Town plan ‘would increase traffic delays’
Friday 6th March 2009, 2:59PM GMT.
DRAMATIC proposals to pedestrianise much of town have been opposed by Transport Minister Mike Jackson.
He says that closing off town centre roads would increase morning rush hour traffic delays by 40% and evening congestion by 28%. But Environment Minister Freddie Cohen, who is behind the £250,000 EDAW Town Masterplan that aims to push cars out of the town centre, said that the changes sought would ‘fundamentally erode’ the plan. He said that the first he knew about them was when he received a call from the JEP.
TTS say they will fight the proposals in the plan to: Pedestrianise York Street, Broad Street, Colomberie and Hill Street; build a grand ‘gateway’ roundabout at West Park; remove the road that cuts through Parade Gardens; and close the Esplanade in front of the Pomme d’Or Hotel.
Pictured: York Street, which the EDAW plan proposes to pedestrianise
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This is quite simply ridiculous and am guessing that this was the “brain”child of Crowcroft (who hates cars and amazingly managed to get Lower Clarendon Road pedestrianised – where he just happens to live!)
Planning to get from one side of town to the other in the car is already painful if you are on the wrong end of the one-way system – this is just going to get worse. It’s just as well tourism is dead – can you imagine hoards of hire cars trying to find their way in the maze of one-way systems?!
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Its people not cars that matter.
put a few floors on snow hill car park and run that through your traffic model Mr Jackson.
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Stick to your guns Freddie. The town should be a pleasant and convivial place for people not cars.
The States Transport Department and their new Minster has lost the plot in many ways:
1) A pedestrianise d town would allow children to walk safely to the bus station. No Wellington Road rumpus.
2) A major new car park in the middle of an urban area, without acces to the major trunk routes is folly. It is Mike Jackson who should be concerned at the delays he himself will create.
3) What is need is need is a bus service that does what it was created to do when the civil service mounted their takeover of the JMT.
Minister Mike Jackson should hold his fire whist he sorts out his own department.
Go for it Freeie.
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We islanders just love the joined up thinking that Ministerial government has bought to the island.
One Minister has spent months and £250,000 on a plan to pedestrianise a large part of town that is now bitterly opposed by another Minister who has only just found out about.
Please, please tell us what the CoM is for if not discussing these things at an early stage and working together?
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Why not dig up all the roads and go back to the good old days of horse and cart– I think NOT !!!
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close em off and walk!
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Does this take into account the congestion of relocating the underpass?
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just ban the 4x4s in town
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As it stands, the shortest and quickest way to get from, say, Sand Street car park to anywhere in the north of St Helier is to drive via Seale Street/York Street/The Parade. If this route is closed, motorists will face a far longer diversion south to the Underpass, as far west as West Park, then north along the already-congested Peirson Road to join the ring road. More fuel used- more pollution and what Seale Street residents might gain, Cheapside residents will equally lose.
This is purely to open up more revenue-raising for the parish in the form of new Choses Publiques permits for restaurants situated in these areas. What the residents in these streets might gain from less car pollution, they lose from increased noise pollution on hot summer nights emanating from drunk al fresco diners.
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Maybe this is how they propose to sell the building of the finance quarter to the general public who are opposed to this folly, by shutting town down and making it pedestrian access only?
This would be a good idea if Snow Hill was made into a big MSCP and a mini M25 was built, however if it isn’t part of a bigger picture it will bring the traffic around town to a stand still. Maybe this is their cunning plan to drive people off of the roads, by making their journey as uncomfortable as possible? As regards the bus service I think this is very poor and not any better than the JMT we had before, however it is costing us all a lot more. Why is this? Get a grip of public transport first then the rest will fall into place. Cart and horse comes to mind.
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Jerry (9). I think you have missed the point. I have no wish to delve into the science of queuing theory, but journey times do not equate to speed; just as pollution does not equate to distance travelled. Free flowing traffic, at a moderate speed, without stop-go will achieve all positive you appear want.
I believe that Freddie Cohen has got a far better grasp of the science of traffic flow than the Transport Minister Mike Jackson. I support Freddie Cohen on this a little bit on enlightened thinking can deliver a win-win outcome; our problem appears to be career civil servants who given a fancy title become overnight experts in a field they little understand. Hence my comments @3 above (sorry about the typos).
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Cohen’s plan is great !
A pedestrianised “humanised” St Helier will be better for everyone. It has been done everywhere else in Europe years ago and we would just be catching up.
People and their cars will have to adapt with the government’s help
Jackson is just old fashioned and set in his ways.
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i believe they are knowledgeable enough to do an excellent design, but pay more attention on local pepole’s life~ Reality is compelex and difficult to adot any pure one theory on it~
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Has anyone asked any “professional” drivers what they think. ie taxi, bus drivers etc. I doubt it as their opinion is always completely ignored by politicians and it is they who have a far better insight into traffic problems island wide.
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Surely the ‘town problem’ as you locals call it is due to too many cars being on the road? Why people need to drive around St. Helier amazes me (disability, deliveries, business trips and other essential trips aside) you can walk around the whole thing in about 20 minites!
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you,re right wan,it should be only essential vehicles in town,like every other small town.lots of small towns in uk are now traffic-free,and getting to and from train stations in some towns take longer than walking around town.
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