Environment chief on Brighton and Hove's new cycle lanes

Long-time resident, councillor and cyclist Pete West believes the schemes are a stepping stone to a more active, safer and environmentally-friendly city, which have shown early signs of success.

Detractors have urged Brighton and Hove City Council to slam on the breaks to assess the impact of the road changes.

But Green councillor West, now at the handlebars of the increasingly-powerful environment committee, says the coronavirus pandemic has forced both local and national government to “think differently” to address challenges.

The former mayor, who used to ride around the city with his assistant on a tandem bike, believes the Government cycling grants and increased bicycle use are a “silver lining” to the pandemic and is urging residents to get behind the schemes.

He said: “I appreciate that there are some people who feel that this has become an impediment, have become reluctant to the change and question the wisdom, but my hope is that they will come with us.

“It’s not an all or nothing, it’s not that everyone has to cycle, it’s about getting that balance right.”

Current schemes - lanes on the A259 and Old Shoreham Road, and the continued closure of Madeira Drive – have proved controversial and a no confidence in Brighton and Hove City Council petition has been signed by more than 2,000 people.

The Greens, like the previous Labour administration, are working in tandem with the Conservative government to create space for cyclists and pedestrians.

Cycling levels went up by 300 per cent as road traffic steeply fell during lockdown.

In response, the Government created a pool of money to improve infrastructure.

Brighton and Hove City Council, which unanimously declared a climate emergency in 2019, successfully won funding of about £600,000 and is currently applying for £2.6m in the second round.

“There are other councils that are not showing the level of ambition that we are and they will lose out because of that,” Cllr West said.

“The restriction of social distancing heavily impacted public transport and the Government has rightly identified that cycling can fill that hole.”

It is hoped that the new infrastructure will safeguard the local economy and provide an alternative mode of transport for the 40 per cent of households that do not have cars.

Responding to your concerns 

IN a virtual sit-down with the new environment chief, The Argus’s Jody Doherty-Cove relayed the concerns of readers in this Q&A with Councillor Pete West. 

Many people across the city are not against cycle lanes, they are against where they are and how they have been implemented, how would you respond to that?

Well, these cycle lanes are temporary, the Government has made that very clear and they’ve allowed us to short-circuit the usual procedures to enable us to get on with it urgently in an emergency situation. 

I appreciate that for some people this has become an impediment for them to get around - they’re reluctant and question the wisdom of this, but I hope that they could come with us on this journey. 

It is one of the many challenges the Covid situation has brought us. 
We have to think differently and give things a try. The Government recognises the contribution that cycling can make. 

We are hoping that these temporary measures will become a stepping stone towards being able to build proper cycling and walking networks in the city. 

This is a good opportunity to try things out, but I want to reassure everyone that nothing is permanent – there has been talk of Trojan horses. 

Have you considered that in the winter months, people who have been using cycling as an alternative form of transport may head back into the cars, instead of facing the wind and rain?

You only get a few days where it is a proper wash-out.

There are not many days and you get hardier. 

I hear that one of the things that people really like about lockdown is that it allowed them to experience the environment a bit more. 

Our natural environment is out there, it’s not inside things. 

Yes I do appreciate it, but I think that people should give it a go now and see how they get on.  

Visitors to the city are part of the lifeblood of the economy. Many will be coming from places too far to cycle. Has there been any analysis of how these cycle lanes may affect visitors travelling to the city by car? 

I think for the changes that we are doing at the moment, there is no exception [of this]. 

We are monitoring, but we were asked by government to make these changes.

When you do something in a hurry like this, there are going to be unknowns. 

We are surrounded by unknowns at the moment, so I don’t think that we should be paralysed by them.

People should consider very carefully how they choose to travel to Brighton and Hove and to think whether, at the moment, travelling to Brighton and Hove is the right thing to do.

We have too many people on the beach to maintain social distancing. 

People could consider using our shared bikes, or park further out, use our buses.

That might save someone from sitting in a long queue.

We are losing parking revenue which funds concessionary bus passes, a statutory duty for the council. Where is the money going to come from to fill this hole?

The budget for the council is in a very poor state because of Covid in a number of different ways. 

There is an expected loss of income which has been published from the closure of Madeira Drive. 

The council decided that it was important to give people the choice to exercise and social distance during the lockdown. 

People have been complaining of traffic congestion on the A259 and question why the seafront needs two cycle lanes. That said, why are the new lanes a good idea?

The existing cycle lane is very popular and part of the national cycle lane network. 

The difficulty is that for much of it, there is massive conflict with pedestrians who are walking along the prom. It is not adequate. 

We had been looking at options to reallocate some of the space on the A259 to permanently create better cycling facilities and take away that conflict with pedestrians. 

The Government initiative on temporary cycle lanes has given us an opportunity to move that forward. 

From the frontage of the businesses to the railing of the prom, there’s a lot of space there which is severed. 

What we want is to reconsider what traffic is coming through that space.

So are we moving towards having cycle lanes and public transport on that road and moving traffic somewhere else?

That would certainly be my vision for it. 

Lots of other tourist destinations across the county have been catching up a bit, you’ve got to stay ahead of the game. 

I think - particularly that stretch along the front end - it needs to be a lot nicer and needs to work a lot harder.

People do not feel like their concerns are being listened to and adapted to by the council. For example, disabled access in Madeira Drive and bays on the A259.

I think what people need to understand is that there is so much going on that we are absolutely flat-out. 

Im in touch with Badge and Possibility People (disability campaigners)and I want to hear what they’re saying and see if we can put it right. 

It’s entirely to be expected that things will not be perfect because we are doing things in a massive hurry and I hope that people can bear with us a little bit. 

We are not in normal times and we are trying to do our best. 

The worry is that because the council is pushing forward at break-neck speed, things are not being considered in the way they should be. People worry that the consideration is coming after the scheme has already been implemented.

I think that we have learnt very quickly about how we can make those improvements. 

I don’t think there’s much mileage in the argument that effectively says should we spend two years talking about how we are going to do this - that was not the ask. 

The ask was how do we get people moving again so we can get the economy going again as we come out of lockdown.  

A lot of people may think that the vision you are proposing sounds appealing, however they feel that the new measures are leading to traffic jams and congestion across the city. What would be your message to them?

People should think about how best they can make their journey in the circumstances as there may be people who cannot make that choice. 

The wider ambition in all of this is to address carbon emissions, the city has declared a climate emergency and has set the ambition of being carbon neutral by 2030, which is no small thing.

What is happening next?

THE current schemes have been funded by a successful Tranche One bid for cash from the Government. 

These include the cycle lane on the A259 seafront road between the Brighton Palace Pier and Fourth Avenue, Hove. 

The Old Shoreham Road cycle lane was also funded under this bid.
Now the council has applied for more funding to increase the number of lanes in a Tranche Two bid.

The extension of the current cycle lane on Old Shoreham Road, Hove, from Hangleton Road to the western border with West Sussex was proposed. 

However, a section of this has been vetoed by the Adur leader. 
The council also proposes widening an existing cycle lane from the A23 London Road, from Stanford Avenue to north of Church Hill, including the Stanford Avenue arm of the A23 gyratory.

It has proposed the extension of the westbound segregated cycle lane on the A259 seafront road from Fourth Avenue and the city’s western boundary.
As well as this, a new cycle lane on the A259 Marine Parade between the Palace Pier and Duke’s Mound has also been proposed.