Plans to improve walking and cycling infrastructure in Shoreham have been branded ‘unambitious, piecemeal and wasteful’ by a group of councillors.
Earlier this summer, West Sussex County Council announced that it would be taking forward proposals to install improved crossings at a number of Upper Shoreham Road junctions as part of an Active Travel scheme.
The new crossings would be designed to ‘complement any future cycle lane scheme’.
Once complete, the council then plans to look at a revised cycleway scheme to run from St Nicolas Lane to Park Avenue, connecting into the Middle Road corridor.
A spokesman said: “This would aim to avoid areas where on-street parking loss would be contentious.”
But the route did not sit well with Labour and Green members at Adur District Council, who would prefer to see it run along Upper Shoreham Road from the Steyning Road (A283) junction to the Holmbush roundabout.
In an open letter, Catherine Arnold (Lab, St Mary’s), Gabe Crisp (Green, St Nicolas), Dan Flower (Lab, Southlands), Jeremy Gardner (Lab, St Mary’s), Julian Shinn (Green, St Nicolas) and Debs Stainforth (Lab, Southlands) said they were ‘dismayed and disappointed’ with the proposals.
The letter said: “We remind officers and representatives that [Upper Shoreham Road] has been repeatedly identified as a primary route for improved infrastructure and we demand that this be actively pursued.”
It added: “They are building in years of delay in their current approach rather than taking the much-needed opportunity to enhance the safety and environment of this vital connecting route for the people of Shoreham by Sea.”
In 2020, Upper Shoreham Road was one of six areas in the county where pop-up cycle schemes were installed, before being removed months later.
During a recent council meeting, leader Neil Parkin said the route had not been ruled out.
He added that his cabinet colleagues Angus Dunn and Kevin Boram – who also serve on the county council – were ‘on it somewhat ferociously’.
But he pointed out that it was ‘a tricky situation’ as some residents living along the route were not keen to see it return.
A county council spokesman said: “We remain determined to continue to explore the potential for a cycleway scheme for Upper Shoreham Road, although it is only right to also point out that our investigations have revealed that even this revised scheme would cost approximately £6.5million.
“This is due to the extensive resurfacing and drainage works that would be required.
“However, we will speak to Active Travel England in the autumn to explore the potential to progress a cycling scheme for Upper Shoreham Road in a Phase Two of improvement proposals.”
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