Wednesday 30 July 2014
Guernsey Press Enquiry:
In regard to our phone call can the department please answer the following questions in relation to the cycle path along the front near Salary Corner.
- Can the department please comment on what action it will take, if any, to adjust the area of the cycle path where David Allison was over run last year?
- Has the department now assessed the judgement of the court case and decided action needs to be taken? If so, what will be done, if not, why has it decided nothing needs to be changed?
- Are any civil cases resulting from the same incident being taken against the department?
- Does the department think it has any culpability in what happened, given the signage and apparent confusion over what some of the road markings in the area meant?
- The entrance / exit is only meant to be for boats and trailers, will that remain the case or has the department decided to make alterations? If not, why not?
- The signage which informs people of this was put up after the incident, does this show the department was at fault for not having it there before?
- Will the department, perhaps as part of the traffic strategy, be looking for more stringent requirements on lorries, to ensure they have modern equipment in place to allow them to detect cyclists, such as improved mirrors and cameras and sensors? If so, why? If not, why does it believe it is acceptable to allow lorries to have a 'blind spot'?
- - Would any new bus fleet have to have updated, modern safety equipment for cyclist detection fitted? If not, why not?
- - Does the department have any plans to ensure States departments only award contracts to firms with these improved safety measures?
- - Are there any other options under consideration by the department to make cycling on island roads safer? If so, what are they? If not, why is it not looking to make changes.
This is planned in for tomorrow's paper, so if you can please respond by 4pm today, I would be grateful.
Environment Department Response:
The Environment Department has not seen a copy of the Court judgement on this case.
The Department has previously taken steps to reduce the potential for conflict between vehicles having used the slipway (to collect or drop off boats and then exit through this gap in the wall) and pedestrians/cyclists using the adjacent pavement. It has long been an offence for any other vehicle to exit the car park using this route.
The measures taken at that time involved the installation of new signs restricting access through this entrance to vehicles towing boat trailers only and clarifying the existing prohibition on vehicles exiting the car park through this area.
Access/egress to/from the slipway requires motorists to physically traverse the cycle path/pavement and hence until the area is closed off the onus of responsibility remains on the motorist to ensure that it is safe to do so before carrying out the manoeuvre. Given the extremely poor sightlines at this junction, exiting from the site has long been restricted.
Notwithstanding the very tragic accident that happened here in 2012 and a period of heightened enforcement by the Police, certain motorists have continued to ignore the (now) increased signage highlighting controls on the exiting of vehicles through this access. This has been evidenced by a number of random checks undertaken by staff of the Environment Department.
This is an extremely disappointing state of affairs and is a sad reflection on the total disregard that a small number of motorists have for the law and for road safety in general. Accordingly, this has left the Department with no alternative but to make arrangements to close off this access to vehicular traffic entirely, a decision which it has already taken but which will require a re-organisation of the physical layout of the existing car park in order to facilitate boat movements through the main car park entrance and around to the slipway. Plans in this regard have already been designed and the necessary planning approvals, budgetary processes and subsequent project works will be instigated in the coming weeks and months.
Much media interest has been made of the allegedly confusing nature of some of the pavement markings in the immediate vicinity of where the accident took place. The Environment Department had previously advised on the meaning of the rumble strips and bicycle/pedestrian symbols used at various points along the cycle path and sought to clarify how these are used to denote the approaches to narrower parts of the pavement where pedestrians and cyclists share the available space rather than keep to their respective designated lanes. This is of no relevance to vehicles on the road. All markings on the cycle path/pavement are solely for the information or attention of cyclists and pedestrians and have no bearing on the requirements on other road users traversing the public highway. In this particular instance the signage in question advises both cyclists and pedestrians that they should be aware that they are entering a shared lane and consequently it cannot in any way be deemed to have been a contributory factor to the above accident.
Accordingly, the Department does not consider that it is culpable in any way for what happened on the day in question. Notwithstanding this, the Department takes its road safety mandate very seriously and in addition to the interim measures that it put in place last June and the further measures that it is now proposing to implement in relation to permanently closing off the access/egress to vehicular traffic, it will also be undertaking a full review of the layout and conspicuousness of the entire seafront cycle path/pavement to give cycles and pedestrians clear priority at other points along the path as one of its first initiatives to improve cycling and pedestrian infrastructure as part of its recently approved Transport Strategy. In addition the Department will be examining the option of introducing presumed liability legislation.
With regard to heavy goods vehicles construction, there is currently no specific legal requirement to provide enhanced external visibility. This is an area which we will be exploring alongside the Department's other safety priorities.
Contact Information:
Karl Guille, Traffic and Transport Services Manager
Environment Department
Tel: 243400
