They want to see the speed limit reduced to 20 in Sion, traffic-calming measures, improved pavements, effective enforcement and more action targeting late-night ‘racers’.
Three villagers – teacher and mother-of-three Kate Sibcy, former firefighter and risk-and-safety professional Clive Russell and sustainability consultant Hilary Jeune – are spearheading the campaign after growing increasingly concerned about the speed and volume of traffic near their homes.
Alongside hundreds of supporters who have rallied to the cause, they want to make the area safer for all, help bring the community together and improve the quality of life for hundreds of households.
They say that Sion has not had the attention or investment other villages, such as St Mary and St Aubin, have received. That, they believe, is because the community is split between three parishes – St Helier, St John and Trinity – and too easily overlooked as merely a thoroughfare rather than a community.
Mr Russell said that although the campaign now had the support from all three Constables and the Infrastructure Department to reduce the speed limit, and despite being told funding was available, they had been frustrated because the political system seemed unable to deliver what everyone seemed to want.
‘The road has worried me for years,’ said Mrs Sibcy.
‘As I’ve moved through various stages of motherhood: being pregnant; pushing a pushchair; walking with toddlers; carrying shopping and now trying to get my three little ones cycling to school; as well as walking alongside older parents, I’ve found that the road through the village presents a lot of challenges to carrying out quite basic tasks.
‘It’s really difficult to cross the road because of the speed and volume of traffic. When lorries or tractors pass your shoulder at 30mph the backdraft actually blows you sideways. There is only a pavement on one side and it is very narrow, slopes towards the traffic and is badly maintained. There are no crossings and promised bus stops have not appeared.’
She added: ‘These are things that perhaps the decision-makers don’t necessarily experience or even see yet they affect most of the people who live here. I also discovered that a new Co-op shop and petrol station was due to open and this would probably increase traffic. When you see how calm and pleasant other areas of the Island have become as a result of traffic calming, I began to question why no one seemed to care about Sion.
‘I wrote to every household in Sion to ask if anyone felt the same and asked local residents to get in touch and sign my Safer Sion petition, which has gained more than 340 supporters. My son and I hand-delivered about 300 letters towards the end of lockdown.
‘It has been really encouraging that several local businesses, including the Co-op, Sion Garage, The Potato Shack café and Geomarine, have been supportive, and that the Infrastructure Minister agreed in the States this week that Sion was a special case.
‘Lockdown actually helped us because it highlighted issues that had long been a problem and showed people that there could be an alternative which would be better for all of us.’
Mr Russell said: ‘We have been the forgotten village. I think there is a minority who want to speed through our village and we ask them to consider what driving a little slower is actually going to cost them when they’re probably heading into a traffic jam at the bottom of the hill anyway.’
