Brighton and Hove City Council says it will deliver park and ride

Brighton and Hove City Council announced its plans to install a westbound bus lane in Marine Parade between Lower Rock Gardens and the Sea Life Centre to reduce delays on the seafront.

But Brighton and Hove Independents councillor Bridget Fishleigh has urged the council to stop “constantly tinkering” and said she wished the transport department would “focus its efforts on implementing a decent park and ride".

Currently, the city’s park and ride operates from Withdean Sports Complex where drivers can park their cars before getting a 27 bus into the centre of town.

Visitors often criticise the system for not having its own dedicated bus service and taking too long to get to the beach. 

Cllr Fishleigh also said congestion in Marine Parade is only a problem on the sunniest days.

The bus lane would end at the Sea Life Centre

She told The Argus: “In the 19 years that I've been getting the bus into the city from Saltdean, I've never really thought this area was a problem apart from on the sunniest of days when there's loads of traffic across the whole of the city.

“For me the problem is when we hit North Street and the buses can't overtake each other, caused by the council widening the pavements.

Councillor Bridget Fishleigh has called for a decent park and ride (Image: Bridget Fishleigh)

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“I presume that the council wants to introduce this because it knows that Valley Gardens phase three (replacing the roundabout with a junction) will create more congestion and pollution - as predicted by its own external traffic consultants - and it wants to protect the buses from the jams that will be created.

“I wish that the transport department would focus its efforts on implementing a decent park and ride rather than constantly tinkering".

An artist's impression of Valley Gardens phase three which will see the removal of the Aquarium roundabout

In response to Cllr Fishleigh, the council said it would deliver a park and ride.

Councillor Trevor Muten, cabinet member for transport, parking and public realm, said: “We are prioritising a park and ride system to help alleviate the parking pressures and congestion. The council has discussed a park and ride system for over 20 years, but this administration will be the one who delivers it.

“This weekend is a prime example of the need to make the aquarium junction work better for the city. But this is part of a wider issue with transport in the city, an issue that this administration will be the one to finally fix.

“At the aquarium junction, there is no mechanism for traffic management or queue control. We have proposed a priority given to buses and to queued traffic in the new junction design. This will avoid the horrendous congestion on the A23 and A259 and keep our city moving.

“Our £22 million bus service improvement plan will make further improvements to bus services throughout our city. We are making good progress with improving the Clock Tower junction which will improve bus flows through the city centre. With the majority of bus routes passing past the Clock Tower, these improvements will make a big difference to bus passengers across the city."