Seafront and shopping streets get boost in transport plan
Proposals for improving the street scene and environment in a number of busy and popular places in Brighton & Hove, which are a key part of a new transport plan, are set to be approved by councillors.
The Local Transport Plan (LTP4) covers the period from now until the end of the 2017/18 financial year. Most of the costs would be met from government grants which are intended to be spent on transport.
Included are proposals to enhance ‘neighbourhoods and destinations’. Among these are local shopping areas like Boundary Road/Station Road and Church Road in Hove, plus the route from Brighton Station to the seafront. The area around the proposed Brighton Centre redevelopment – known as the Waterfront project – would also be enhanced. This would be in addition to the £9m scheme underway to rebuild the Shelter Hall and improve the West Street junction with the seafront road.
More government funding will be sought for improvements to the prom and its historic structures.
Overall LTP4 aims to meet a number of high-level goals including carbon reduction, cutting air pollution, better accommodation for coaches, reducing the impact of lorry deliveries and improving travel information through technology. The council also wants to help people change easily between different means of travel on a single journey, with better transport interchanges.
The aims of the council are summed up in a Local Transport Plan Future Priorities report, going to the Environment, Transport & Sustainability Committee on November 24.
As part of the longer term transport plan for the city to help people get around, the council also wants to improve the A259 as an east-west route. Preston Circus would be redesigned to improve access to London Road and the New England Quarter. Measures would be taken to help regeneration of Shoreham Harbour and the development of Toad’s Hole Valley.
The wider plan still includes regenerating Valley Gardens between St Peter’s Church and the seafront - as long as this does not increase traffic jams.
Chair of the Environment and Transport Committee Cllr Gill Mitchell said: “These new strategies and projects are part of the vision for the future as well as a plan to get the basics right - like fixing road surfaces and pavements. We want to help people get to work, school and college and other key destinations like the seafront, by various means of transport. Improving local neighbourhoods and the routes to them for residents is a top priority for us and we want to see where we can use new technology to help people get better information to make their transport choices, especially visitors travelling over longer distances.
“Above all we need to make sure any works are co-ordinated to reduce disruption as much as possible.”
More information
View the reports for the Environment, Transport and Sustainability Committee. This is agenda item no. 45