Wednesday 13 May 2015
Open Lines Column, Guernsey Press Enquiry:
Dear Sir
I am writing to express my growing concern regarding the urgent need for at least one street lamp on the 'S' bend of Rue du Friquet, between Les Baissieres and Landes du Marche, where there is no public footpath. A pedestrian having to walk this stretch of road at night (in either direction), with no footpath, is in great danger of being struck by a vehicle if the driver is temporarily unsighted by the headlights of on-coming traffic and doesn't see the pedestrian in time, especially if the latter has no reflective clothing or torch (which is often the case).
Although I, like other drivers, have travelled along this route hundreds of times in my car, I only really became aware of this very dangerous situation once as a pedestrian myself when, even though I had reflective clothing, was nearly struck by several cars. Drivers have no prior warning that they are approaching a very poorly lit area, this is also disguised by the bends in the road.
My 'scare' as a pedestrian made me more aware of the perilous situation in this area. It's caused 'at the end of the day' (pun intended) by the lack of street lighting and I have since witnessed several near accidents there involving walkers after lighting-up time.
If I have failed to highlight the extreme danger that the lack of street lamps is causing, I would ask those responsible to walk this stretch of road, in the dark, with some reflective clothing or torch even, when there are vehicles coming in both directions. Apart from the inherent danger of the corners, they will quickly realise that they are walking in the road, with the footpath ending abruptly and with no street lamp their life could be ending abruptly too.
Environment Department Response:
Your correspondent raises an issue of road safety, particularly at night, in relation to the section of Rue du Friquet where there is currently no pavement and no street lighting.
Road safety is the mandated responsibility of the Environment Department but the provision of street lighting on the Island's roads is the responsibility of the Parish Constables.
The area in question is a stretch of road that runs from the junction with Les Baissieres to the south and past Le Friquet Hotel to the north. There are pavements at either end but this particular section is not sufficiently wide in certain parts to have a raised pavement and still enable two-way traffic to pass without routinely having to mount the pavement. This is especially so to the north of Le Friquet Hotel where there is a blind corner and road markings already exist warning motorists to slow down.
Rue du Friquet is a traffic priority route and therefore experiences relatively high volumes of traffic. Unfortunately, there are many other similarly busy roads on the Island where there are currently no pavements, such as parts of Les Baissieres, Route de Coutanchez and Route de la Ramee. Whilst one of the aims of the Integrated Transport Strategy is to ensure that walking routes are as continuous and safe as possible it may not always be appropriate to install new pavements but in the event that it is then to do so would require funding from the Integrated Transport Strategy.
Irrespective of the above, motorists should always drive responsibly and be aware of the possible presence of vulnerable road users, especially when driving at night and extra caution should be displayed when driving on roads without pavements as pedestrians could be encountered walking in the road at any time. Speed limits should be observed as 'maximum' limits and speeds reduced in areas where the likelihood of conflict is increased.
Clearly the wearing of reflective or bright clothing by pedestrians and the provision of street lighting will all help to make pedestrians more visible in the dark but ultimately road safety depends on the actions of all road users.
There are no easy solutions for roads such as Rue du Friquet but the Environment Department will be speaking to the Castel Constables with regard to the suggestion that street lighting be improved along this stretch of road.
Contact Information:
Karl Guille, Traffic and Transport Services Manager
Environment Department
Tel: 01481 243400
