Tuesday 25 April 2023
Following the success of the initial St Martin's School Street trial before Easter, the Committee for the Environment & Infrastructure has agreed to continue the initiative on La Route des Coutures with an official trial due to start once permanent signage is in place.
The trial will be in place for a minimum of nine months and may be in place for up to 12 months before being reviewed. Until the permanent signage is in place, temporary signage will be used.
This follows a week-long feasibility trial that took place before Easter which was instigated by pupils at St Martin's Primary School after they raised their concerns around safety at school drop-off and pick-up times.
This initiative will mean that La Route des Coutures will continue to be closed to traffic (except for cyclists and those vehicles accessing properties) on weekdays during term-time from:
- 8.30am-9am
- 2.45pm-3.15pm
When introducing prohibitions to a road in Guernsey, a trial must first take place before consideration of this becoming a permanent arrangement.
Paul James, Road Safety Officer, said:
"Improving safety for all road users, particularly vulnerable road users, is one of the objectives of our Integrated Transport Strategy. Before the trial we noted instances of high speed in the surrounding area. One in every six cars exceeded the 25mph speed limit during the drop-off and pick-up times, with one car travelling at over 50mph shortly after school pick-up time. Therefore, we were really pleased when we were approached by St Martin's Primary School about the idea of a School Street.
"It's one thing to have an idea in theory, but it was really helpful to see this initiative in practice during the week-long trial, which showed that the surrounding road network was able to cope with diverted traffic with minimal disruption. Significantly, this initiative should serve to improve access to schools by providing safe, healthy and efficient travel options, encouraging active travel."
Clare Giles, St Martin's Primary School Headteacher, said:
"The School Street has been very well received by the school community. The school undertook a survey following the week-long trial and found that over 80% of the members of the school community were in favour of making this initiative permanent, which highlights the positive response.
"It's important to remember that this was all started off because pupils were concerned about the risks they encountered during drop-off and pick-up times around school and they wanted to do something about it. This has now resulted in a much longer trial, so it's fantastic for the pupils to see their voice being heard on issues that matter, enabling them to play their part in improving safety."
