Mods scooted to Brighton in force on the fourth of July and arrived in Madeira Drive in a combative mood. Madeira Drive has historically been the venue for many events involving vehicles of one kind or another for example the Speed Trials, Ace Café Burn up, Pioneer Motorcycle Run and Brightona.

The council closed the road to all vehicles from the Sea Life Centre to Duke's Mound in April to give people more space to take their daily exercise either on bicycles or on foot during the Covid socially distancing period. But this decision is causing a lot of friction locally as many motorcyclists and mods on scooters traditionally gather at Madeira Drive on the Brighton seafront on summer weekends, not to mention the motoring events which regularly take place. In fact some of the Mods who had gathered to protest chanted 'We are the Mods' and threatened to get naked as part of their protest – the nudist beach is down that way at Black Rock though so it might not have had the intended impact! :)

There are several possibilities for the road which are being investigated at the moment, the options are:

So in a nutshell, businesses along Madeira Drive, organisers of long standing motor events – both car, motorcycle and scooter - are worried about the future, but pedestrians, joggers and cyclists are enjoying the increased traffic-free space.

What do you think? Are you in favour of the road closure or do you enjoy a ride out to Brighton of a weekend and the events held every summer down there? We'd love to hear your opinion.