Deputy in bid for £½m cycle track in east
Tuesday 15th September 2009, 2:55PM BST.
Steering committee: Deputy Labey, pictured with some cycling friends, wants to see a cycle route in the east of the Island. Picture by Jon Guegan (00216853)
A MOVE to allocate £500,000 of public money to pay for a cycle track from Gorey to town has been tabled by Grouville Deputy Carolyn Labey.
The Deputy has lodged a States proposal to use cash made from car parking to finance the project.
She said that there was a route in mind for the track and that she had been offered help from the local Territorial Army unit and visiting UK regiments to build the necessary roads and tracks.
The western cycle track that runs from Corbière to St Helier is very popular and there has been talk of creating a similar link out east for many years. Deputy Labey has submitted her proposition as an amendment to the States Business Plan, which is to be debated by politicians next week.
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By the time this one comes to fruition Carolyn you’ll be in a wheelchair not on a bike, this idea was mooted over twenty-five years ago like the eastern swimming pool-don’t hold your breath!!
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Great idea this as it would reduce traffic as I know many people are scared of cycling along the road. If the money came from parking this would seem reasonable as motorists would benefit from the reduction in traffic.
It would be great to have more cycle paths, I would certainly cycle more, I love the one from Town to St. Aubin but as I have to cycle from Grouville to get there I’m put off by the traffic.
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Another States member that wants the tax payer to build them a useless monument. I can hardly wait for tomorrow’s installment, come on guys give us tax payers a cracker we need the incentive to work harder to pay more taxes.
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Half a million for a cycle track? Given some of the other issues facing the States would I be wrong in thinking that perhaps this is not the best time to suggest this?
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Great idea. I hope it comes off as I would very much use it and the kids would enjoy it over the weekend. Maybe the States Members could stop going about themselves and pay attention to actual matters that may be of interest to the public.
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So she wants to waste more tax payers money. Sort out the nurses pay first.
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I put this one up there with Crowcroft’s refusal to accept a town park with houses paying for it – States members who are quick to spend our money but never come up with suggestions to save it.
I may not be his greatest fan on policy but Ben Shenton is a back bencher with a heck of a lot of good ideas to save the public money.
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If cyclists obeyed the law and paid a contribution through tax or registration, I would say this is a good idea.
However, what I see on a daily basis of cyclists goingthrough red lights and riding through the precinct, I dont think that they deserve such a facility.
Excess funds form parking should be re-invested for motorists – User pays remember – OR reduce parking costs !
PS I do sometimes cycle !
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Brilliant idea. £300,000 is being spent on resurfacing the existing cycle track along St Aubins Bay. These funds should be used instead to give those of us living in the east of the island a safe way of cycling to and from St Helier each day. I hope the other deputies from the eastern parishes will support this proposal.
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Brilliant idea.
Many islanders will not be able to afford to drive in a few decades. This is a good alternative, and taking action now is a step forward.
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A cycle track? Is this what she was vote in for? This is the kind of thing outside groups should partake in not States members. This Island really beggars belief sometimes.
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A great opportunity for some creative thinking. There is a network of minor road that could be turned into cycle heaven at very little cost.
The first test for Grouville Deputy Carolyn Labey, will be to drag Grouville out of the dark ages and adopt Green Lanes. That would cost nothing.
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Sorry Warren J #8. Yes we have idiot cyclists, just as we have idiotic car drivers. More often than not it is the car driver who engages in dangerous overtaking manoeuvres on narrow road at the peril of the cyclist. We all have rights, even those too young to drive!
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Great idea, I hope the funding is secured for this project
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I’m with #8. Normally this kind of thing wouldn’t bother me but having witnessed the ridiculous behaviour (and attitude) of some cyclists I would suggest that they get together and raise money for it themselves. Taxes on drivers pay for the upkeep of roads (and usually money from property pays for the creation of the roads) so why not the same tax on cyclists for a cycle path?
I think it’s time people stopped assuming taxpayers money should pay for items that only a real minority will use. Sometimes if we really want something we should go out and raise money for it ourselves.
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Great idea. In fact, they should conduct a feasibility study into creating an all off road cycle track system to get around the island.
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Great idea, how about mobilizing some of the those at La Moye into helping with the construction? That would reduce costs and ensure a return on current expenditure to house and feed them.Add in teenagers on community service and you’re building a cheap workforce of Hoover Dam proportions!
I hope mobility scooters will be allowed to use these tracks? and I cherish a dream that 15″ Gauge Railway may get some consideration as a tourist draw, as at Romney,Hythe and Dimchurch, and Eskdale in Cumbria to name just two examples of many.
Maybe my scenic cable car proposal could follow the same route.
All the latter are just food for thought but a cycle route is a good start and gets cyclists off crowded roads where despite claims to the contrary they take up as much room as a medium size car but they only transport one (Occasionally two)people.They are also safer on a separate track, as in an accident whether in the right or the wrong they will nearly always come off worse!
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100% agreement with Jeezlouise on this one
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15 Leah Holmes. Do you not consider that the money is well spent to get cyclists off the public highway? Fewer hold-ups for other road users, safer environment for cyclists, everybody wins!
On the cycle tax suggestion, it is difficult to see how this could be successfully implemented.
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How many islanders will benefit from the cycle track? It is a good idea but perhaps States funds such as this should be put into creating a state of the art hospital with happy nurses and staff.
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anyone care to have a stab at how much per mile this will cost, better still per foot.
why not bring back tax for pushbikes , number plate£10.00 per year, £300.000 on st aubins cycle path??
this cant be as worn out as the roads?, can it?
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On the question of cost here, how about getting a few of our out of work construction industry experts and pay them to oversee this project,set the whole thing as an exercise for the building and construction industry students at Highlands and local sixth forms,mobilize the lesser offenders at La Moye, all teenagers on community service orders (An increasing number possible here),throw in any training units from the armed services and cyclist volunteers themselves and you have a work force that is either getting paid by the experience or pays for itself!
Come on you Jersey’s we are missing a trick here!
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Craig, people that get upset and feel they are being ‘held up’ whenever they end up behind a cyclist on the road need to get some perspective on what is really important in life. It’s a small island, road issues can only delay you so much. This isn’t the UK where an incident on a motorway can cause 6-hr tailbacks!
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A tax would be difficult to implement, but what is stopping avid cyclists forming an organisation and trying to raise money for a cycle track. If the cycle track happens I can’t wait for the comments asking for a second cycle track for the child and tourist cyclists that are too slow and are getting in the way of the good cyclists
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Why tax cyclists?
Tax the gas guzzling 4x4s and use the proceeds to build the track.
Cyclists cut down on pollution, traffic jams, carparks needed. So why penalise them.
The way some act does nto even come into this argument Leah Holmes, if we all thought like that then there would be no roads as car drivers are just as bad….both sets of idiots are however in a minority. Most drivers/cyclists are pretty sensible.
The east need a swimming pool too, and please dont go on about the minority using it…been to Aquaslash recently? Le Quennevais? You can hardly get a decent swim in because they are both so busy. Lets not even start about pollution etc of the easties driving out there to get there either!!
Families would benefit and maybe the Island would produce even more great swimmers.
Imagine haveing a cycle track in the east which linked to a pool/sports complex…just like Le Quennevais.
How to fund it?
I have no idea to be honest, sell the Fort to develpoers for luxury flats??
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#25 you’re talking as if cyclists don’t also drive! Most do, I see few ‘serious’ cyclists going around Jersey (they would be the ones that can get up the hills and aren’t weaving all over the road).
Cyclists get home (or to work) and have to have a shower, using more electricity, more water… cars are not the only pollutants and they are not the only causes of climate change! I wonder how much damage a bathroom light, electric shower and gallons of water do to the environment compared to a 10 minute trip in a ‘gass guzzler’.
Maybe you’re forgetting that there are already roads that cyclists can use to get from A to B, anything on top of that is unnecessary and costly, in a time of recession! If car drivers moan about cyclists ‘blocking’ the road then they just have to be told to shut up. If cyclists are weaving about, not wearing the correct protective gear, not using proper signals then they need to be told that they cannot use the road until they learn to cycle properly.
It would be brilliant if we had endless amounts of money, but we don’t.
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Just a point but if ten per cent of the workers in my office cycled to work, there would be a que for the showers, or would we be expected to share ?????
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I don’t understand the negativity on these pages regarding the proposal? The cycle track out west is in constant use by cyclists, runners, walkers and rollerbladers, surely a sign that inspite of all the negative press about the amount of drinking and smoking that goes on in the Island, that there are actually a lot of health concious people in the Island that enjoy the outdoors. A similar track out East would be a wonderful idea and there is no reason that it wouldn’t be as popular as its Western Brother.
As someone that drives in most days from the East of the Island I think the motorists and the cyclist would favour this idea.
As for the cost, I genuinely believe this project would improve the quality of life of thousands of people. Isn’t this what we keep getting told about Jersey? That the residents enjoy a higher quality of life than people in other parts of the world?
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Could be wrong but I suspect Dep Labey was against GST – ie against raising income but for raising expenditure. Its the wrong mindset for current difficult times.
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I agree that in principal this is a good idea but the question is still ‘where does the money come from?’.
Knowing ths States a tax on bicycles would cost more to collect than it raises and thats without anyone to police it! we have already had the debate on taxing ‘high emmision’ vehicles in order to promote environmentally friendly schemes. Would this qualify? I doubt it so you would have to introduce a further tax on cars which is likely to be unacceptable. As the environmental tax on cars is not to be ‘ringfenced’ I suspect that it will simply get lost in the treasury funds and spent on other essential services.
So what do we cut or who pays more..easy isn’t it!
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a swimming pool in the east i have no problem with nor cycle track as long as all the parishes start paying the same amount of parish rates.You all come to st.helier so start paying for it. all for one and one for all (not in jersey though!!).
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Oh dear yet more attacks on the much maligned motorist. What is interesting is the way all those sporty looking bike riders,walkers and runners disappear as soon as the weather changes for the worse, and the traffic jams into St Helier become worse overnight, as does the availability of parking spaces?
I don’t blame those resorting to drier forms of transport in bad weather, and I admire their resolve and personal commitment as fine weather exercise fanatics, but it is only the very hardy and committed who persevere rain or shine, and there is always the issue of “drying out” on arrival at work.
So abandoning the car or bus as a means of transport altogether would appear to be a bit of an ideal rather than a practical reality.
The only other alternatives would be my small gauge railway or cable car ideas which so far have received little acknowledgement despite my having given examples of places where these alternatives work extremely well.
As for the cost of building this cycle track (which is a very good idea as it provides a safer,user friendly and more scenic environment for cyclists), the idea of mobilizing all those who would benefit from the experience of building such a facility is a good one:
a) The La Moye inmates get days out and work experience.
b)Out of work construction industry people get paid work that keeps their hand in.
c)Construction and Engineering Students get practical experience and job training.
d)Volunteers get personal satisfaction.
e)Military units get practical training
f)Cyclists get a facility they can use and physical training in addition to their cycling.
With the small hydraulic diggers and such available today the work can hardly be described as onerous, and there is always the training opportunity in operating one of these.
You could even train Health and Safety people on this scheme!
Seems like a “No-brainer” to me,to borrow a current expression!
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