POLITICIANS responsible for roads in town have admitted more needs to be done to update the public in the wake of traffic delays caused by roadworks.
Infrastructure Minister Andy Jehan and St Helier Constable Simon Crowcroft were responding to criticisms levelled by John Henwood, who – in a week in which Islanders were experiencing rush-hour gridlock – wrote to the JEP describing town as a “mess of scaffolding, roadworks, obstructions, detours and blocked routes”.
Diversions are in place in several parts of St Helier, which prompted Mr Henwood to question whether the Infrastructure Minister and St Helier Roads Committee could “get together with the utility companies and leaders of the construction industry to produce a schedule of works”.
Mr Crowcroft said there was already a “great deal of work” undertaken by both the Town Hall and Infrastructure to ensure that disruption was kept to a minimum at peak periods – whether in the summer or around key calendar dates – and that all work was already carefully logged.
Mr Jehan meanwhile confirmed that regular meetings took place with utility companies and the parish, and he said daily updates were provided on the radio. However, he accepted that there might be more that could be done.
“We could probably use social media more and I would be happy to look at any ideas with the Constable of St Helier,” he said, adding that his department would equally face criticism if roads were not properly maintained.
Mr Crowcroft also accepted that more might be done to publicise information which was currently available.
“The fact that somebody as well thought of as Mr Henwood is making such a comment suggests that we need to do more to tell the public, and I will take that back to the minister,” he said.
Mr Henwood is a former head of Channel TV and a member of the Clothier panel that reviewed Jersey’s machinery of government in 2001.
Mr Crowcroft added that it was a fallacy to suggest that reopening roads like Broad Street would have any impact on the problems motorists were experiencing.
“The fact is that at certain times we are at capacity and a car breakdown or other incident will completely paralyse the system. No amount of trying to fast-track things will have an impact because the ring road is at capacity, which explains the government policy of trying to encourage people to use other methods of transport,” the Constable said.
Mr Henwood was prompted last week to take a walk around town, having noted delays in driving across town at a time traffic was light and there were no reported incidents.
“The reasons quickly became apparent,” he wrote. “Seaton Place, partially obstructed; the Parade, partly blocked by barriers (no work evident); Cannon Street closed; Union Street closed one way; Beresford Street, minor works starting; Rue de Funchal (James Street) closed; Bath Street closed; Halkett Place narrowed; Wesley Street partially closed (looks as if it may be permanent); Brooklyn Street partially obstructed. There are almost certainly more, but I didn’t have time to walk the whole of town.
“And walking was just as difficult and much more hazardous than driving, with footways closed in all these streets and some others. Parking spaces, including for disabled drivers, have been lost. In short, our town is a mess of scaffolding, road works, obstructions, detours and blocked routes. Small wonder why, when there is an incident, everything grinds to a halt.”
