1. Purpose of the report and policy context

1.1 To receive petitions presented at the public engagement meeting held on the 7 April 2022.

2. Recommendations

2.1 That the committee responds to the petition either by noting it or where it is considered more appropriate, calls for an officer report on the matter.

3. Context and background information

3.1 To receive the following:

Petition

(1) Keep the permanent street closure on Queens Park Rise

We the undersigned petition Brighton & Hove Council to keep the current permanent street closure on Queens Park Rise at its junction with Queens Park Terrace, as part of the School Streets Scheme.

We object to the representation of the consultation carried out by the Council, with regards to this scheme, in the recent decision by the Environment, Transport & Sustainability Committee Addendum report. Having not consulted on the scheme in the first place, the Council then opened a period of consultation (closed 22nd August, 2021) to the public after street closure was implemented. Aside from the fact that this consultation was not widely advertised, and it is commonly known that those against an initiative are more likely to submit their objections, the Committee report mentions that there were a total of 45 objections and 35 comments in support in relation to TRO-19-2020,

however it then fails to outline any reasons given by those in support, but dedicates a page and half to the reasons given by those who objected.

We feel strongly that the voice of those local residents who support the scheme has not been heard or duly reflected upon in the Council’s decision. We would like to take this opportunity to give our reasons why we think the current permanent street closure is a good scheme for the community.

Further information

(2) Bankside Imposition

We the undersigned petition Brighton & Hove Council to Revise the "School Streets" initiative proposed for Westdene. This scheme should be entirely time-of-day effective, limited to the school access, and not a permanent full-time change of the area highway use.

The present "School Streets" proposal is impractical, unnecessary, and excessively intrusive. It goes beyond "School streets" initiative and causes loss of amenity to the residents of Westdene.

(3) Keep the permanent closure by Brunswick school, on Somerhill road

We the undersigned petition Brighton & Hove Council to keep Somerhill Road closed to motorised traffic at all times at the South end junction to Lansdowne Road (so retaining the arrangement in place on 22.10.21 under the street closure scheme). Ref: TRO-18-2020 Brunswick Primary / Somerhill Road Closure

We believe the closure has very positively transformed Somerhill Road to a much quieter, safer and cleaner street. The closure has slowed vehicles down and reduced the rat run traffic of people using the street to avoid traffic lights in Holland Road. In particular, the improvement for

safer crossing at the Lansdowne Road junction (previously a difficult one with low visibility) has been massive. That closure benefits not only the residents and the Brunswick Primary community but also the many people on foot, cycles, mobility aids and vehicles using it. A lot of

these people go along or cross Somerhill Road to reach St Ann’s Well Gardens and the many schools and nurseries in the area at different times during the day, from the very early morning to the evening, making a permanent closure a useful tool to make the street more pleasant and safer.

Further Information

(4) Traffic Gridlock Hove Park

We the undersigned petition Brighton & Hove Council to review the road network in Hove Park Ward and bring forward proposals to reduce congestion.

In the next few years traffic in Hove Park Ward will increase dramatically due to major developments in the area. It has been estimated that many roads will see an increase of between 30% to 60%

Roads in the ward are already heavily congested causing huge problems for Brighton and Hove residents and visitors.

One of the main access/ entrance routes into and out of Hove is Snakey Hill ( King George V1 Avenue ) This road is already severely congested resulting in vehicles being forced to gain access to the bypass on adjacent minor roads that were never designed for the number of vehicles currently using them. The increase in traffic over the next few years will make this problem much worse.

(5) Ditchling Road/Coldean Lane Traffic Control

We the undersigned petition Brighton & Hove Council to Install traffic lights on the junction between Ditchling Road and Coldean Lane This junction frequently causes queueing traffic of up to half a mile down Ditchling Road, with drivers struggling to turn right onto Coldean Lane from the junction during peak times. Due to poor visibility (as there is frequently also queueing traffic in the right-turn filter lane on Coldean Lane) and time pressure (as queueing cars along Ditchling Road can become impatient and lean on their horns), drivers are forced to make dangerous manoeuvres onto Coldean Lane. Drivers turning right onto Coldean Lane are turning blind into the oncoming traffic that is blocked from view by the queueing vehicles in the filter lane on one side, and the steep hill on the other side.

This has always been an incredibly dangerous and frustrating junction. Traffic lights would make this junction considerably safer for drivers, cyclists and pedestrians, and reduce the severity of queueing traffic at rush hour by allowing traffic turning right to do so easily, no longer inhibiting flow of traffic.

(6) Save Our Starlings

Brighton is famous for its iconic murmuration of starlings over the pier each winter, and people travel from far and wide to enjoy this wonderful natural spectacle. But tragically, our starlings are vanishing before our eyes, and Brighton’s murmuration could be lost altogether as soon as 2026. Why? Since the 1940s we have been waging a terrible war against nature. Unsustainable and intensive agriculture is killing our insects. Starlings eat insects (mainly). No insects = no birds.

Together, we, the people of Brighton and Hove, own a large section of the South Downs called The City Downland Estate.

We therefore kindly call on our council, elected members and officers, to immediately implement an outright ban on chemical fertilisers, herbicides, pesticides, fungicides and worming treatments across our entire City Downland Estate. We also call on our council to make concerted efforts to reduce sensory pollution (noise and light), which also badly impacts on wildlife, through education and advocacy in the first instance. Now it is time to make peace with nature and save our starlings.

(7) Remove the Old Shoreham Road from the local cycling plan and do not build any cycling infrastructure along this route

We the undersigned petition Brighton & Hove Council to Remove the Old Shoreham Road from the local cycling plan with immediate effect - and agree not to plan any cycling infrastructure along the route. The 16-month failure of the experimental, underused temporary cycle lane should be enough data for everyone to say that this doesn’t and will never work.

Brighton and Hove city council have recently completed a consultation on their Local Cycling and Walking Infrastructure Plan, which includes priority cycle routes across the city – one of which is along the Old Shoreham Road.

As everyone in the city will know, a temporary cycle lane was installed along the Old Shoreham Road in May 2020 between The Drive and Hangleton Road, as an experimental traffic order due to the Covid-19 pandemic. The cycle lane failed.

Further Information

(8) Permanent Well-Planned and High-Quality Cycle Lanes for the Old Shoreham Road

We the undersigned petition Brighton & Hove Council to install well-planned and high-quality permanent cycle lanes on the Old Shoreham Road so that we and thousands of other residents have the option of getting around by bike. We’re a group of parents and children who used the Old Shoreham Road to get to school, work and leisure activities. We want our children to be able to cycle to school as it’s good for their physical and mental health, it gives them independence, saves time and money and keeps down emissions. We’d also like delivery riders and commuters to get around without risking their lives. This can only happen if the roads are safe. New government policy says ‘cyclists must be physically separated from high volume motor traffic,’ which means protected lanes on roads like the Old Shoreham Road. We want a fast and direct route, as the policy describes.

Further Information

(9) Petition for a proper pedestrian crossing, signage and improved road layout at Hangleton Way Schools Zone

When King’s Secondary School relocated to Hangleton Way in 2019 the Council promised that adequate pedestrian crossings would be installed as well as a School Zone signage and a workable road layout.

However these promises have not been delivered with the 'red patch' crossing point provided inadequate.

Cllr Dawn Barnett and Cllr Nick Lewry are calling for the Council to:

1. Install a proper pedestrian crossing: There are no safe pedestrian crossing points for children. The Council has installed a makeshift crossing point consisting of a coloured red square on the road cornered by four bollards; however this is considered by all the above to be unsafe and not working. There is no signage to indicate that this is a crossing point and it is unclear whether this design is compatible with the Highway Code. Proper pedestrian crossings need to be installed at the site.

2. Improve the School Zone signage: The signage is inadequate throughout and there is little to reflect the fact that this is a school zone, including at the entry point junction of Hangleton Way and Amberley Drive. There are no flashing signs, which are common at other schools in the city. The signage needs to be improved throughout the school zone.

3. Review the current road markings: The road markings are incoherent. The Zig Zag lines cut out before the junction of Hangleton Way and Hardwick Road, which is causing issues on this corner, witnessed on a daily basis by the Premises Manager Stuart Everard. There is a further issue with road markings leading to a cluttered road layout opposite the bus stops. A more coherent approach is required, with a re-look and redesign of road markings for the entire zone. After two years it is a reasonable request that this situation be reviewed.