NEW car parks could be created on the outskirts of town to help solve Islanders’ parking woes, if the States back moves planned by St Helier’s Constable to relax restrictions in the Bridging Island Plan.
Simon Crowcroft wants the parish to take the lead on a new car park at Havre des Pas, following the rejection of businessman Brigham Young’s plans for the Sovereign Hire Cars site earlier this year.
But he says changes would require a proposition to the States, which Infrastructure Minister Tom Binet has already confirmed he would support in a move that could then pave the way to create other new public car parks. The minister confirmed his officers were currently looking at sites for at least one additional government-run car park on the outskirts of St Helier to allow Islanders to leave their cars within walking, or shuttle-bus, distance of the town centre.
Deputy Binet declined to provide details of where such a new car park might be but said: “There is a high degree of urgency and we want to move as quickly as we can but acquiring the right site is not easy.”
The government’s website, which provides real-time information on its six main car parks, showed that there were no spaces by 10am on Thursday morning, with many Islanders venting their frustration on social media.
Earlier this week, Mr Crowcroft told the Havre des Pas improvement group that he would try to provide a car park for the area, and that they were looking at the Sovereign Hire Car site, subject of the recent unsuccessful car park planning application.
Mr Crowcroft confirmed that they would support a change of use for the site.
“Trying to deliver a car park there is made difficult by the Bridging Island Plan and the parish would need to take a lead on this. I made a pledge to the improvement group meeting, subject to the parish agreeing, but it’s something that I think they would support,” Mr Crowcroft added.
The Constable has been a long-time critic of government policy on parking in St Helier and of recent parking guidelines for new development which he believes disadvantages town residents. “We need access to a car to have a life at the weekend like everybody else,” he said.
However, Mr Crowcroft welcomed the approach of the Infrastructure Minister who he described as “the key person” in improving parking within St Helier.
Mr Crowcroft called on the government to consider short-term improvements, including creation of a park-and-ride scheme at the Harbour over the Christmas period which he said could take advantage of the “under-publicised” hopper bus service.
He also said that a newly created parish working group on parking was poised to begin a “root and branch” review of the parish’s own residents’ parking scheme, which has been in operation for some 20 years and which he said “definitely needed looking at again”.
Islanders can expect some immediate improvement on this week’s parking problems – which Tristen Dodd, head of Highways, Transport and Infrastructure, said had been exacerbated by the poor weather and debris from Storm Ciarán – as refurbishment work on Patriotic Street car park will be suspended until the New Year.
“The work has also impacted the availability of spaces, with three floors currently closed. These do not include those on level one, which is solely for outpatient parking at the Hospital. The main car park [will be] fully open by next Friday to cater for the Christmas seasonal demand for spaces in the town centre,” he said.
Meanwhile, a new car park at Charles Street will open in March, adding an additional 138 spaces near the centre of town.
