Minister pledges to reopen Broad Street “as soon as possible”

Thursday 10 December 2020

The Infrastructure Minister has said that he will reopen Broad Street as soon as he can - despite the street being earmarked for “reprioritisation” in the Government’s Sustainable Transport Policy.

The road was closed to vehicles in May as a temporary measure so that pedestrians were able to have additional space to physically distance when visiting town, particularly around the Post Office and Alliance supermarket.

Since then, a number of businesses along the road have complained that trade has nosedived since it closed, and shutting it has done nothing to encourage physical distancing, particularly at the busy Charing Cross end. More than 1,000 people signed a petition in August calling for its reopening. 

Others, however, have said that customers feel safer with the road closed and it is a more pleasant environment without traffic noise and pollution. 

This week, the Government published an update on its 10-year Sustainable Transport Policy, which was approved by the States in March but has been delayed due to the pandemic. 

Pictured: Broad Street has been closed to traffic since May.

In it, one of the projects listed as “underway” is the “reprioritisation of road space” in Broad Street, Waterworks Valley and Hill Street.

However, Infrastructure Minister Deputy Kevin Lewis denied this meant that Broad Street’s current closure had now become official policy. 

“I want to reopen Broad Street as soon as I can because it is an important artery through town,” he said. “The current problem isn’t with Broad Street itself, actually, it’s more the bunching up that happens at the pedestrian crossing at Charing Cross. 

“Once I am advised that the road can open safely, I will reopen it.”

Deputy Lewis added that the measures in the STP update were to create a two-way cycle lane down one side of Broad Street, and another along Hill Street. This would make it safer for cyclists to cross town, especially children going to and from schools he said. Cyclists will be able to, for instance, pedal from the Weighbridge up Hill Street and into La Motte Street, connecting the south of town with the north. 

Other STP projects that have now begun include the realignment of the cycle path alongside Jardin de la Mer, and ‘bikeability’ training given by Jersey Sport. A senior policy officer has also been recruited and will start work this month to implement the plan. 

Several proposals successfully brought to the States by individual politicians have also been incorporated into the overall strategy. These include Deputy Rob Ward’s Green Lanes plan, Deputy Montfort Tadier’s bus through-fare proposal, and Constable Chris Taylor’s plan for mobile speed cameras.