The Local Cycling and Walking Infrastructure Plan – for a better connected Brighton & Hove
Councillors have approved an ambitious strategic plan which will help shape the future of active, inclusive and sustainable travel in Brighton & Hove for years to come.
Members of the Environment, Transport and Sustainability committee voted to approve the Local Cycling and Walking Infrastructure Plan (LCWIP) when they met on Tuesday 15 March.
The plan sets out how the city’s road network needs to be improved to tackle the national and global challenges we face, such as obesity and inactivity and the climate and biodiversity emergency.
A draft version of the LCWIP went out to public consultation for six weeks last Autumn and received more than 900 survey responses, had over 200 people giving feedback at our public events, and had many comments from residents, groups and stakeholders at in-person and online focus groups and workshops.
What is the LCWIP?
- The LCWIP considers the city’s walking and cycling infrastructure over the next ten years
- Information was gathered from the Census, local traffic counts, results from consultations, Road Traffic Collision data and area studies in order to put together the plan.
- It identifies routes and areas in the city where there is the greatest potential for helping residents access other means of transport, supporting and increasing levels of active travel
- It considers broadly where improvements could be made - but doesn’t include detail. This comes later - along with further consultation
- The plan opens up the potential for future funding opportunities
- It has a cross party member working group that can scrutinise any further plans
Your feedback
A six-week consultation on the draft LCWIP was held in Autumn 2021.
As well as an online survey, officers also held public exhibitions and workshops with key stakeholders and partners.
Focus groups were held with young people, disabled people, older people and Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic people as well as classroom discussions with secondary school children.
Among the feedback received:
- Over 70% of respondents to the online survey are concerned with climate change (70.6%), air pollution (73.3%) and road safety (70.3%)
- More than half of respondents to the survey agree that improvements to the routes and areas proposed in the draft LCWIP would make journeys safer for walking and cycling.
- Feedback from the workshops and focus groups showed a need for improved, separated facilities for both cyclists and pedestrians
- Feedback also raised other key areas of focus such as enforcement, safety and security.
Councillor Steve Davis, Co-Chair of the Environment, Transport and Sustainability committee said: “This is a really ambitious and exciting plan for the future of travel in Brighton & Hove and I’d like to thank officers and stakeholders for the hard work that’s gone into developing the LCWIP over the last few years.
“We have to act now to ensure our transport network works well for years to come, to help people access low-cost travel options like cycling and walking, to make our streets safer and less polluted and to tackle the climate emergency.
“By building a city which encourages safe and sustainable active travel routes we can make sure the structures are in place to enable more of our residents and visitors who can, to make journeys on foot or by bike.
“We all know that walking and cycling benefits our physical and mental health and wellbeing, but it will also help free up space for those Blue Badge holders and local businesses who may still need to drive.
"We have to offer safe infrastructure so that the prospect of walking or cycling from A to B becomes a reality for more people. We can’t expect people, particularly those without access to a car, to feel confident moving around our city if we don’t look to the future, and plan our travel infrastructure well.”
