DEPARTMENT FOR INFRASTRUCTURE
ST OUEN’S VILLAGE IMPROVEMENTS
Purpose of the Report
To approve the removal of the pelican crossing on La Route de Vinchelez in support of the States of Jersey Strategic Plan.
Background
Growth, Housing and Environment, GHE, received a request from the Parish of St Ouen to relocate the pedestrian crossing at the junction of La Route de Vinchelez and La Route du Marais, remove the bus stop lay-bys and provide a central reservation. This request was based on the following issues raised by the Parish:
- Since the development of Field No O588 into a park and petanque terrain the pedestrian desire line has moved further north
- There is parking by vehicles in the bus stops and on the footways, creating hazards for pedestrians
- Drivers have been noted to fail to observe the pedestrian crossing when turning left out of La Route du Marais.
Discussion
The northbound stop line for the pelican crossing is approximately 5m from the junction of Route du Marais. Common practice is to provide a pelican crossing at least 15m from a side road junction, and the UK regulations applying to pelican crossings suggest 20m is an appropriate distance. This is to allow enough time for a driver to focus their attention on the crossing and the potential red signal after pulling out of a side road, when they have been focussed on gaps in the traffic.
At the time the pelican crossing was installed, the main desire line for pedestrians was between La Route du Marais shops and the Parish Hall / Community Centre. Since then, the conversion of the adjacent field into a garden has created a new walking route from the Community Centre to the new gate feature by the bus stop, and this has shifted the main pedestrian desire line away from the crossing.
Site observations were made during January 2017, in the morning. At the time of the site visit the weather was sunny and dry but cold. The car park was approximately two thirds full.
There was a large delivery lorry unloading in the designated bay and there were two other smaller vehicles that unloaded goods behind the delivery lorry during the site visit. The smallest one was a transit sized van belonging to Ferryspeed delivering pharmaceuticals to the chemist. The driver stated that there are regularly three delivery vehicles present when he delivers, which is almost every weekday.
A van also stopped in the northbound bus stop layby while the driver visited the shop and then sat to eat something for approximately 15 minutes, and two other vans stopped on the footway on the southbound side of the road, for a few minutes, while the driver used the shop.
The car park is accessed from an un-named side road off La Route du Marais. There is a steep ramp up into the car park. During the site visit it was observed that vehicles exiting the car park and turning back towards the main road could not make the manoeuvre without blocking the route for vehicles turning in. Larger vehicles would have difficulty achieving this manoeuvre at all. Drivers leaving the car park were observed to wait some distance back from the junction, where they could see approaching vehicles, and wait for them to turn in before exiting.
The initial request was for the laybys to be filled in, the pelican crossing removed, a central island provided, and the pelican crossing relocated to the island. Pelican crossings are not generally provided with a central island as drivers and pedestrians are unclear about whether they should stop in the centre when the flashing period starts. Traffic and pedestrian volumes during the day may not justify the retention of the pelican crossing.
The following options were examined further:
- Refuge island only
- Zebra crossing with refuge island
- Revised car park layout
Refuge Island
A refuge island can only be accommodated in the centre of the existing bus lay-bys due to the constraining width of the road at each end of the lay-bys. In this position, a 2.0m wide island could be accommodated.
The west kerbline would be extended along the length of the lay-by to provide a footway width of 2.0m. The northbound bus stop would be relocated further north, close to the private unloading bay and could utilise the shops canopy as a shelter. The bus stop on the southbound bus stop would be relocated further south, adjacent to the existing shelter. The eastern side of the carriageway would be narrowed to 4.0m and the existing lay-by area converted to footway.
This would place the crossing point approximately 25m away from the junction, addressing the concerns about being too close to the junction. However, it is considered that it will not address the parking issues and buses may have difficulty accessing the kerb if there are vehicles parked or unloading.
Zebra Crossing with Refuge Island
A zebra crossing can be provided with an island as described above. This will help to prevent the illegal parking as the road will be protected with zig-zag markings. However, the unloading capacity of the unloading bay is likely to be exceeded at certain times of day. Smaller delivery vans should be encouraged to use the car park. Belisha beacons are required as this is a main road crossing.
Drivers and pedestrians are used to treating zebra crossings with an island as two separate streams to cross, so an island would be appropriate with a zebra in this situation.
Revised Car Park Layout
The difficult, indirect route into the car park may be putting off some drivers from using the car park, choosing to park on the main road. An additional access to the car park from the main road could be created that would allow smaller delivery vehicles to use the car park, and may also encourage more people to use it rather than park on the road. The car park is approximately level with the carriageway at this end and is Parish owned. The refuge island and zebra crossing are compatible with this arrangement, however the island would need to be narrowed to 1.8m and the road has been widened to 3.5m on the west side to ensure that there is room for vehicles to turn left out of the car park.
Two public and one business stakeholder consultations were held in October 2017 where the proposals were on view and questionnaires were available for people to complete. The survey was also available on gov.je.
Forty-seven (47) questionnaires were returned at the consultation, 18 were returned to the Parish Hall and 126 people used the on-line survey. Four responses were returned after the consultation had closed.
30% of respondents via the questionnaire lived within St Ouen’s village and 67% lived elsewhere in St Ouen. 24% of on-line survey respondents lived in the village and 44% elsewhere in St Ouen. 32% of on-line respondents lived in other parishes compared to 3% from the drop-in sessions.
From the questionnaire, 81% felt improvements were needed, whereas only 47% of on-line responded accordingly.
54% from the questionnaire responses said that the proposals address the safety issues whereas only 36% of on-line responses agreed with this.
The main concerns raised overall were that the removal of the bus lay-bys would cause traffic delays, that the proposals were a waste of money or not a good idea, and the speed of traffic through the area.
The business consultation was poorly attended with only one business representative, who agreed with the proposals.
Following comments from the consultations, the Parish will not be progressing with this change at this time.
With the wide ranging set of responses, a Parish Assembly was convened so that the proposals could be signed-off by the community if supported.
The Parish Assembly was held on 12 June 2019 where the proposals were carried forward. Funding is available for design work in summer/autumn 2019 and construction in late 2019 /2020.
Conclusion
In order to resolve the illegal parking and relocating the crossing to a safer location, it is recommended that the pelican and lay-bys are removed, pavements widened and a zebra crossing with a central island replaces these.
Recommendation
The Minister is recommended to approve the proposals.
Reason(s) for Decision
To improve pedestrian safety and the public realm in La Route de Vinchelez, in accordance with Government of Jersey Strategic Plan.
Resource Implications
The cost of the scheme is to be funded as part of the Department’s Sustainable Transport and Road Safety Schemes programme.
Action Required
Detailed design by Highways team.
Written by: | Assistant Engineer – Transport Policy |
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Approved by: | Director of Transport |
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Attachments: | S0-100-002 General Layout Drawing Photomontage |
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