Your 10 ways to tackle traffic congestion in town

1. Introduce a compulsory car share scheme

The thought of sharing a car with the weird guy at work may sound terrifying. But car share schemes have proved successful elsewhere, and several Islanders suggested Jersey should give it a go. One Facebook commentator, Alex Harrison, wrote: ‘Introduce a carpool rule like the US have. Only cars with at least 2 people in can use certain roads in rush hours. Problem solved overnight and easy to police with cameras.’

2. Better use of traffic lights/filter-in-turns

Sometimes it seems that traffic lights have it in for you. So should they be better synchronised? And should we have more of everybody’s favourite – the filter-in-turn. Loraine Stewart-Scott wrote: ‘Better phasing of traffic lights in general, a filter in turn at Gloucester Street at the junction with the Parade would help with the backing up of traffic, and at the other end of Gloucester Street at the junction with the Espalande, the centre lane is under-utilised.’

3. Reduce bus fares

Everyone knows that people in Jersey really love their cars. But some Islanders believe that cutting bus fares may persuade car drivers to leave their pride and joy at home. Clare Le Gros wrote: ‘I’ve said the same for years ­- lower the bus fare – make it a really good incentive to get people using the buses instead of the convenience of their car.’

4. Or change the timetable (especially for those way out west)

5. Deal with the ‘idiots’ who block the roads

At some point, every driver has found themselves trying to squeeze past a car straddling a yellow line on a narrow town road. Some people call them inconsiderate. Others call them idiots. Doreen Mills wrote: ‘More policing to deal with the cars parked on yellow lines, which seems to be getting worse. Put a few Yellow Boxes on the relevant roads so idiots don’t block the road and stop the flow of traffic. Set up a Car Share scheme with a financial incentive. Increase the ‘All Day’ parking charges but give exemption permits to St Helier residents.’

6. Introduce a park-and-ride or park-and-walk scheme

Some Facebook commentators asked why a park-and-ride scheme from the Airport and a park-and-walk scheme from Millbrook never got off the ground.

7. Bring back the train

OK, we have Le Petit Train – but it’s hardly a high-speed commuter service. Back in the day, there was a train line across the Island from Gorey to Corbière. One Islander suggested bringing it back.

8. Redesign the one-way system.

There are some roads in town which you only drive on because you need to get somewhere else. Some readers believe it’s time this was brought to an end. David Rotherham wrote: ‘Redesign the one-way system so the routes are joined up instead of broken up. Just think how much of that traffic is in streets it didn’t want to be in just trying to get between two other places.’

9. Create more out-of-town car parks and ban cars from town

Well, this definitely would reduce the number of cars in town. Gordon Ricou wrote: ‘Give more parking on the outskirts of town, ie the ring road and ban cars inside town after 10am.’

10. Build a tube system.

It was probably a little tongue-in-cheek, but one Islander suggested an underground system. Jersey is not known for moving quickly when it comes to major capital projects, so it is highly likely that cars would be a thing of the past before any such project got underway.

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