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STATES OF JERSEY
LA ROUTE DE ST. AUBIN: INSTALLATION OF PEDESTRIAN CROSSINGS AND REDUCTION OF SPEED LIMIT
Lodged au Greffe on 14th March 2018 by Deputy M.R. Higgins of St. Helier
STATES GREFFE
2018 P.68
PROPOSITION
THE STATES are asked to decide whether they are of opinion
to request the Minister for Infrastructure –
- to install 4 Pedestrian Crossings along La Route de St. Aubin between the King George V. Homes and the St. Helier Parish boundary with St. Lawrence near Millbrook;
- to reduce the speed limit along La Route de St. Aubin from 30 m.p.h. to 20 m.p.h. between the King George V. Homes and the St. Helier Parish boundary with St. Lawrence near Millbrook; and
- to agree to implement the aforementioned changes by the end of 2018.
DEPUTY M.R. HIGGINS OF ST. HELIER
REPORT
At the end of 2017, Jersey had some 125,146 registered vehicles, and with the rapid growth in the Island's population, this figure will increase year on year. This has meant that many of our main roads are fielding more and more vehicles, with the result that at peak times our main roads are becoming more congested and more difficult to cross by pedestrians.
St. Aubin's Inner Road is one of the busiest and most dangerous roads in the Island. It is one of 2 main roads feeding traffic from the West of the Island into St. Helier and back again in the evening, the other being Victoria Avenue. It also flows through a densely populated part of St. Helier past a park, a very large primary school, and homes for the elderly.
It also has numerous convenience stores and other shops, which require those living on the opposite side of the road to cross it to access them. The current speed limit is 30 m.p.h.
I have lived on St. Aubin's Inner Road for over 38 years, and have experienced at first hand: the high volume of traffic; its increased use by commercial vehicles; and the difficulty of crossing the road felt by all pedestrians – able-bodied people, the disabled, the young and the elderly. I have also witnessed the death of one elderly lady, and spoken to another who was knocked down and injured on the sidewalk by a hit-and-run driver who mounted the kerb whilst reversing their van.
Whilst many motorists might claim that during the rush-hour, the traffic crawls along St. Aubin's road at speeds less than the 30 m.p.h., this is only partly true, as many drivers, when they see a gap in the traffic ahead of them, speed up to close the gap and consequently exceed the 30 m.p.h. speed limit in doing so. Also, the "Smiley Face" speed measuring devices have shown some 10% of road users exceeding the speed limit along the road. It has also captured some late-night speedsters greatly exceeding the speed limit.
The congested road also means that more and more pedestrians are taking their lives in their hands by crossing to the middle of the road in the hope that cars coming down the next lane will stop and let them cross. This becomes exceptionally dangerous at certain times of the year when the sun is extremely low in the East and dazzles oncoming drivers and pedestrians trying to cross the road.
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P.68/2018
Inner Road revealed as worst for accidents (Jersey Evening Post, 15th February 2016)
The Inner Road has long been a site of road traffic collisions.
According to the latest figures, there have been more accidents on St. Aubin's Road than on any other road in Jersey in the past 3 years. There were 121 accidents on the 2.5-mile road, known as the Inner Road, between January 2013 and the start of February 2016, data released after a Freedom of Information request has revealed.
The next highest number of accidents over the same period – 96 in total – occurred on Victoria Avenue, Jersey's only dual-carriageway.
Whilst some people may complain that a 20 m.p.h. speed limit will increase their journey time to work in the morning, or to get home in the evening, one has to ask whether a few extra minutes commuting is worth even one life or serious injury to those living and working along this road.
Financial and manpower implications
In P.61/2018, the Department for Infrastructure has calculated the cost of a Zebra Crossing to be somewhere between £20,000 and £50,000 per crossing, depending upon such things as: drainage; availability of electricity, the need for dropped kerbs, and whether the road surface is suitable to accept the anti-skid surfacing on the approaches to the proposed crossings. It is envisaged, therefore, that the final cost of the 4 crossings will be in the region of £80,000 to £200,000, depending on the factors above. This is considerably less than the money that has been spent on traffic-calming and other measures to restrict traffic in other Parishes in recent years. The cost of road signage showing the reduction in speed from 30 m.p.h. to 20 m.p.h. is relatively insignificant.