A ONE-WAY system which was trialled on St John’s Road will become permanent.
Officials from the Infrastructure and Environment Department said the decision followed positive feedback from parishioners regarding the six-month scheme.
Tristen Dodd, head of highways, transport and infrastructure, told the St Helier Roads Committee yesterday that two-thirds of the letters received about the trial to stop northbound traffic using St John’s Road between Cheapside and Parade Road were positive, with the last negative feedback having been received on 30 August and the responses since that date having been entirely supportive.
Mr Dodd said the department had considered direct contact from members of the public, rather than comments made on social media.
Reference was made during the meeting to a petition launched at the time the trial started on 28 May, with more than 600 people backing calls for Infrastructure Minister Andy Jehan to consult the public before making the scheme permanent. It was also noted that the petition had achieved little further support after the first few weeks of its launch.
Mr Dodd said the average volume of traffic on the southern section of St John’s Road had decreased by 1,459 cars per day on weekdays and 1,290 cars at weekends, with analysis showing increases in walking and cycling that had created a safer road environment.
Most northbound traffic had been diverted along Westmount Road and the Ring Road, he added, without creating significant problems in other areas.
A trial to make the affected section of road northbound only was initially due to take place during 2023 but drew significant negative response and was postponed on several occasions before a decision by Mr Jehan, who succeeded former Infrastructure Minister Tom Binet, to reverse the proposed flow of traffic.
A Freedom of Information response published in April last year showed that £98,000 had been spent on the scheme for St John’s Road – which is government-controlled – at that point.
Silvio Alves, head of infrastructure for the parish, said some residents had complained about motorists using Old St John’s Road as a “rat run” but that the problem had eased following the installation of temporary speed humps on the parish-controlled road.
Although there was some criticism of the government for failing to refer some of its decisions back to the parish, members of the committee accepted a recommendation that the move should become permanent.
Mr Dodd said officials would proceed to amend the St Helier Road Traffic order in order to make the arrangements permanent, potentially by the spring, with interim measures being put in place prior to the law being changed.
Mr Jehan, who attended the roads committee meeting at the Town Hall, said afterwards: “I am pleased that the trial has been successful and particularly pleased to have had such positive feedback from the residents of the area.”
