New Year’s Resolutions and Uber Futures

It’s that time of year when change is in the air, best intentions are dusted off, and commitments are made. Stuff like: spend less, get fit, lose weight, walk or bike more. That sort of thing. Some have probably been broken already, despite the reams of media coverage designed to help overcome the human weaknesses that frequently get in the way of our best intentions. Readers of this blog will not be surprised to hear that the nearest thing to a magic bullet for achieving the resolutions listed above is: don’t own a car. Which for the majority of us, who live in urban areas, is a lot easier than it might seem. And it’s getting even easier: a significant bit of news on Christmas Eve was taxi ride service Uber announcing that it had completed its billionth ride worldwide. A fortuitous figure in the context of its current fund-raising round, the news means that app-driven personalised transport now offers a viable alternative to car ownership in many cities around the world (Uber isn’t the only game in town). Why bother with all the hassle of car ownership when you can summon up a ride at the touch of a smartphone? Closer to home, Uber has been given permission to operate in Brighton and Hove for a year (the normal licence runs for five years, and Uber will have to demonstrate that it follows the usual rules set out for Brighton and Hove taxis). Combined with the existing options of car hire, car clubs, biking (bike hire scheme in the pipeline), walking and public transport, the list of reasons for Brightonians and Hovistas to own a car is getting shorter. Which ought to help with those New Year Resolutions.

“Boris” bikes for Brighton & Hove

After a false start a couple of years back, Brighton and Hove is now going to get a bike hire scheme, according to these reports in the Argus and in the Brighton and Hove News. Great stuff.  Not just because it means those of us who live, work, play and visit Brighton and Hove will be able to get around in a way that’s more easy, less polluting, keeps us fit and avoids the security problems of using your own bike (Brighton is very popular with bike thieves). Worth noting is the comment from Brighton and Hove City Council, which said, “Around 46% of households in the scheme area do not own a car. Yet research has shown a main reason people do not cycle is that they do not own a bike – about half of households do not have one.”  And, looking at things as a behavioural economist, the sight of all those bike hire stations is a major visual prime – it sends a message along the lines of  “here’s another way to get around, another transport option when you need to get from A to B. Now you don’t have to own a bike in order to get on a bike.” Not only that, but bike hire is consistent with the sharing economy that is becoming a major sector in its own right – a self-guided, self-propelled two wheeled version of Uber. 

Which brings us to the major question: what are we going to call our bike hire bikes? Barclays, who sponsored the original bike hire scheme in London, were no doubt less than chuffed with the two wheelers becoming universally known as ‘Boris Bikes.’  Which might be why a major Spanish bank has now assumed the mantle of sponsorship. But I can’t see ‘Santander bikes’ catching on. Bizarrely, it wasn’t even Boris who came up with the idea – he just got lucky by being Mayor of London when the scheme of his predecessor Ken Livingstone went live. So maybe they will just be known in our fair city as  ‘Brighton Bikes.’ After all, we don’t have a mayor. And it seems unlikely that they will be named after the Leader of the Green administration. ‘Kitcat Bikes’? Sorry Jason, it isn’t going to happen.

Brighton and Hove transport infogram

As part of the preparation for LTP4 (Local Transport Plan 4), which Brighton and Hove City Council is required to put in place, council officers have prepared a briefing pack for members of the transport partnership. Here’s a useful infogram from the brief, which sets out some key facts about transport in and around Brighton and Hove. Particularly noteworthy is the fact that 38.2% of households in Brighton and Hove do not own a car or van.

Taming the traffic in Brighton and Hove: 20mph and the Old Town

Brighton and Hove continues the move towards being a 20mph city. There was a big step in June when the Speed Limit Orders, which make the 20mph limit the legal speed limit on those roads where it has been implemented, came into force. The result is that in Hove, every road now has a 20 mph limit with the exception of Portland Road, New Church Road, The Kingsway, Sackville Road and Hove Street. As a result, the city is becoming safer for pedestrians and cyclists - except where the speed limit remains at 30mph (perversely, including the seafront, one of the areas with the highest number of pedestrians).

With Phase 2 of the 20mph rollout complete, the Phase 3 consultation is currently under way. The area covered incorporates Mile Oak, Hangleton, Woodingdean, Rottingdean, Ovingdean and Saltdean as well as a small number of streets south of the Seafront Road in Hove (Medina Terrace area). The specific proposals for each area, including details of which roads are currently proposed for inclusion/exclusion, can be found at www.brighton-hove.gov.uk/20mph. The consultation runs until 6^th October.

A related consultation is the Old Town traffic regulation orders - designed to make the most historic part of Brighton more pedestrian-friendly, reducing the conflict with motor traffic caused by high footfall on narrow pavements. Proposals include access restrictions, and the redesign of Little East Street. Details at: www.brighton-hove.gov.uk/tro-proposals

Look out Brighton & Hove: LTP4 is on the way

Brighton and Hove is required to prepare an LTP, aka, a Local Transport Plan based on a statutory requirement in the 2000 and 2008 Transport Acts. The LTP will set out the objectives, strategies and measures proposed to maintain and improve travel within and around Brighton & Hove for the next 15 years, with the Plan submitted to government in Spring 2015.



Travel and transport is crucial for Brighton & Hove, as for most cities, and the preparation of a new LTP enables forward planning based on transport measures and initiatives that will help ensure that the city of Brighton & Hove remains a place that can continue to grow its economy and meet the many different expectations of people and communities.


The LTP has to be owned by the council as a whole, not just one party, and the plan will be implemented over the lifetime of the next council, not the current one. The plan is created with the Transport Partnership and stakeholders in the city.



These graphics, which show how we get around the city, come from the Brighton and Hove City Council briefing document on LTP4.

Round-up: schemes to make Brighton and Hove more walk-able, cycle-able, and bus-able

This week’s meeting of the Brighton and Hove Transport Partnership included a round-up covering some of the many schemes currently under way aimed at making life better for people who use their feet, a bike, or a taxi, a bus or a train to get around this city. Here’s a brief guide (not exhaustive) with links to the latest information on each scheme, many of which have been funded by grants won from central government:




Ongoing:

Extension of 20mph speed limit.

Finished:

Seven Dials

Nearly finished:

Lewes Road – except for the Vogue Gyratory (on which, see below).


Just started:

Edward Street and Eastern Road – better for people on buses, on bikes and on foot.
Brighton Station Gateway - better for people on trains, on buses, on bikes and on foot.


Starting soon:

Vogue Gyratory – the Gordian knot of the Lewes Road scheme, currently avoided by people on foot or on bikes.
Old Town

Consultation under way:

London Road

Design work nearly completed, start date depends on external funding:

Valley Gardens – from the Old Steine to St. Peter’s Church.

Denying the climate change deniers

When winter storms hit Brighton and Hove, this is normal on Hove seafront.

This isn’t.

And neither is this (didn’t there used to be a bike lane somewhere round here?)

20mph in Brighton and Hove: it ain’t over yet

As per previous blogs, Brighton and Hove will be getting a whole lot more roads where 20mph is the speed limit - great news for pedestrians and cyclists, and should help with the move towards living streets. But interventions by Labour and Conservative councillors mean that some roads have been wrongly excluded: Preston Drove and Stanford Avenue lost out due to a proposal by Labour Councillor Gill Mitchell, supported by other Labour and Conservative councillors, to exclude the roads on the basis that they were "key bus and taxi routes and a majority of residents in both roads having voted against these roads being included within the 20mph scheme." These roads are NOT key routes for buses (which only use sections of the roads or are infrequently scheduled), and the residents’ response rate was only around 20% almost evenly split, for and against. You can sign the petition to save lives and restore some balance to these roads. Remember, it only needs 1,250 signatures to trigger a full council debate.


Further amendments by Conservative Councillor Geoffrey Theobald and the Labour Group had Surrenden Road, Braybon Avenue and an area west of Ditchling Road denied 20 mph speed limits despite overwhelming road safety evidence to support speed reduction, and a community road safety campaign. Also, due to amendments, Portland Road has to await further monitoring.

Thanks to Tony Green and Becky Reynolds from Bricycles for the above links and info www.facebook.com/Bricycles

Brighton Unchained Motorists

There’s a new Facebook site dedicated to Unchained Brighton Motorists. Or, Brighton Unchained Motorists. Sometimes known as BUM. It’s for people who “drive fast, park where they like for free and never give way to other road users.”

The site has photos of unchained vehicles all over Brighton and Hove. Personal favourite? A white van which thinks it’s a bus.

Brighton & Hove Blues and Reds unite: it’s a parking giveaway for Christmas motorists in a triumph for ‘policy based evidence’

Yesterday’s meeting at Hove Town Hall, of the Brighton and Hove City Council Policy and Resources Urgency Sub-Committee (are you still with me?), passed a motion submitted by the city's combined Labour and Conservative opposition designed to provide free parking at selected council car parks on Saturdays in the run-up to Christmas. The meeting started with a series of procedural wrangles about an amendment snuck in to make the deal permanent in the London road car park. This amendment was itself parked, due to a lack of evidence about the potential financial impact.

Oh yes, evidence....the 'evidence' provided by Cllr. Norman for the Blue team and Cllr. Morgan, leader of Brighton’s Red team, consisted, in both cases, of the following: a Google list of towns which offer free parking in the run up to Christmas. Towns like Plymouth, Lancaster and Morecombe. Towns which would kill to have Brighton's 'problem' of over 8 million visitors a year.

Opposing the motion, Jason Kitcat, leader of the Green administration, reeled off a series of facts to counter the assertions from the Red and Blue side. But, as a Minority administration faced with populism masquerading as policy, it didn't matter. As Cllr. Kitcat commented, it was a triumph for ‘policy based evidence.’

And it's business as usual in today's Argus with its front page ''Christmas gift for shoppers.' But no presents for you if you arrive by bike, on foot or on a bus. Merry Christmas!

An Inspector Calls: Steps towards a pedestrian-friendly Brighton Old Town

The Inspector who presided over the Public Enquiry into a scheme proposed by Brighton and Hove City Council to make Brighton Old Town more human-friendly with a series of restrictions on motorised traffic has published his findings. The full Report is available here. The following summary is taken from the BHCC website:

“The Proposals

Following consultation, the council proposed to implement the following measures:
East Street to be closed to traffic between 11am and 7pm each day.
The section of Ship Street between North Street and Duke Street to be closed to traffic from 11am each day.
The section of Prince Albert Street between Ship Street and Black Lion Street to be permanently closed to traffic.
Access to Boyce's Street limited only to those vehicles accessing property on the street.

Public Inquiry

The proposals were the subject of a public inquiry in July 2013, following objections to some of the proposed traffic orders.

After hearing evidence from council officers, residents, businesses, and pedestrian charities, the Inspector supported the proposals to close the northern-most section of Ship Street.  He agreed with council officers that closing the stretch of road will dramatically reduce the amount of traffic in the area - a key objective of the project.

The inspector also supported the proposal for an HGV ban after 11am. This was put forward by many local businesses who told the council that HGVs ruined the character of the area.

The Inspector agreed that proposals to close the middle part of East Street to all traffic between 11am and 7pm each day would help pedestrians and businesses however he highlighted some potential safety issues concerning redirected traffic on Little East Street.  Officers will look again at Little East Street to determine an alternative design for the road that will resolve these issues.  Plans to close a section of Prince Albert Street will also be looked at again once the impact of other measures in the Old Town have been assessed.

A proposal to close Boyce’s Street to through traffic, supported by businesses, residents and Middle Street School, was agreed before the public inquiry and will go ahead as planned.

Implementation of the Ship Street/North Street junction element is scheduled to start in early 2014.”

Letter to the Argus about cars and shoppers

Happy to see my letter challenging the myths about high-spending car-borne shoppers published in today’s Argus alongside one in similar vein from Becky Reynolds of Bricycles. If you’re in the majority of Brighton and Hove residents who don’t read the Argus (more on this later), here’s the letter.

“Chris Todd (letters, 5 November) is right to point out the importance of pedestrians, cyclists and bus users to the prosperity of London Road. Unfortunately, research shows that retailers are prone to over-state the importance of the car, and can massively over-estimate the number of shoppers arriving by car. Further evidence published in the independent report on The Pedestrian Pound commissioned by Living Streets, sets out the business case for better streets and places. Data in the report shows that pedestrians spend up to six times more on our high streets than those who arrive by car. Investing in the public realm – including pedestrianising areas and slowing down the traffic – has been shown to boost footfall and local economies by up to 40%.

It’s time that retailers (and others) gave up asserting that we need to unleash more cars into the city. What’s needed are measures which support those who choose to spend their money without using a car. Turning Brighton and Hove into an unsafe, traffic-choked and pollution-blighted “car friendly” city is not the answer to the challenges facing retailers.

Yours etc”

Brighton & Hove has highest UK bus use outside London.

Thanks to Brighton Area Buswatch for this item, lifted from their October newsletter. In contrast to the rants of Unchain the Brighton Motorist, it includes facts and evidence about transport in Brighton and Hove.
“Official statistics from the Department for Transport confirm for the second year running that Brighton & Hove has the highest bus use per head of population in England (excluding London). During 2012/13, over 45 million journeys were made by people boarding buses in the Brighton & Hove City Council area. This is around 5% higher than the previous year.



By comparison there were 21 million bus users in East Sussex and 26 million in West Sussex. In Portsmouth and in Medway which are both urban areas with similar populations to Brighton & Hove, the figures were 10 million and 9 million respectively.

Nationally there was a decline in bus use of 2.5%. Even London, which has experienced strong growth in recent years (assisted by enormous Government subsidies), recorded a small decline. Once again this is a tribute to our local bus companies who have worked hard to grow the market against the odds and to the pro-public transport policies of Brighton & Hove City council.” (my emphasis).

And speaking of Unchain The Brighton Motorist, how much money has this cost so far? Eight full page adverts in the Argus, and counting….

Living Streets letter to the Argus about trade unions, economic prosperity and cars in Brighton – unpublished

Dear Sir

Brighton and Hove Living Streets Group hope that the members of Unite and the GMB will reflect on and recognise the benefits of lower speed limits to the wider community and those who visit the city, before union officials spend their hard-won subscriptions on campaigning against 20mph speed limits – which are now the norm in cities across the rest of Europe. The UK is now playing catch up; councils which include the City of London and Birmingham are now implementing the 20mph limit because the evidence shows that it makes our streets safer for those not in cars, and means a more pleasant environment for everyone. Traffic has dominated our towns and city centres for over half a century; it’s high time that there was some encouragement for those wishing to walk or cycle in safety. After all, the streets belong to everyone – not just those who happen to be on four wheels.

If the Unite and GMB unions are serious about protecting the livelihoods of their members they should consider that turning Brighton and Hove into an unsafe, traffic-choked and pollution-blighted “car friendly” city is a great way to deter visitors, meaning that fewer people will be taking taxis and buses. Which doesn’t seem a good way to support their jobs.

By contrast, an approach that relies more on evidence than assertion has been set out in the new Living Streets report on the Pedestrian Pound. It shows that pedestrians spend up to six times more on our high streets than those who arrive by car. Investing in the public realm – including pedestrianising areas and slowing down the traffic – has been shown to boost footfall and local economies by up to 40%.

Yours etc

Fascinating facts: transport data from the census

Here’s a glimpse of some census data relating to transport. It shows that Brighton and Hove is a lot more carfree than most of the south east. The full picture is here, and there’s a more focused look at travel to work patterns here (unfortunately, whoever wrote it refers to data from the 2001 Census. I’m assuming that’s a mistake.) Anyhow, the most shocking fact is that nearly 9,000 (30%) of workers in the city who travel less than 2km to work use a car. Why?

Unions fight for “car-friendly” Brighton in the scrabble for members

Unite and GMB face off in these full page newspaper ads campaigning AGAINST 20mph default for Brighton and Hove. Shame about the rest of us who live in, work in, or visit the city.


(Brighton and Hove Independent)

Unite and fight: trade union campaigns AGAINST 20mph for Brighton & Hove - You couldn't make it up!!!

Is that what trades unions are for? A full page advert in today’s Brighton Argus from the South Eastern Branch of Unite, “Britain’s biggest union,” opposing the extension of 20mph default speed limits for Brighton and Hove. Not a shred of evidence. Not a single fact. Strangely, the news that “We are pleased to join with out Members who support Unchain the Brighton Motorist,” and “Unite the union is opposed to the transport policies in Brighton and Hove” does not appear on the Unite campaign page.  Is this really why members pay their subs?

“The Fight for Car Friendly City”

You know what it’s like. You go away on holiday. You come back. Refreshed, re-invigorated. And then reality bites. Or in this case, unreality. As in the most absurd front page that has graced our local Argus newspaper in recent memory (as shown). “The Fight”….to turn Brighton and Hove into a “Car Friendly City”? Which planet is the Argus on? While the rest of Europe, including cities throughout the UK, are ditching car-friendly in favour of people-friendly, our local rag seems to think that what’s needed for our lovely city, already choked by traffic, is more cars. Long on bar-room opinion, short on evidence. Not to mention sanity. And soooo 1970’s. Welcome to Planet Argus.

What a load of rubbish

It looks as if the week long strike by refuse workers in Brighton and Hove which ended on Friday will be the end of the matter, since the union is saying that the dispute has been being resolved with a series of new offers. Three cheers for that. It wasn't just the inconvenience of not having your bins emptied or your recycling removed. But the distressing sight of our fair city being submerged under a rising tide of rubbish, with overflowing street bins and black sacks piled up around communal bins – frequently ripped open by seagulls and vermin.

It was upsetting to see Brighton and Hove under a layer of trash, which highlighted the fact that keeping the public realm spick and span is an ongoing commitment: place-making is about a lot more than building.

And seeing all that trash on the streets was a reminder of the following essential truth: Don't throw it away. There is no 'away.'

Brighton and Hove bids for Cycle (and Walking) City Ambition cash

Brighton & Hove City Council is bidding for funding for cycling, walking and public realm facilities from the Department for Transport's (DfT) Cycle City Ambition Grant Fund.

The Greater Brighton City Region (GBCR) was one of 20 cities involved in the ‘city deal’ who were invited to bid, and only two cities are expected to be awarded funding. Partners in the GBCR include Adur, Worthing and Lewes District Councils and East and West Sussex County Councils. They have agreed to support the bid from Brighton & Hove due to the long term benefit this will bring for cross-boundary cycling facilities. The DfT have said that bids must demonstrate how they will ‘secure transformational change’ for active travel. 

Despite the bid being labelled “Cycle City”, the bid guidance says that, while the grant is for delivery of the ‘first two years of a transformational long-term cycling strategy,’ there is also an emphasis on ensuring that any cycling-related infrastructure improvements should create an enhanced and accessible environment for pedestrians. Quite right, too. With this in mind, Living Streets Brighton and Hove added its support to the bid, particularly given the emphasis on getting on with the Brighton and Hove Public Space Public Life legibility study, with its emphasis on the needs of people who use the streets.

The two areas proposed to benefit from the bid are:

· A270 Old Shoreham Road Phase 2, with a scheme to extend the first section of cycle route a further 900m westwards, with junction improvements and pedestrian priority features.

· A259 Marine Parade, with high quality segregated cycle tracks in both east and west directions to link the city centre to planned development in the Marina. There are also plans for a ‘Pocket park’ to enhance public space on the cliff top

Successful bids are expected to be announced in June 2013.  More here.