Pressure group welcomes town contraflow cycle lane

Pressure group welcomes town contraflow cycle lane

Cycle4Jersey encourages diverse cycling and sustainable transport in Jersey, and says that the cycle lane to be added between Halkett Place and La Motte Street next year is going to provide numerous benefits for cyclists, pedestrians and car users.

Being introduced by the Infrastructure Department as a one-year pilot scheme, the new lane will involve road signage, bollards and white lines to prevent motorists from crossing into it, while the unloading bay and parking area next to Morier House will be removed.

Cycle4Jersey member Simon Finch said: ‘The Hill Street pilot scheme will create a safe route for those on bikes to make their way from where the western and eastern cycle routes enter St Helier, through central town and on up to Snow Hill.

‘Kids and young adults heading to schools and Highlands on their bikes or scooting from the east and west will now be able to safely navigate their way to the foot of the St Saviour’s school cluster, where there are more than 13 schools all the way up to Five Oaks.’

He added: ‘The “inconvenience” of the loss of eight parking spaces will be vastly overshadowed by the benefits of improved cycle access, especially for children. The new lane will also reduce the numbers of bikes going through the Tunnel, which sometimes leads to slight delays, thus reducing inconvenience to motorists driving eastbound through the Tunnel.’

In addition to the Hill Street cycle lane, the Infrastructure Department is also proposing changes to Midvale Road – including widening the pavements on both sides and making it one-way in a southbound direction.

Infrastructure Minister Kevin Lewis said the project would make the route into town from the north of St Helier ‘much safer for pedestrians and cyclists in particular’.

Mr Finch added: ‘The majority of local residents in Midvale Road have been clamouring for safer pavements and road system for decades. It is very dangerous up there, especially for children getting to and from the nearby schools, with a number of injuries – and at least one very serious injury – as a consequence of the narrow road.’

Cycle4Jersey members added that both schemes reinforced the government’s commitment to the Island becoming carbon-neutral, given that creating safe school routes for children would ‘significantly ease’ the issue of morning traffic and reduce pollution.

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