Councillors to consider transport changes to aid Covid-19 recovery and support active travel
Plans for a range of measures to support Brighton & Hove’s continued recovery from Covid-19 and encourage active travel across the city will be considered by the council’s Environment, Transport and Sustainability Committee on Tuesday 23 June.
The proposals contain a number of schemes to increase walking and cycling provision in the short, medium and long term.
Since the start of the pandemic, the way people have travelled around the city has changed. More people have chosen to walk and cycle for short journeys and, partly due to an increase in home working, we have seen fewer vehicles on our roads.
We have already implemented a number of temporary schemes to support the reopening of retail businesses while encouraging people to physically distance, including the widening of some footways and signage across the city.
Among the proposals that will be considered are:
• Madeira Drive to remain closed for a further temporary period to motor vehicles, from the Palace Pier to the bottom of Duke’s Mound, with access arrangements for businesses reviewed
• Implement proposed temporary cycle lane improvements along the A259 between the Palace Pier and the western boundary of the city and continue to assess more permanent options for this key route
• Implement a series of measures to restrict through traffic and provide space for pedestrians in the Old Town (The Lanes) area, including closing Black Lion Street and Ship Street at the northern ends
The full list of recommendations can be found here
These proposed changes have been identified following the development of an Interim Covid-19 Response Local Cycling and Walking Infrastructure Plan (LCWIP), designed to ensure a strategic and evidence-based approach to the work. The plan was commissioned following agreement at the Policy and Resources Urgency Sub-Committee on 14 May.
All recommendations would be subject to securing appropriate levels of external funding, principally the government’s Emergency Active Travel Fund.
If approved and implemented, residents would be given the opportunity to have their say on them, as well as changes already made, via an online survey.
Anne Pissaridou, chair of the Environment, Transport and Sustainability Committee said: “We are continuing to react to the ‘new normal’ where fewer people are travelling by car and more of us are walking and cycling.”
“Measures we’ve already put in place are supporting the reopening of retail in a Covid-19 secure environment and encourage active travel around the city, but these proposals will move us to a new level.
“Reallocating space for cycling and walking will have a lasting impact on our health, but also support our desire to be a carbon neutral city by 2030.”
