[Brighton] Valley Gardens works

[Bulldog]

Few months? I read somewhere(Argus poxy website me thinks!!) thats its more like 2 years!! Might be totally wrong!!

That's correct, 2 years is the time predicted for the section from the church to Edward street. Then, section 3 from Edward street to the pier. Still under discussion at the moment.So maybe 3+ years in total,

 

[Bold Seagull]

If we could turn Brighton into a cycling mecca I'd be delighted, but yesterday I cycled to the Amex from Mile Oak, up and down a load of hills in Hove, Fiveways and Hollingdean ... and afterwards I was absolutely bloody knackered. It's going to be tough to convince loads more out of their cars

That is a tough ride, well done. Think of the calories you burned!

You learn a lot more about the topography of a place on a bike, and you work your routes out accordingly.

Now, If I had been you, I would have gone Mile Oak to Old Shoreham Road, passed BHASVIC, through Preston Circus, Lewes Rd, Amex. You'd have only had a couple of bumps to deal with.

On the return, the Preston Circus route is a bit of a bitch because the hill up to BHASVIC is a brute. So if I'm not in the mood for that, it's down to the sea front then make your way back to Mile Oak via Hove Lagoon.

Longer of course, but on a bike you have to measure your journey by elevation as well as distance.

 

[Gwylan]

and yet every city that has knocked back on car dependency has seen increase in tourism and profitability.

Yep, there have been countless studies showing that businesses in areas that have gone car-free have seen an increase in turnover.
There may be reasons of objecting to pedestrianisation of parts of the town centre, but its effect on business isn't one of them.

 

[Stat Brother]

[tweet]733684654902018049[/tweet]

 

[Nitram]

So you travel to and fro to Woodingdean on a regular basis?

Thankfully not unless I have to, sounds rather cut off from what you say.

 

[wakeytom]

[tweet]733684654902018049[/tweet]

Staff on strike again hence no trains moving?

 

[Stat Brother]

I'm in favour of more cycle and bus lanes .... though this should be a part of a city-wide joined up transport strategy.

Cutting car lanes from 4 to 2. Ok there's the stick for drivers. where's the carrot to get into or around town in other ways?

If we could turn Brighton into a cycling mecca I'd be delighted, but yesterday I cycled to the Amex from Mile Oak, up and down a load of hills in Hove, Fiveways and Hollingdean ... and afterwards I was absolutely bloody knackered. It's going to be tough to convince loads more out of their cars

E-bikes are very much the latest 'thing' in the industry.
If they are out of your price range now, they won't be in a couple of years time.

I've paid very little attention to ebikes, for obvious reasons, but I just read this review with this thread in mind.



https://www.bikeradar.com/road/gear/category/bikes/electric/product/gtech-ebike-review-52200/


I was still of the impression that ebikes were still big bulky cumbersome things.
By the time these roadworks are finished this bike will be half the price, the technology will be twice as good, available through most/all manufacturers and cycling to the AMEX a piece of wee-wee.

The only comparison I have to this bike is having previously ridden a belt-drive bike, that is so so smooth.

 

[Bry Nylon]

"Eee, just look at that saddle...be like sitting on a razor blade."

 

[Wardy's twin]

Journey from Woodingdean to Portslade by car 12 mins, Journey from Portslade to Woodingdean by bus was 45 mins plus 6 mins wait time so four times longer. Had I chosen to leave my daughters house 12 mins later it would have been a 40 minute wait for the bus making journey 7 times longer.

Understand the issue but banning/making it impossible for cars is not the answer. A proper transport plan is required which will need public spending.

 

[Bakero]

Journey from Woodingdean to Portslade by car 12 mins, Journey from Portslade to Woodingdean by bus was 45 mins plus 6 mins wait time so four times longer. Had I chosen to leave my daughters house 12 mins later it would have been a 40 minute wait for the bus making journey 7 times longer.

Understand the issue but banning/making it impossible for cars is not the answer. A proper transport plan is required which will need public spending.

Check the live times on the bus app and plan your journey accordingly. It's not that much of a chore, is it? Of course the bus takes longer but you can listen to a podcast or read a book on the way. If more people used the bus, there'd be more of them and less traffic.

 

[Jack Straw]

I worked on the Valley Gardens in the 1980's. They were kept to the highest possible horticultural standards. It all started going downhill when Compulsive Competitive Tendering (CCT), was introduced by the Government in the early '90's. The Council lost the contract for that area to a loss-leader by Serco. This was the start of the "Slash & Burn" era when Council gardening as such went out of the window, which Brighton and Hove are still victims of as we speak, and there's no sign of it ending.
However, after being involved in some of the earlier meetings regarding the Valley Gardens Scheme, I'm optimistic that horticulturally, we may see something quite nice being installed, although the size of the butterflies on the computer-generated images are a bit frightening! As for traffic improvements, we'll just have to wait and see.
I was fanatical about this area and took quite a few photos. My camera wasn't brilliant, and the following photos have been scanned, but you'll get a gist of how the place used to look. The grass was mown every week with a decent mower, leaving "Wemblyesque" stripes. Litter was picked up twice a day and there wasn't a weed to be seen.
Ah, the good old days!

 

[Jack Straw]

There's more!

 

[clippedgull]

[MENTION=259]Jack Straw[/MENTION]

Wonderful photos.

I don't know if it's just my imagination but the floral clock at Palmeira Sq is not as glorious as it once was either.

 

[The Large One]

Astonishing stuff, Jack.

When council cuts come in, this is where community gardens come in, [MENTION=259]Jack Straw[/MENTION]. They're not to the same scale, nor with the same level of professionalism, but you can tell when something has been lovingly cared for, and pride taken in the work.

The Community Garden in Stanford Avenue which I helped set up five years ago (sadly no longer actively involved), is continuing to win civic awards. We've just won a South & South East In Bloom Award, and a regional one within Cultivation Street (a scheme run by one of these gardeners off the telly). We are waiting to hear if we've won the national award.

Proud times.

 

[Jack Straw]

[MENTION=259]Jack Straw[/MENTION]

Wonderful photos.

I don't know if it's just my imagination but the floral clock at Palmeira Sq is not as glorious as it once was either.

Thanks CG. It has gone downhill in my eyes too. There's no money to enrich the soil, there's very few people to look after it, and those that do haven't got the knowledge or more to the point, the fanatisicm which is crucial. All the skilled staff are retiring, and the conveyor belt of new staff only learn on the job from the unskilled people that are left. It's all very sad. When you consider that Brighton and Hove used to have some of the best seasonal floral displays in the country. Now all that's left is the Old Steine in Brighton, which looks a mess, and the Floral Clock in Hove which doesn't look much better. It's all down to limited funds being directed to essential services such as Social Care. Parks and Gardens aren't considered essential and hence became the "Cinderella" of Council Services many years ago now. You can do without flowers, but you can't leave people not buried or cremated!

 

[Jack Straw]

Astonishing stuff, Jack.

When council cuts come in, this is where community gardens come in, [MENTION=259]Jack Straw[/MENTION]. They're not to the same scale, nor with the same level of professionalism, but you can tell when something has been lovingly cared for, and pride taken in the work.

The Community Garden in Stanford Avenue which I helped set up five years ago (sadly no longer actively involved), is continuing to win civic awards. We've just won a South & South East In Bloom Award, and a regional one within Cultivation Street (a scheme run by one of these gardeners off the telly). We are waiting to hear if we've won the national award.

Proud times.

I often pass an admiring glance when I pass "Your garden" as I call it. Community gardens are popping up all over the place, all kept to a very high standard due to the people involved having that fanatisicm. I notice there's a nice one opposite in Albion Street by the newly built Brookmead flats.

 

[blue-shifted]

Thanks very much for the photos

It’s only when you see them you realise the alarming scale of the decline then shudder to think of what’s to come.

It never fails to confuse me. It’s not like there was no pressure on public funds at local or national level at the time those photos we’re taken (there was probably 3m unemployed to pay for) so if we could do it then, why not now? Maybe we’ve got to get out of the habit of voting for the parties that promise us the biggest tax cuts (that’s not a dig at any party, it’s a dig at our increasingly individualistic culture). I for one would be happy to pay a good chunk extra in tax to live in a city which looked like it did in those photos.

Well done to all those currently giving their time to the upkeep of our city. More will have to do the same.

 

[Stat Brother]

It would look even better with a motorway built straight through the middle.

 

[Medwayseagull]

It would look even better with a motorway built straight through the middle.

The road to nowhere - a bit like your posts.

 

[dejavuatbtn]

Ah, those were the days. Great gardens and good photos. Thanks for the reminder of how things used go be.