seems to take much longer than before the works

Really? I've found it much quicker coming from Falmer. Yes, it slows between the Garage and Elm Grove, but there's no bus lane there and it's never been particularly fast when traffic is heavy.