Taxi Driver Online

Brighton and Hove city centre to become 20mph zone

Most of Brighton and Hove city centre is to be made a 20mph zone after plans were approved by councillors. The move applies to the majority of shopping and residential streets in the area, which covers a two and half square mile block of the city. The Green Party-led council said most major roads and routes taking traffic out of the city would not be included and would still have 30mph limits. Green Councillors agreed to go ahead with the first phase of the project on Thursday.

Members also agreed the impact of the reduced speed limit would be closely monitored and kept under review. Council leader Jason Kitcat said: "People are more likely to walk and cycle at slower traffic speeds and we also know that people are more likely to survive a collision if the car is going slower." And Rod King, from the 20's Plenty campaign group, said: "A place which looks safer, which feels better for pedestrians and cyclists and motorists, is going to be a better place to be. Why go faster than you need to?"

But Jon Smith, a taxi driver and a GMB union representative, said: "Taxi drivers in general will be disadvantaged in the length of time it's going to take them to complete the jobs and get back into the city centre to take the next fare. "Obviously this will have a major impact on safety in the city centre because the police want the ranks cleared very quickly when people leave the clubs."

Further 20mph zones could be introduced in other parts of the city as part of a phased introduction over the next four years but those decisions are not being taken at this stage, the council said. The local authority has allocated £0.5m to the project for each of the next three years, with the overall project cost expected to be about £1.5m.

In November, results of public consultation were put before the transport committee showing 55% of the 3,689 people who took part supported the plan. Traffic orders which were then formally advertised have now been approved.

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IDFIMH

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IDFIMH

I am growing to loathe anyone that comes under the guise of being Green...bunch of flaky car hating tree hugging puritans the lot of them.

Hows anyone gonna make a living out of driving slightly faster than a slow horse pulling a cart? thse folk would have us all living back in a cave given half a chance, then they'ed whine that the smoke from the camp fire was destroying the planet......


right enuff.

Aye..the 55% of the the radical Greens who would never miss a chance to vote on anything...shame the non greens could'nt be arsed to vote or that 55% might have shrunk to something closer to 10% ...still that's the downside of democracy, the Minority Bright eyed bushy tailed types trounce the Majority Vote apathetics every time.

I really don't know where to start with this one.

Those who either objected to the Traffic Order, or signed a petition against it, numbered in excess of 1000, yet only three residents wrote in to support the Traffic Order.

But maybe the cherry on the Green cake was when the Green Council Leader, in reply to a question from the BBC in relation to drivers safety, said he had no sympathy with cab drivers should they be attacked by irate punters not liking the idea of crawling along main arterial route at night.

Good people out there, please never vote Green.

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IDFIMH

If that is indeed what he actually said, then I would not be supprised to hear of a protest by the drivers. That would be a totally irresponsable thing for a council leader to say.

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Grandad,

The interview starts at 2.39 and he gives his shameful view at 2.42.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p012t7jr

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IDFIMH

For those not able to mess around with the above link, some kind soul has passed me a transcript and the actual words.

Neil Pringle: Have you any sympathy for the taxi driver who says that he thinks that it is actually going to be dangerous because there will be people in the back of his cab getting angry that the taxi driver is driving at a speed which is so slow.

Jason KitKat: I’m sorry, I dont have a lot of sympathy for that argument. I mean if we look at the city centre which is where the first area this is rolled out the average speeds are below 20 mph anyway in the day time so .....

Neil Pringle: So when the pubs kick out.. the clubs kick out ... two o’clock in the morning and here’s a taxi driver going through the central area at 20 mph when there is no other traffic on the road... he says.. he is going to get a lot of jip...

Jason KitKat: I think if it is very clear it’s a 20mph city then people will understand that.

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IDFIMH

He had better hope that they will understand it.

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Grandad,

So all those mushes either pi**ed up, or drugged up, maybe both, will be more than rational when the rules are explained to them?

You couldn't make it up.

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IDFIMH

It is supposed to be coming to us Councillors agreed to make our town centre a 20MPH zone 18 months ago BUT it hasn't happened because the county highways department have to agree to it and they are civil servants who have to deal with the everyday practicalities of maintaining roads and keeping traffic flowing. Now the question is how much is this going to cost to be implemented and do the highways department have enough in the kitty ?

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lack of modern legislation is the iceberg sinking the titanic of the transport sector

The greens down there must be really thick, slowing traffic down increases pollution and at 20 mph how many vehicles will be in 2ND or 3 rd gear so the revs are higher thereby polluting more

All taxis and PH should refuse point blank to enter the 20 zone on a weekend and let the punter walk to the edge of it

Thus pi55ing the punters off even more.

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Grandad,

This is of course the inevitable result of having a Party the industry does not or influence or control running the City, get a Labour council in with some Cabbies as councillors problem solved, Brighton should present no problems with a certain Union dominating the Labour Party except for one thing loads of the cabbies vote for the vermin or tree shaggers now they pay the price

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All posts by this contributor are made in a strictly personal capacity

I AM PROUD TO BE A CITIZEN NOBODY'S SUBJECT http://www.republic.org.u

F88K EM ALL WHAT GOES AROUND COMES AROUND

BOOZE BOOZE BOOZE

So why the need to legislate or regulate

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Note to self: Just because it pops into my head does NOT mean it should come out of my mouth!!