A road that needs a safe solution

Understandably, residents living near the road are concerned by the danger it presents and are urging action to improve road safety.

In an ideal world, the risks would be reduced by major engineering solutions, but road widening can hardly be seen as an option, with a ribbon development of private housing on one side and a sea wall on the other.

The residents’ preferred solution would involve banning parking east of La Mare slipway and they are petitioning the authorities to ask for such a ban to be introduced and enforced. They also suggest that speed cameras should be used to discourage reckless driving.

On the face of it, parked cars, which narrow the road, are a hazard, but it can also be argued that, as obstacles, they can serve as a traffic calming measure. Speeding, which is most certainly a hazard on this stretch of road, might even increase in the absence of parked vehicles.

There is, of course, already a 30 mph speed limit on the Coast Road and this must be enforced, though a decision to introduce speed cameras into Island life could never be taken lightly. Control methods which are appropriate where vehicles can build up and sustain speed for long periods are likely to be less effective on Jersey’s stop-start road network.

The motives of the Coast Road residents, who are concerned about a hazard quite literally on their doorsteps, are not to be questioned. They simply want to see improved safety measures, not only for their own benefit, but for the benefit of all those who use the road.

However, what must be in doubt is the wisdom of formulating safety policies and implementing measures on the basis of non-professional opinion. We have a Transport and Technical Services department which employs specialists in these matters. It is clear that they should pay heed to Coast Road residents’ well-founded concerns, but it is equally clear that their expert view of the situation must be taken into consideration before action is taken.