Promenade Bike Lane

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seahermit
Posts: 1107
Joined: Sat Aug 26, 2017 10:53 pm

Re: Promenade Bike Lane

Postby seahermit » Wed May 16, 2018 7:59 pm

I seem to be always sounding off about the council's crackpot schemes - but that is what keeps coming from their direction. They seem to be suddenly introducing this tram idea without (so far as I know) any previous public consultation or regard to the practicalities.

A lot of time and money went into installing the cycle track along the prom (not without controversy) - it seems incredible that they are thinking of abandoning that and instead creating a tramway along the promenade (all of it or just part way?). Even if this becomes a serious project, it will be quite difficult to implement - from the Old Town to White Rock the prom is largely straight and flat but with a few twists and turns of direction and beyond White Rock to the Azur pavilion there are several changes of ground-level. Constructing a tramway would therefore be quite expensive and with a dubious financial return - there are already very good, frequent bus services along all of the seafront, would enough tourists instead flock onto a tram to make it profitable?

There is also the question of sheer space - most of the main road is not wide enough to accommodate any special tram lane and that goes for much of the promenade too.

It would surely be better to spend money smartening up the general infrastructure to make Hastings a more welcoming place to come to. Demolishing the public toilets was madness and all along White Rock there are empty, shabby, boarded-up premises which really advertise to visitors how rundown and neglected parts of Hastings are.

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Richard
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Joined: Tue Mar 11, 2014 3:36 pm

Re: Promenade Bike Lane

Postby Richard » Thu May 17, 2018 11:02 pm

It certainly will not be on the main road and it will be necessary to show visibly a clearly marked out lane on the promenade - much like a bike lane.
The use of ground-buried transponders and rechargeable batteries all sounds a little futuristic and 'pie-in-the-sky' perhaps better suited to automated warehouse robot vehicles and Amazon's or Ocado's picking and packing process.
There would also have to be clear signs where pedestrians could cross and signals and emergency back-up systems in-case of electronic malfunctions.
I suppose if Hastings council can find Grant money to play with they will create extra jobs but it looks like it will take a lot of research, failures and a whole lot of money and may just be a waste of time and take years to research and implement.
I don't really see much hope for a complex electronically-guided tram system which would need storage sheds for the Trams plus maintenance and I expect the transponders will fail to operate in certain weather conditions.
If Hastings Council can't even replace the clocks that used to be on the Town Hall, owing to expense of maintenance, then I think they are taking the proverbial with futuristic trams on a concrete promenade never designed to bear the loading required either.


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