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The Government is recruiting for the island’s first Cycling Officer, with the successful candidate being in the frame for a salary of up to £69,000 - more than double the salary being offered for a very similar role in the UK.
With the island committed to net-zero carbon emissions by 2050, the Government wants more people to opt for two wheels over four.
As part of its Sustainable Transport Policy, it has built more bike shelters and created new cycle lanes, but the Government wants to go further.
Advertising the permanent role, which does not require five years’ residency and offers a salary of between £62,905 and £69,137, it says: “Working with Transport Planners, Engineers, Jersey Sport and a wide range of other stakeholders, the Cycling Officer will progress our ‘cycling roadmap’ by overcoming barriers to cycling through better information and the creation of cycle routes that are coherent, legible, and comfortable.
“By promoting cycling to a wider audience, the Cycling Officer contributes to behavioural change.”
Pictured: The Government would like to emulate the cycling culture that is typical in cities like Amsterdam.
It continues: “As well as a passion to encourage active travel, key attributes for this role include the ability to work collaboratively and have the technical skills to develop cycle infrastructure concepts for engineering colleagues to deliver.
“You should have experience working with active travel promotion or projects, education to degree level and an academic foundation in transport planning or highway engineering.
“Having or working toward Chartered Transport Planning Professional or a Highways or Civil Engineering professional qualification will support progressing in the role.
“This is a unique opportunity to be the lead for cycling in a self-governing Island where change can be innovative and rapid.”
Meanwhile, a Cycling and Walking Officer advertised by Bury Council last summer had a salary of between £24,072 and £27,741 for the same 37 hours a week.
Duties there included “to design, implement and evaluate sustainable transport projects to promote walking and cycling” and “to project manage the implementation of active travel schemes and undertake monitoring of projects outputs.”
Pictured: The role being advertised in Bury.
A degree or equivalent and relevant experience in designing cycling and walking schemes were deemed “essential”.
According to Jersey's Sustainable Transport Policy, islanders collectively lose 400,000 hours a year sat in peak-time traffic, while road transport accounts for 32% of the island’s carbon emissions.
Two thirds of islanders want to give more space to people, bikes and buses, it adds.
New cycle lanes already in place include one running up Hill Street between Halkett Place and La Motte Street. However, plans for a new lane along Georgetown Road and Don Road have not materialised.
In its ‘Active Travel Plan’, the STP also envisages an Eastern Cycle Route, safer cycle routes to all schools and more segregated cycle routes.
Written and approved before the pandemic, the plan pledged to have a dedicated Cycling Development Officer appointed by June 2020.
Contacted for comment, a Government spokesperson said that the job was "not about teaching people to cycle but about supporting the Sustainable Transport Policy as a senior engineer". They added that the post was for a professionally qualified Transport Planner, Highway or Civil Engineer at a Chartered level.
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