OPENING up bus lanes to general traffic could help to lift the “gridlock” along one of Brighton’s busiest roads, councillors and transport bosses have claimed.

Allowing motorists into bus lanes at certain times of the day is among the proposals put forward in a new petition calling for a full review into the Lewes Road scheme.

Councillor Daniel Yates who launched the petition alongside his fellow Labour councillors is calling for a full review of the scheme’s impact on air pollution, travel times, accident rates and diversion of traffic to other parts of the city.

Critics of the scheme have said the city should look to Liverpool which suspended all 26 bus lanes in a 2013 review before reinstating just four with time limits.

Green councillors dismissed the call for a review as “unnecessary” claiming the project has been a success. Bus bosses said complicating the use of bus lanes would be a “backward” step.

They said data collected so far confirms the scheme has been successful in increasing bus, taxi and bike journeys, reducing car journeys and improving air quality.

A report published weeks after the project’s completion in September 2013, revealed bus passengers increased by 7%, cycling numbers were up 14% and traffic queues had not increased except around Coombe Road during the morning rush hour.

The £6.4 million project saw the conversion of 2.8 mile (4.5km) of dual carriageway into a single carriageway with a new bus lane and widened cycle lane. Fourteen bus stops and the traffic light system were also reconfigured.

John Streeter, of Brighton and Hove Streamline Taxis, said: “If you are asking me as a taxi driver, then the system works better for us than for motorists.

“But if you are asking me as a Brightonian and a driver for almost 50 years, then I would say it’s an absolute nightmare.

“There is something fundamentally wrong and we need to look again at the whole system.”

Brighton Kemptown MP Simon Kirby said both commuters and residents are “having to pay the price” for the changes made by the Green administration.

He said there were “numerous safety issues” caused by the changes including motorists crossing cycle and bus lanes to enter the road from junctions.

He added: “My view is that there are locations, such as near schools and hospitals, where bus lanes and speed restrictions can be beneficial, but one of the main access roads into and out of the city is not an appropriate location for such an arrangement.

“I hope a review will mean that the wishes of those that use the road and those who live on or near it are taken into account.”

Green group convenor Phelim MacCafferty described the petition’s demands as an “unnecessary, ill-informed waste of time and money” and warned any reversal of work could affect future investment by the Department for Transport.

He said it was “widely supported” in one of the most in-depth consultations ever conducted in the city and that the next monitoring surveys will be carried out in the autumn.

He added: “By no measure, to date, can it be shown to have failed or there to be any justification for a review.

“This is yet another sign of Labour’s backward thinking on transport policy and more narrow-minded hostility to successful Green projects.”

Martin Harris, managing director of Brighton and Hove Bus Company, said the original review of the scheme demonstrated the “clear benefits”.

He said: “I would welcome further information on the results.”

More than 350 people have signed the petition which will be discussed at the council’s environment, transport and sustainability committee in October.

To sign, visit tinyurl.com/lewesroadreview

Lewes Road, BrightonLewes Road, Brighton

COOMBE ROAD AND LEWES ROAD – narrative by Gareth Davies

YOUNG mother Chelsea Millerick has lived around Coombe Road all her life and is grateful for the buses.

But traffic has become so bad it can take her up to ten minutes just to get across the road with her buggy.

Chelsea, 22, of Coombe Road, said: “I use the buses down on Lewes Road, so from that point of view it’s great.

“But out here on Coombe Road, I’ll get off the bus and it can take me five to 10 minutes just to cross the road because the traffic is so heavy.

“It’s worrying because the vans are parked up so if I’ve got the buggy I can’t see what’s going on and I have to leave the buggy by my side so I can poke my head out to see what’s coming.”

As much as life on the buses and in the cycle lanes seems to have improved, residents are not happy with what is happening outside their doors.

Zak Sherlock, 44, of Coombe Road who has lived in the area for 10 years, said: “It’s been a raving disaster from the off. All the promises we were made about air quality just have not materialised.

“The traffic around here now is just absolute mayhem during rush hour.

“They haven’t solved the problem at all – they’ve just moved it onto a different place.

“It’s laughable.”

One driver who uses Coombe Road as a rat run said: “I probably spend more money on petrol coming this way but I save half the time.

“I don’t go near it. It’s a nightmare.”

Residents suggested opening up the bus lanes during rush hour, or even full time, and getting cars to move out of the lane if they see a bus coming as they would an ambulance or fire engine.

David Higgs, 65, said: “Although the cycle lanes have been put in, people are still on their bikes on the pavement.”

Amy Torbet has had similar problems with cyclists while walking along Lewes Road with three-month old Mary-Jane in the buggy.

She said: “It just makes me so angry, especially when I’ve got the pushchair.

“I lived in Amsterdam for eight years, so I know a thing or two about cycling.

“The design of the cycle lanes here aren’t the best, but that’s no excuse to be cycling on the pavement.”

Franklyn Chukwunyere, 44, who takes his nine-year-old to Bevendean Primary School on the bus, said the school run was easier since the changes have been made.

He said: “It’s a bit better now, the traffic was awful, but it’s a much quicker journey now the work has been done.

Labour councillor Mo Marsh said Moulsecoomb and Bevendean residents were increasingly frustrated with motorists using their estates as “rat runs” to escape Lewes Road traffic.

Conservative councillor Mary Mears said that the changes in the layout of Lewes Road had forced motorists onto Falmer Road.

She said: “There are whole parts of the city that are not moving.

“It’s not good for the city or for the economy if people are being made late for work or struggling to move around the city.

“People using Lewes Road know it needs tweaking because it’s not working as it should, it needs a common sense approach.

“There is no harm in trialling something different to solve the current problems.”

East Street, BrightonEast Street, Brighton

Pedestrianisation of East Street causes 'chaos'

TRADERS have claimed a trial of pedestrianising a historic shopping street was plunged into chaos because council officers ignored their warnings.

Brighton Lanes Traders Group say motorists were left confused and pedestrians were put at risk by the introduction of a car ban in East Street, Brighton, over the weekend.

But council officers said close monitoring of the trial showed traffic flowing freely “most of the time”.

The long-mooted car ban finally came into being between 11am and 7pm over the weekend as part of the 18-month trial along the busy street which has up to 20,000 visitors a day.

Traders in East Street hailed the first days as a success – but businesses in the parallel Little East Street claimed they had to bear the burden of displaced traffic.

Denise Taylor, secretary of Brighton Lanes Traders, said Little East Street was in “utter confusion” with cars at one point facing north, south east and west, while motorists ignored ‘no entry’ signs and drove up the street from the seafront.

A request for extra signage and to move back the opening date of the trial to begin after building works were completed were ignored, Mrs Taylor said.

A council spokesman said more signage was being considered – but the first weekend was a success.

He added: “The scheme was monitored by officers at the weekend and traffic flowed freely most of time, traffic in the area was not chaotic.

“There are narrow roads throughout the Old Town and traffic is often held up briefly from time to time.

“Importantly the closure of East Street has not resulted in additional hold-ups.

“We’ll continue monitoring and welcoming traders’ views and make any necessary improvements.”