Constable Simon Crowcroft said he was ‘extending an olive branch’ to Deputy Kevin Lewis to encourage him to work with backbenchers to salvage the policy on the future of transport in the Island, which has come under heavy criticism.
And Mr Crowcroft claimed he had heard that even fellow members of the Council of Ministers had urged Deputy Lewis not to bring his proposition on the Sustainable Transport Policy forward on New Year’s Eve because it was ‘rushed and unsubstantial’.
‘I would like him to pull the proposition and bring it back before the summer recess. In that time we can meet and work together to get something that could get past the States,’ he said.
‘At the moment there is a risk it could be defeated in the States so it is better just to withdraw it.
‘I would urge the minister to take my olive branch and let us help him.’
The Sustainable Transport Policy was published six months after Mr Crowcroft successfully tabled an amendment to Deputy Rob Ward’s proposition calling for free bus travel for all.
In his amendment, the Constable asked the minister to ‘research, consult upon and identify funding for a sustainable transport strategy, including safe routes for walking and cycling’.
But Mr Crowcroft says that Deputy Lewis failed to do what he was asked and needs help from backbenchers to salvage the policy.
He told the JEP in January that he planned to lodge a series of amendments to ‘put meat on the bones’ of the policy but has now said that is not possible.
‘It just needs to be withdrawn because it is so lacking in detail and concrete proposals. By its own admission it’s a framework not a policy,’ the Constable said.
The Sustainable Transport Policy outlines several key principles about making cycling and walking safer, cutting the use of petrol and diesel cars and investing in the bus system over the next decade. It also contains plans, to be introduced or progressed this year, for traffic-free days on some St Helier roads, improving cycle routes, bus lanes and appointing a new ‘transport officer’ and ‘cycling development officer’.
Mr Crowcroft said he had spoken to the Chamber of Commerce and its members were almost ‘unanimously’ unhappy with the policy and, in their opinion, its lack of reference and thought for the retail industry. Deputy Ward has also previously called the document a ‘failure’.
In the States yesterday, Mr Crowcroft asked the minister to withdraw his proposition – P128 – which calls on the Assembly to approve the supporting principles of the Sustainable Transport Policy. It is due to be debated in March.
But Deputy Lewis said in the Chamber that he has no plans to withdraw the proposition and described it as a ‘very workable policy’.
The principles include investing in a better bus system, making cycling and walking safer, reducing the impact of cars on the road and discouraging the use of petrol and diesel vehicles. Mr Crowcroft said previously he does not necessarily disagree with the principles but the policy, in general, scored a ‘three out of ten’ for ‘realism, joined up thinking and the likelihood of actually getting things done’.
Deputy Lewis was contacted for further comment.
