Wednesday 24 June 2015
Media Enquiry from Open Lines Column, Guernsey Press:
Dear Sir
It's nice to hear a States deputy use a bit of common sense for a change and denigrate the abomination that spoils the town seafront.
Last year Yvonne Burford and her Environment Department came up with several ludicrous proposals to get people out of their cars and unto buses. The fact that the majority of bus users would probably have to walk at least 400 yards or more to catch a bus was thought to be totally acceptable to Environment.
This year they have come up with the new Town seafront layout. At the bus terminus and Town Church we have for years had perfectly good traffic light controlled pedestrian crossings.
Can Yvonne Burford please explain why it is not possible for pedestrians whether local or visitor to walk an extra 100 yards when leaving the Albert Pier and use these controlled crossings?
It is obvious to anyone with common sense that the courtesy crossing should be closed. The crossing is dangerous, as most pedestrians actually seem to think they have right of way. If there was an accident, perhaps fatal, I imagine Environment would accept no blame whatsoever.
Why is Environment happy on one hand for people to walk 400 yards or more and on the other will not sanction people walking an extra 100 yards?
The truth is that Environment does not do common sense and is completely devoid of any rational policy for the island. They therefore seem to have adopted the policy of trying to frustrate the motorist as much as they can to drive them out of their cars.
Environment Department Response:
Thank you for affording me the opportunity to comment on your reader's letter. There are at least 4 possible options for the informal crossing, none of which would receive support from everyone. Your reader wants the crossing blocked off entirely, some would like it to revert to exactly how it was, others appreciate the benefits of the trial changes and yet another group would like to see it signalised. No option is perfect.
Your correspondent suggests that Environment are trying to drive people out of their cars. There can be no denying that Guernsey has a car culture and that has positives and negatives. It supports an element of Guernsey's economy and provides an extremely convenient way of getting about most of the time. But Guernsey also has limited land space, narrow roads and narrow or mainly non-existent pavements. We know we have a growing obesity problem, which, if expenditure projections are even half right, will cost the Health and Social Services Department and, by extension, the taxpayer very dearly indeed in the coming years. In places we also have an air quality problem. For many journeys the car is absolutely essential for the way we live our lives in the twenty-first century, but for some journeys other alternatives are possible and can reap benefits.
We can of course continue to accept the increasing traffic and the downsides that it brings. Or we can look to make small and gradual changes that progressively improve things. Surely there can be very few people who would not like to see traffic reduced?
Guernsey also needs to sell itself both to the people and businesses already on the island but also to prospective investors and of course to visitors. How often do we hear tourists complain about our traffic? In my experience it is one of the most common complaints, if not made formally, at least heard in conversation with visitors.
This trial is not about forcing people out of their cars. It is not about closing Town to traffic. It is simply about minor changes to rebalance the way we travel and to provide an enhanced, healthier and more welcoming physical environment in the process.
The reduction to a single lane along The Quay is not only about making the road safer, but it also presents the possibility of enabling a much more pleasant environment to be presented to both tourists and locals. Would it not be nicer to have benches and more planting on the seaward side with more space for people to pass, especially with buggies and pushchairs, and where we could sit and enjoy our beautiful harbour rather than narrow single file pavements? Would it not be nicer to have al fresco cafes on the landward side looking over the harbour and out to Herm rather than looking at 3 lanes of traffic and numerous parked vehicles? Of course it does not look like that now because it is an experiment with temporary arrangements done at minimal cost but it could look like that. The space freed up by removing the second lane along The Quay could be put to other, more attractive uses. Environment took the opportunity presented ahead of routine road resurfacing early next year to undertake a very cheap trial, a live consultation, which if successful would enable all these improvements to be made while at the same time enhancing pedestrian safety, especially for those with more limited mobility.
When Market Street was closed there was a good deal of objection, but few would now dig up the square and give it back over to cars. If the Town Quay already had all the enhancements described above and Environment suggested installing another lane of traffic by narrowing the pavements and taking away seating, cafe tables, flowers and space, what would be the reaction I wonder? Towns everywhere are looking to reduce the impact of the car and to redesign themselves as pleasant places in which to spend time (and money).
Understandably, much has been made about the delays caused by the single lane and the effect of the cruise passengers. The Department's staff have been continually monitoring the traffic both on cruise liner days and non-cruise liner days at various times of the day. Our experience is that for the majority of the day when cruise liners are not in the traffic flows well. Problems do exist between 17:00hrs and 17:30hrs as drivers seek to exit the North Beach and we will try to ease that. When large cruise liners are present and passengers use all the crossings, not just the courtesy crossing, there is of course a greater impact on traffic. This would happen with or without the single lane. We must be under no illusion that simply putting things back to where they were last year whilst still accommodating the incredibly impressive growth in cruise ship passengers will fix everything.
Nevertheless, we stress that it is and it remains a trial and it has to work for those who use and work in our Town and who have their businesses there, so we will continue to liaise with other Departments, listen to all feedback and engage with stakeholders in order to seek the optimum outcome for all.
Contact Information:
Deputy Yvonne Burford, Minister
Environment Department
Tel: 717200
