By Fiona Walker
WHY does everyone in Jersey hate motorists? Well, perhaps not everyone, but it certainly seems that life is being made more and more difficult for anyone who has the audacity to get behind the wheel.
Take, for example, the increasing congestion in St Helier, clearly caused by the pedestrian crossing between the end of Conway Street and Liberation Square. Of course, we require a crossing there: pedestrians need to move swiftly and safely between the bus station and town centre. However, giving pedestrians a continuous right of way has led to gridlock on many surrounding roads.
And what is totally ridiculous is that this is a situation that could be rectified by replacing the pedestrian crossing with a traffic-light controlled crossing, thus sharing the right of way between the various road users. Result? A constant through-flow of both vehicles and pedestrians.
I am at a loss to understand why a problem with a simple solution has been completely disregarded. Instead of updating the traffic system, drivers are told to avoid the area of Hill Street during the rush hour. But that’s not always possible, and while the current scheme may give priority to those on foot, it also has negative implications for pedestrians.
Vehicles caught in the queues from Beresford Street and Colomberie with their engines idling are tainting the air with unhealthy traffic fumes; how can this be of benefit to anyone? And while we’re on the subject of fumes, proposals to lower speed limits on numerous roads around the Island are also likely to lead to a rise in pollution.
Sledgehammers and nuts come to mind when you consider the number of roads that are expected to have their limits reassessed, and yet there has been little fact-based evidence put forward relating to the number of speed-related accidents on those same roads.
If previous form is anything to go by, reduced speed limits will result in some motorists breaking the law while still driving at an appropriate speed, while the speed junkies, who truly drive dangerously by using roads as racing tracks in the small hours of the morning, continue with their hazardous grands prix.
Speed limits around the Island are confusing and unco-ordinated, and, yes, they do require an overhaul, but just dropping them – rather than considering what is appropriate for the area – is not the solution.
At the time when 40mph was brought in as our maximum speed limit, cars had far fewer safety features and less effective braking systems. To introduce a 30mph limit now would be a retrograde and unwarranted step.
In the Ile de Ré recently, it was inspiring to see a free bus service operating between the small towns on the island. Tourists and locals shared the service, which was regular, popular and efficient. Unfortunately, in Jersey, when it comes to a carrot-and-stick approach to getting people out of their cars and onto public transport, we favour just the stick.
Tax on fuel means that filling the tank is likely to be even more expensive by the end of this year, and yet viable alternatives are thin on the ground. Not everyone can hop on an electric bike, and for those living away from the main bus routes, the service falls somewhere between occasional and non-existent, especially in the winter. A free bus service between town and the parish halls would alleviate traffic congestion and pollution, but sadly ‘free’ has recently become an anathema in Jersey.
Despite an increasing tax contribution being added to the ever-spiralling cost of filling the tank, the state of our Island roads is deplorable.
Remember when they took away road tax and added the cost onto fuel, promising it would be used for road maintenance? That seems to have fallen by the wayside. Roads criss-crossed with repairs are not restricted to St Helier, although driving through Rouge Bouillon probably takes the biscuit when it comes to bone-rattling experiences.
And I won’t get started on the abysmal traffic-calming measures in St Mary and at La Moye, but I often wonder if the rumours that they were designed by engineers who have never experienced Jersey’s roads for themselves are true?
Let’s face it, cars are an established part of our lives, so why not work to make traffic flow as easy and pleasant as possible for all road-users, rather than continuously penalising Jersey drivers?
