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STATES OF JERSEY
GREEN STREET: PROPOSAL TO MAKE ONE-WAY
Lodged au Greffe on 10th May 2019 by Deputy R. Labey of St. Helier
STATES GREFFE
2019 P.50
PROPOSITION
THE STATES are asked to decide whether they are of opinion
- to agree that the current temporary arrangement allowing all vehicular traffic to travel in one direction only, south to north, on Green Street from the junction with Havre des Pas to the junction with La Route de Fort, St. Helier should be made permanent;
- to request the Minister for Infrastructure, following consultation with the Parish of St. Helier , to bring forward for approval the necessary amendments to legislation to give effect to the proposal; and
- to request the Minister for Infrastructure, following consultation with the Parish of St. Helier and LibertyBus, to make permanent the current re-routing of the outbound No. 1 bus route via Library Place, Pier Road and Mount Bingham.
DEPUTY R. LABEY OF ST. HELIER
REPORT
Residents of Green Street have been calling for remedy to the dire traffic problems blighting the neighbourhood for many, many years.
The recent temporary implementation, due to roadworks, of a one-way system south to north has been a revelation for 2 principal reasons:
- A transformation in the quality of life for those living on the Street; the following is typical of the representations the Deputies and Connétable have received
"I thought I should drop you a line to underline the huge environmental improvement that was immediately felt when the current road works forced a one-way system south to north.
No buses, HGVs and cars forced to mount pavements to keep traffic moving.
No road rage from drivers frustrated by the continuous traffic problems or by residents trying to load/unload cars.
You can hear the birds singing!
I have not personally seen any adverse traffic consequences on adjoining roads from the change.
I am not looking forward to the completion of the works and the road going back the way it was. Surely it doesn't have to?
I really hope this email allows you to do something positive for the residents of Green Street."
- The dire predictions of traffic chaos resulting from a one-way Green Street have not materialised; The Department for Infrastructure now concede the following
"The traffic studies we have carried out show that in terms of general traffic, the roads system at present can accommodate Green Street operating one-way northbound only during normal conditions, without creating unreasonable disruption elsewhere on the network."
The No. 1 bus route has, over the years, been used as the immovable objection to a one- way Green Street. The recent roadworks necessitated a re-routing outbound which, to everyone's surprise, has not had the disastrous consequences foretold.
In fact there are benefits
• Library Place – the new bus-stop here saves passengers laden with shopping bags the walk to Liberation Station. It is also convenient for north-of-town workers who would otherwise walk to Green Street to catch the bus home.
• Pier Road – for the first time, the elderly and infirm residents of Haut du Mont can catch a bus from town to their doorstep. The parking spaces at the bottom of Pier
Road would have to be permanently extinguished, but there is an underused multi- story car park 100 m. up the road, and the current parking spaces do currently cause an unsatisfactory pinch-point.
• Mount Bingham – the elderly and infirm residents of Bingham Court and Rope Walk could potentially benefit hugely from a bus-stop closer to their homes. A number of them have expressed – through the Havre des Pas Improvement Group – high satisfaction with the temporary re-routing.
On Thursday 8th November 2018, a meeting of the Havre des Pas Improvement Group was convened to receive a presentation on the proposals for an Area Improvement Scheme.
These included the recommendation that Green Street be made one way northbound.
In anticipation of this, Deputies J.A. Martin and S.M. Wickenden of St. Helier and myself did what we always do when faced with an important meeting with far-reaching implications for residents – we printed a leaflet advertising it, explaining the issues for discussion, and delivered them door-to-door in the area.
As a result, the meeting was packed, a full house! This included a number of residents new to the group. On the Green Street proposition we had one objector, one who was sceptical but would go with the majority, and the rest fully in favour.
An astonishing result, indicative of the desperation to end the traffic carnage on this road.
Every hour of every day, residents or pedestrians on Green Street are fighting for pavement space with HGVs, buses and cars.
One resident tells me monthly that she has lived with it for over 20 years, but now that she is taking her grandchildren out in the pram she finds it dangerous, frightening and intolerable. "When will they do something about it?", she asks. For how much longer will she have to do so?
Of course it is a question of balance. Not everyone is immediately advantaged. There will be a longer walk to a bus-stop for some – but only by a matter of minutes.
There are delays in afternoon rush-hour traffic over Mount Bingham – but this happens elsewhere. Bring measures in to assist, a priority for the bus coming onto Mount Bingham from Pier Road, for starters.
There is no bus-shelter at Library Place – so put one there; etc., etc., etc.
The majority of residents want this change, the roadworks have improved their lives – how often is that ever said? The temporary measures have proved that this can work to the benefit of the area.
It's time to listen to people's vision for their own neighbourhood and act.
Financial and manpower implications
Following the Area Improvement initiative for Havre des Pas and Green Street, discussions are already ongoing between the Department for Infrastructure and the Parish of St. Helier with regard to pedestrian crossings, pavement-widening, traffic- calming and tree-planting improvements to Green Street. This proposition's financial and manpower implications are thus confined to the changes to road signage and road markings necessitated by the one-way permanency. The calculation of that figure is awaited from the Department for Infrastructure.