Residents Protest Against Brighton's New Temporary Cycle Lanes

Friday, 21 August 2020 14:07

By Charlotte Baker @Ch4rtweets

A group of protestors have gathered outside Hove Town Hall today (Friday), calling for councillors to rethink Brighton's new temporary cycle lanes.

People with whistles, pots and pans, signs and other sound equipment congregated outside the the building in Norton Road, just after 1pm.

Vehicles, including taxis, also drove by sounding their horns.

An event called 'Protest Against B&HCC Cycle Lanes' on Facebook attracted 757 responses.

The organiser, Christopher O'Connor, said:

"The Council have cut our road networks in half.

"Everything - the ambulances, the taxis, the police, all our vital public services are now at a stand still.

"I thought I would get everybody together to show there is something definitely wrong with [the Green Party's] cycle lanes, and if they can't see it we need to show them in person.

"The Old Shoreham Road needs to be reversed, Madeira Drive needs to be open and Kingsway needs to be reversed with the cycle lanes, it is not doing the city any good.

"You can't wake up one day and turn it into 'cycle city' without proper risk assessments and consultation."

The new cycle lanes that have been under the most scrutiny include additional reserved space along the sea front (the A259), and on Old Shoreham Road.

City councillors insist the provisions are in line with government Covid-19 guidelines, to encourage commuters to use sustainable, human-powered transport for regular journeys instead of risking coronavirus transmission on public transport such as buses and trains.

Christopher said the group are planning to protest again next Sunday (30) with more sound equipment, and they will keep doing so until action is taken.

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