Academic Jam – bus and cycle lanes along Lewes Road
Bus and cycle lanes along Lewes Road mean short-term pain but for a long-term gain
The current roadworks at the junction of Coldean Lane and the Falmer end of Lewes Road are giving drivers a taste of what’s to come. Within a matter of months work could start on taking out a lane from the dual carriageway on each side of one of the main routes in and out of Brighton. It’s jammed today and it’ll be jammed tomorrow. Well, during the rush hour at least.
Bus lanes and 6ft wide cycle lanes are being laid instead. The rationale includes the assertion that the opening of the A27 Brighton Bypass led to a significant reduction in traffic down Lewes Road, aka the A270. As a result the dual carriageway almost certainly does operate below capacity for much of the day.
Another part of the rationale is that more people use the bus or cycle along Lewes Road than pretty much anywhere else in Brighton and Hove. Obviously, the seafront attracts a fair number of cyclists and Western Road is never short of a bus. But the high concentration of students and university buildings along what is sometimes called the Academic Corridor has encouraged bus use and cycling. The case for a dedicated bus lane and cycle lane is probably stronger here than in most places.
Nor can anyone accuse the council of failing to consult. More than 30,000 packs were sent to homes and businesses. More than 4,000 people replied. The percentage may seem low but the sheer volume has to be among the best responses to a council consultation in recent memory. And fears among some people that students would respond in bulk and distort underlying local sentiment appear to have been misplaced.
The questions in the consultation addressed longstanding concerns, in particular, about Cemetery Junction – or the Vogue Gyratory as it’s better known. The death of trainee teacher Jo Walters in 2010 is a reminder of the very real dangers facing those riding bikes. It shouldn’t have been too hard to encourage a healthy majority of respondents to endorse the case for change. Although significant reservations about worsening congestion around the gyratory have persuaded the council to pause, listen and think again for six months. This is a healthy and appropriate response.
Concerns over parking have been flagged up, including in a petition. Again, the Green administration has made concessions. Concerns over local cost are harder to argue. The scheme has attracted £4.2 million funding from the government, and a related push to boost bus use by Brighton and Hove Buses, the universities and local health chiefs has brought in another £2.25 million from central government coffers.
There are still some anxieties that the changes will not do anything to resolve the congestion at the bottom end of Lewes Road, between the Vogue Gyratory and Elm Grove. Modest changes have helped with the flow of traffic. But the air is still sometimes less than savoury with exhaust fumes. As with the crossroads at Rottingdean, this is not an easy bottleneck to clear.
Criticism from the Greens’ political rivals has been relatively muted. And it’s not hard to suspect that Labour and the Conservatives might easily have been won over by officials putting forward a scheme such as this. They might have tacked and trimmed a bit but the basic thrust of the scheme has fairly broad support.
The proof is yet to come. Albion match days will be testing. And of course, the construction phase will be testing even if the work is carefully scheduled. But afterwards it will be impressive if the momentum towards cycling and taking the bus in this part of town really does pick up. The aim is for this to be part of a bigger regeneration of a rundown road and some shabby streets behind. As a first step we should wish it well whichever form of transport we usually choose.
