After the addition of a “monstrous” red stripe on a lane in Grouville left parishioners confused, the removal of a white line on a road in St Brelade has raised just as many questions.
And it has emerged that the police were not consulted on the change to Route de Noirmont which is part of a six-month trial.
One concerned parishioner and politician Deputy Helen Miles asked what evidence – “if any” – existed that removing the central white line on the road would improve road safety, in a written question to Infrastructure Minister Andy Jehan.
Constable Jehan responded that several studies and trials, including in the UK, indicated that the removal of the central line on certain types of road – “typically on rural or low-traffic urban streets” – improved road safety by lowering speeds, with fewer severe crashes, “especially for vulnerable road users like pedestrians and cyclists” and increased driver attention.
“This effect is largely behavioural and hinges on uncertainty regarding right-of-way and shared responsibility, two key behavioural triggers in traffic calming,” the Minister said.
The central line was not reinstated following resurfacing works in February this year.
The Infrastructure Minister said his department had received “noticeable ongoing correspondence” from Noirmont residents about safety concerns for pedestrians and cyclists using the road.
Responding to a query from Deputy Miles about whether the police had been consulted prior to the trial, Constable Jehan said: “The Department for Infrastructure’s Transport Section as ‘main road’ highway authority did not consult the State of Jersey Police prior to the trial.
“While we work in partnership with the States Police regarding strategic road safety initiatives, such as the island’s ‘Collision and Casualty Reduction Plan: 2025 – 2034’, it would not be in line with normal practice to consult the States of Jersey Police about a specific operational matter such as a road traffic trial, or road improvement scheme, unless it required specific enforcement support, which was not the case in this instance.
“The Department for Infrastructure’s Transport Section is the competent authority in relation to traffic and highway engineering matters.”
A giant red stripe – which later turned out to be a road safety initiative painted near Grouville School – appeared along Rue De La Haye Du Puits over the May half term.