Agenda item - Written questions from members of the public.

A list of public questions deferred from the meeting held on the 23 July to the Special Meeting are listed.

30.1         The Mayor reported that 5 written questions had been received from members of the public and invited Mr. Shepherd to and address the meeting.

30.2         Mr. Shepherd asked the following question; CovId-19 reduces peak bus capacity by 1173 passengers. Its temporary bus lane extends the A259 Greenways’ queue past Roedean Road, causing additional pollution. 100 people forced to switch to cars further extends this queue past Black Rock, obstructing emergency services’ eastbound access.

What figures for queues, delays and any increases due to the temporary bus lane and to extra traffic, did officers use planning for this CovId-19 Emergency and determining the bus lane would be beneficial, checking its viability with Emergency Services and what plans are in place to provide extra buses for longer distance commuters to reduce this problem?

30.3         Councillor West replied, as more people can thankfully now go back to work, we are very aware that the city could experience significant congestion and a rise in car journeys unless measures are taken to provide facilities for an increase in alternative sustainable options.  Extending the priority on the A259 will ensure that public transport, especially the bus, will remain an attractive option for people to use.  We have wanted to see bus travel return to its pre-pandemic levels at the earliest opportunity, because we know how reliant many people who live, and work here are on it; especially those people without access to a private vehicle.  The city’s bus companies have been doing all they can to accommodate that in a safe and responsible way from the outset too and I am very glad we are seeing bus journey levels increasing to 50%.  I am therefore really pleased to see that the Government has now begun to recognise the benefits of people returning to public transport, if they need to travel. 

Priority lanes like these can be used by bus, coach and taxi passengers, and motorcyclists so they can have a wide range of benefits and provide more consistent journey times.  That is why this proposal has been included in the Urgency Response Transport Action Plan that was agreed by committee in June.  This proposal was also identified in the council’s 2018 Bus Network Review, so it is not a new idea.  That citywide review was based on supporting traffic data and analysis, and it can be found on our website.   

To respond to the Government, we have had to work at an unprecedented pace to identify, design and deliver active and sustainable travel measures for the city.  The detailed design of this proposal is currently being progressed and Sussex Police and local bus operators have been involved as part of this process.  That dialogue will continue, especially with bus operators about the level of service provision along the route.  Should it ever be necessary, the priority lane can also be used by our emergency services when attending an incident.

I appreciate that you have calculated some figures based on your own assumptions of what may happen on the A259 as the city and its residents begin to recover from the pandemic, but as we all know from our own personal experiences and choices, there is a lot of uncertainty at the moment.  This influences if, or how, we actually change our travel choices and behaviours.  These include whether some people will travel at all, or will they continue to have to, or choose to, work from home for example.  If they do travel on our roads, will they avoid the usual, busier times?

The priority lane will enable some of those choices to be made.  It will be introduced using an Experimental Traffic Order and this allows the scheme to be introduced quickly and gives members of the public six months to comment and make any representations.  If these include objections which cannot be resolved, then the future of the proposed scheme will be discussed and decided by the Environment, Transport & Sustainability Committee at a future date.

30.4         Mr. Shepherd asked the following supplementary question; I gratefully support the management of the A 259 and as he well knows I am a great supporter trying to make our sustainable bus services get the best deal for all our people. However, I have to say that I do not feel he has been correctly advised on some matters by the officers so my actual supplementary question is your response does not say how you will help out of town commuters cope with their buses having no spare seats and their roads being over loaded close to grid lock nor did it show that removing vehicle queuing space at Greenways were properly assessed for its safety and grid lock potential. Do you agree that the council's response for this Covid-19 emergency must consider the needs of the A259 bus commuters and do you further agree that such plans should be prepared for public scrutiny within 4 weeks, that being with a history of misunderstanding about the A 259 and this specific queue.

30.5         Councillor West replied; I will provide you with a proper response but am not adequately able to do so at the moment.

30.6         The Mayor thanked Mr. Shepherd for his questions and invited Mr. Trangmar to address the meeting.

30.7         Mr. Trangmar asked the following question; Last November residents presented a petition to ETS about Bristol Gardens in East Brighton being used as a rat run.

A consultation was promised in the spring. Can you please confirm that this has been rescheduled and will still take place as this road is increasingly dangerous for pedestrians and cyclists now that COVID restrictions are being lifted?

30.8         Councillor West replied, This location was identified in the 2020/21 Interim Local Transport Plan (LTP) programme for improvement this year. Unfortunately, the delivery of the interim LTP programme has been put on hold so that we can focus on the delivery of the COVID19 Transport Action Plan, which is very responsive to the current situation and is very much occupying all transport officers time. An update on the action plan and how this will impact on the Interim LTP programme will be bought to ETS in September.

It is our intention that all identified schemes will to taken forward at some stage but it is not possible to confirm when this will take place until after the prioritisation process is complete, I appreciate that is a technical and complex answer for you but I am sure you appreciate the challenging situation we are in.

30.9         Mr. Trangmar asked the following supplementary question; can you provide an assurance that any proposals will form part of the road traffic Master plan for East Brighton and surrounding areas and this takes into account future developments such as the Black Rock gas site, the Marina residential development and Black Rock swimming site because importantly they all need to be taken into account in any proposals for Bristol Gardens?

30.10      Councillor West replied; I will consult officers and get a written response to you about that.

30.11      The Mayor thanked Mr. Trangmar for his questions and invited Mr. Jones to address the meeting.

30.12      Mr. Jones asked the following question; The community of Roedean, Roedean School and the gateway to the National Park have no footpath or cycle lane connecting to the City.  Some walk alongside dangerous and fast-moving traffic on Roedean Road others access the hazardous and overgrown A259 pathway.  The elderly, disabled and young people must leave Roedean by car.  Last month BHCC turned down 3 needed family homes on Roedean Road on grounds of road safety.  (BH2020/00971).  A foot and cycle path on Roedean Road are essential to the safe development of this community.  Does the Council agree that this footpath is essential, and will they prioritise it?

30.13      Councillor West replied, Pedestrian and cycle safety and enabling access to the national Park are certainly matters that myself and my fellow councillors take very seriously. There are a number of locations around the city where similar circumstances unfortunately exist, and we need to see that there is an improvement. The Council is currently developing its local Cycling and Walking Infrastructure Plan for which there is a huge amount of excitement about the prospect of that and what it will be able to achieve, and I can confirm that your comments and requests about pedestrianisation and cycling issues have been noted by the officers and will be taken into account as part of that ongoing work. When assessing potential footway improvements, factors such as need to  re-construct road surfaces and drainage and divert and lower underground services and whether there is generally enough space to do things all need to be taken into account. So, what in some ways can look like a very simple request can in fact  be a very major undertaking. All these works have to be considered amongst all the other requests for works to be done so that an overall privatisation can be determined for what can be achieved for what is most needed. With, always, the budget that we have available at the time, so I do hope that when everything is looked at together it will be possible for the council to make improvements as your community is requesting. I am not personally able to make promises at this time it will be something for the committee to discuss the full range of matters that are before us. 

30.14      Mr. Jones asked the following supplementary question; may I ask about time scales because these things are important and it is important there is an accountability back to the community from just 190 homes we have 236 signatures on the petition, so I most significant bit of town, so may I please ask when we will next hear from Brighton & Hove city council with some outcomes from this question?

30.15      Councillor West replied; we are working with officers in developing this plan. There will be a full consultation city wide for all communities to contribute to. I do agree with you, I think that you have a very strong expression of concern from your local community and I am sure that will be taken very seriously when we look at everything together. The Plan will be considered by councillors later in the year but at the moment we are in this rather ‘crisis’ position and normal schedules have been somewhat put aside so bear with us will happen.

30.16      The Mayor thanked Mr. Jones for his questions and invited Mr. Wilson to address the meeting.

30.17      Mr. Wilson asked the following question; Thousands of cyclists, pedestrians and dogs travel along the Undercliff between the Marina and Saltdean every day. We are getting to a situation where it is becoming a Health and Safety issue.

Please would the Council introduce more measures to prevent the minority of cyclists from speeding and spoiling it for the rest of us, and also provide bike racks on the Saltdean Seafront?

30.18      Councillor West replied, I do appreciate your concerns about unsafe behaviour displayed by a minority of people and I am very keen that we create a culture of respect on our roads and within our shared spaces so that all may feel safe and welcome and at their ease when getting around. And when I was in the Mayoral Chair, I actually tried to get a debate going on this very subject I called together a number of stake holders in the city involved in transport to try and get that kind of conservation going. We are aware that there have been concerns about congestion along the under cliff it is not a new phenomenon and have seen both before and during lockdown as more people have been taking exercise and using the route to access work and amenities.  Officers across our Transport, Seafront and Communications teams have been working together to implement measures to improve the situation and to promote responsible behaviour by all users.

Works to date have include the installation of 12 additional large ‘pedestrian priority’ floor stickers along with new temporary barriers to slow cyclists on the approach to the Café at Ovingdean. We will also soon be installing additional ‘Cyclists Dismount’ signage at this location to further enforce the need for pedestrian priority. Supporting the need for pedestrian needs is especially important and we will continue to monitor the effectiveness of these measures and further action will be taken as appropriate. You have raised the question of whether or not speed limits might be applied and that is certainly something we can also ask the officers to consider as things go forward. I am glad to say also  that your request for additional cycle paths has been passed on to the  appropriate  team and they will assess the situation as required.

30.19      Mr. Wilson asked the following supplementary question; I would like the Council policy decision on something that is the fastest growing segment in transport in the UK at the moment. Which is electric bikes and electric scooters. Now, we are all seeing every day more and more electric bikes that are travelling on the under cliff and on pathways. These bikes can go up to a speed of 35 miles per hour, we are seeing more and more of them, it is the fastest selling product in Halfords at the moment, and then we have a huge issue with electric scooters. They are totally illegal on British roads, on pathways, on footpaths at the moment. We need a policy decision for these modes of transport.

30.20      Councillor West replied; I know that electric bikes legally are restricted to only adding power to what you are doing to 16 miles per hour you find it quite difficult unless you have a down slope to go much faster because it is a heavy beast. E-scooters there are trials and consultations going on around the country, the Government is looking at various scenarios but there is a general understanding that high speeds on these scooters can present considerable danger to people. I think the jury is out on what we are going to get but as a Council we have to respond to the legislative position. Your points are noted and again it comes back down to asking everyone to be more responsible whether they are on a bike, a scooter or in motor vehicles.

30.21      The Mayor thanked Mr. Wilson for his questions and invited Mr. Smith to address the meeting.

30.22      The Mayor noted that Mr. Smith was unable to join the meeting and therefore asked Councillor West to ensure a written response was sent to Mr. Smith.

30.23      The Mayor thanked noted that concluded the item.