FOLLOWING months of reversals, diversions and U-turns costing nearly £100,000, a six-month trial of the St John’s Road one-way system is due to begin after the bank holiday weekend.
From 9.15am on Tuesday morning, the stretch between Parade Road and Cheapside will become one-way southbound towards Cheapside.
Drivers will not be able to access St John’s Road from the Cheapside end – but the wider section further up St John’s Road is to remain two-way.
Officials said the trial, which is set to end on 29 November, is aimed at improving the space and comfort of pedestrians on the narrow section, which is within the 20mph zone.
Former Infrastructure Minister Tom Binet first announced a one-way road trial last summer.
This trial was due to make the narrow lower section of St John’s Road in St Helier one-way in a northbound direction – away from Cheapside.
However, this scheme was delayed three times after public pushback.
Some Islanders said the changes would have made the road more dangerous, and a petition calling for it to be thrown out gained more than 1,000 signatures.
Supply and labour issues – including £5,000 which had been spent on ramps that did not meet the legal requirements for Jersey roads – presented further roadblocks.
Upon entering government earlier this year, new Infrastructure Minister Andy Jehan asked the transport team to review alternative options for the road.
Constable of St John, Mr Jehan, considered the review and recently announced plans to reverse the direction of the proposed one-way system to the current southbound route.
A freedom-of-information request, published around that time, showed that £51,945 was spent on Infrastructure and Environment staff costs for the project, while £40,678 was spent on non-staff costs in 2023.
In 2024, £5,272 had been spent on staff costs and £258 on non-staff costs so far.
The response to the FoI request did not reveal the budget for Mr Jehan’s review of alternative options for the scheme.
For further information (including a graphic) visit gov.je.
