This new neighbourhood will promote walking, wheeling and cycling as the main ways of getting about and hugely reduce private car ownership among those who live here. Here’s how.
The Phoenix will be a walkable, low-traffic neighbourhood. This means that space normally used for on-street parking and private driveways will instead be used for public squares, gardens and community buildings, resulting in cleaner air, and streets safe for walking, wheeling, cycling and for children to play in. With many amenities provided on site, and new routes to the centre of town and the recreation ground and retail park across the river, those living on the Phoenix will be able to walk or cycle to meet most daily needs.
A Co-Mobility Hub, at the southern edge of the site on the Causeway, will provide the parking spaces that will keep the traffic out of the Phoenix and off the one-way system around Lewes. Although there will be on-street Blue Badge parking and drop-off spaces along North Street, Phoenix Place and at the new Health Centre, the majority of vehicles will park in one of the 313 spaces in the Hub, with priority given to Blue Badge holders, 50 spaces for the electric car club, and the rest being pay and display spaces for visitors to the town or for use by those with Phoenix permits. The site will be taken out of the existing Controlled Parking Zone, and all parking will be managed by the Co-Mobility Service at the Phoenix.
The ratio of parking spaces to households is clearly far lower on the Phoenix than in traditional developments, which means that the development will not create any significant additional traffic pressure in the town. There will be 700 homes on the Phoenix – although mostly one and two-bedroom apartments, rather than large townhouses (see more here) – meaning that most people who live here will choose not to own a private vehicle unless they have mobility needs or need a vehicle for work.
Although this may seem radical, this shift away from a dependency on private cars is relatively simple and has already been achieved in other developments in the UK and Europe. Our Mobility Vision document includes descriptions of some of these exemplar schemes. Households in areas with fewer parking spaces and where there is good access to public transport are already less likely to own a car: the 2021 Census shows that in parts of central Lewes more than 45% of households don’t own a vehicle.
To reduce that further, access to affordable and convenient mobility services is a must. At the Phoenix, these are provided from the Co-Mobility Hub and include an electric shuttle bus as well as access to existing bus services, a ‘last mile’ E-cargo bike delivery service, and electric car club and hire operated by an app or booked in person – recognising the fact that while many people need access to a car, occasionally or even regularly, car ownership isn’t always necessary (after all, the average car or van in England is driven just 4% of the time). According to CoMoUK, 20 private cars are taken off the road by each car club car in the UK. The organisation also notes that this can result in huge savings, up to £3,500 a year based on households driving fewer than 8,000 miles a year.
We hope, by providing new and safe cycle, wheeling and walking routes across the Causeway, along the river and through the neighbourhood, and by extending services such as the shuttle bus to the rest of town, the Phoenix can have a positive impact beyond the borders of the site. The neigbourhood will promote cycling culture, with 2,200 secure bike parking spaces in public areas and in the buildings, including for larger bikes and E bikes, as well as a repair shop. To reduce emissions, cut pollution and create safer streets with less traffic – across Lewes – we need to break away from business as usual.
More details can be found in the Phoenix Design & Access Statement, which is available here.
(Credit: Human Nature with Periscope / Carols Penelaver)
This new neighbourhood will promote walking, wheeling and cycling as the main ways of getting about and hugely reduce private car ownership among those who live here. Here’s how.
The Phoenix will be a walkable, low-traffic neighbourhood. This means that space normally used for on-street parking and private driveways will instead be used for public squares, gardens and community buildings, resulting in cleaner air, and streets safe for walking, wheeling, cycling and for children to play in. With many amenities provided on site, and new routes to the centre of town and the recreation ground and retail park across the river, those living on the Phoenix will be able to walk or cycle to meet most daily needs.
A Co-Mobility Hub, at the southern edge of the site on the Causeway, will provide the parking spaces that will keep the traffic out of the Phoenix and off the one-way system around Lewes. Although there will be on-street Blue Badge parking and drop-off spaces along North Street, Phoenix Place and at the new Health Centre, the majority of vehicles will park in one of the 313 spaces in the Hub, with priority given to Blue Badge holders, 50 spaces for the electric car club, and the rest being pay and display spaces for visitors to the town or for use by those with Phoenix permits. The site will be taken out of the existing Controlled Parking Zone, and all parking will be managed by the Co-Mobility Service at the Phoenix.
The ratio of parking spaces to households is clearly far lower on the Phoenix than in traditional developments, which means that the development will not create any significant additional traffic pressure in the town. There will be 700 homes on the Phoenix – although mostly one and two-bedroom apartments, rather than large townhouses (see more here) – meaning that most people who live here will choose not to own a private vehicle unless they have mobility needs or need a vehicle for work.
Although this may seem radical, this shift away from a dependency on private cars is relatively simple and has already been achieved in other developments in the UK and Europe. Our Mobility Vision document includes descriptions of some of these exemplar schemes. Households in areas with fewer parking spaces and where there is good access to public transport are already less likely to own a car: the 2021 Census shows that in parts of central Lewes more than 45% of households don’t own a vehicle.
To reduce that further, access to affordable and convenient mobility services is a must. At the Phoenix, these are provided from the Co-Mobility Hub and include an electric shuttle bus as well as access to existing bus services, a ‘last mile’ E-cargo bike delivery service, and electric car club and hire operated by an app or booked in person – recognising the fact that while many people need access to a car, occasionally or even regularly, car ownership isn’t always necessary (after all, the average car or van in England is driven just 4% of the time). According to CoMoUK, 20 private cars are taken off the road by each car club car in the UK. The organisation also notes that this can result in huge savings, up to £3,500 a year based on households driving fewer than 8,000 miles a year.
We hope, by providing new and safe cycle, wheeling and walking routes across the Causeway, along the river and through the neighbourhood, and by extending services such as the shuttle bus to the rest of town, the Phoenix can have a positive impact beyond the borders of the site. The neigbourhood will promote cycling culture, with 2,200 secure bike parking spaces in public areas and in the buildings, including for larger bikes and E bikes, as well as a repair shop. To reduce emissions, cut pollution and create safer streets with less traffic – across Lewes – we need to break away from business as usual.
More details can be found in the Phoenix Design & Access Statement, which is available here.
(Credit: Human Nature with Periscope / Carols Penelaver)