On 11 May the States will debate Constable Simon Crowcroft’s proposition to continue the present arrangements, which were introduced as part of Covid-19 restrictions, at least until the end of the year.
Now it has been confirmed that the parish can use the road – which is administered by the Infrastructure Minister – to demonstrate what the Constable believes is its potential to draw Islanders back to the town.
‘We have had permission from the minister to organise small-scale, low-key events appropriate to the current pandemic restrictions but which will highlight the uses to which it could be put in the longer-term.
‘I have just walked up Broad Street and there is a groundswell of opinion from people who have stopped me in the street and said it must be kept the way it is, particularly around Charing Cross which is starting to act as a second square for people coming up from Sand Street to meet each other,’ he said.
Although the Constable’s proposition has attracted a mixed response, it has been warmly welcomed by one of the longest-established businesses in the area, Aurum jewellers.
Owner Richard Blampied has written to the minister in support of the proposal to maintain pedestrian priority.
In a letter to Mr Crowcroft, Mr Blampied expressed his support for the extension of the current arrangements and he said he shared the view that traffic previously using the road had ‘nothing to do with shopping or bringing trade into the town’.
‘As traders in Broad Street at the Charing Cross end, we can say that the lack of traffic has been nothing short of wonderful with the benefit of fresher air, even audible birdsong, and pedestrians able to stop and chat, and stroll around the area almost as though it were a square.
‘After 50 years of rumbling traffic and exhaust fumes for six days a week, my staff and I could not be more enthusiastic over the possible permanent and huge improvement to Broad Street,’ Mr Blampied wrote.
Mr Crowcroft said that he hoped, with the imminent relaxation of restrictions, that the public could see increased activity in Broad Street within the next week.
‘We’ve been in discussions with the Association of Jersey Architects, we’ve been talking to people who want to show off what they can do whether charities raising money or displays – we just want to do things that will show off its potential as a place that will add value,’ he said
