Your editorial comment “Don’t give up on the bus lane” (The Argus, August 20) fundamentally misses the point of this whole sorry business.

It’s not an issue of whether or not bus lanes are a good idea – they are – but only when properly planned.

The problem with the A259 Rottingdean-Peacehaven lane is that it could never possibly have worked given the design that has been used.

The road was too narrow to start with, so to remove a lane altogether was always going to lead to twice as many cars using the same lane.

In addition, there are far too many junctions where the bus lane needs to be interrupted, so the buses themselves get caught up in the very traffic that their lane should be helping them avoid.

I have often waited up to ten minutes at Yeomans garage, in Peacehaven, for a number 12 bus to crawl 100 yards into the bus lane because it has been blocked from entering its lane by tailbacks from the next junction – ludicrous.

Why us local people were never adequately consulted over the layout beats me – I’ve even heard a young child observe that the road is too narrow for the scheme to work.

Extending the current layout to Newhaven is asking for disaster, especially if the same design team is used.

This issue nicely allows Brighton Buses off a matter they would rather avoid – what happened to all the express buses we were promised that would run on the new lanes?

I was at a meeting some time ago on Brighton and climate change, in which we were promised new express services from Newhaven, Saltdean and Rottingdean to Brighton city centre and the station.

Until these expresses are introduced, Brighton’s bus service will remain third rate, no matter how many bus lanes are created.

Dr MF Earthey
Ashdown Avenue
Saltdean