Tuesday 04 July 2023
With the 2023 Island Games just days away, Traffic and Highway Services is encouraging islanders to walk, cycle and make the most of the free buses to make it easier for people to get around the island.
To improve safety around the key event hubs and to encourage walking and cycling, there will be 20mph reduced speed limit zones in place from 7th - 14th July. These will be in the areas around Delancey Park, Beau Sejour, Footes Lane, Hougue du Pommier and L'Ancresse Common.
Additional cycle parking
With the expectation that there will be more people cycling, additional temporary spaces for bicycles are being installed throughout the duration of the games on North Beach next to the existing cycle parking and near the petanque area. With several events taking place in town on Friday 14th July there will also be additional bicycle spaces available on the South Esplanade under the trees, adjacent to the bus terminus.
Park and Stride/Ride
Throughout the games, a field at the top of Le Val des Terres, adjacent to George Road, will be made available for people to park their vehicles anytime from 8th - 14th July. It will be free to park vehicles, with no time restriction in place.
There will be signs in place directing those who are driving to the entrance on George Road and a temporary bus stop will be put in place on Fort Road, near to the junction with Colborne Road. People can then choose to either walk into town or catch a scheduled bus service down Colborne Road.
All buses heading down Colborne Road (routes 92, 93, 94 and 95) will stop at the bus terminus at South Esplanade, except Friday 14th July when the daytime buses will divert via Queen's Road/Grange Road and stop at the temporary terminus which will be relocated at North Beach car park due to the closure of the seafront. There will be signs in place at the bus terminus advising people which buses to catch back up to the Park and Stride/Ride (routes 91, 93, 94 and 95).
Please note, there will be no designated park and ride buses or scheduled bus services up and down Le Val des Terres.
Free buses and new app
As well as the options available for walking and cycling, the Committee for the Environment & Infrastructure is offering free bus travel during the games. The free bus journeys will start the day before the games on Friday 7th July, when many visitors will be arriving, and will continue until the end of the games on Friday 14th July. All regular services, apart from late-night Friday and Saturday buses, will be free.
There is also a bus app available which can be downloaded on Apple and Android devices, providing live bus times, smart journey planning and detailed route maps.
Guernsey Taxi App
Islanders can now also hail a taxi in Guernsey using the Guernsey Taxi App on both Apple and Android devices. For the time being, this will be an on-demand app only and pre-booking a taxi in advance will still need to be done by contacting taxi companies directly. The app will provide an estimated fare for the journey, however, the fare will be taken from the in-vehicle taxi meter and paid directly to the driver.
Colin Le Page, Lead Officer - Traffic and Highway Services, said:
"Our team has been hard at work coordinating traffic management with the Island Games Organising Committee to try to ensure that road-based events and the associated transport runs as smoothly as possible.
"We all have an opportunity to play our part in making the transport run smoothly by walking and cycling wherever possible and by making the most of the free buses!
"We'll be publishing further information about parking suspensions and other traffic management measures for specific events, so please do keep an eye out for these."
The Island Games Organising Committee have published detail of the road closures and traffic management measures for road-based events.
