Courtesy better than road rage

OK. I'M going to brace myself, summon up my courage and jump into the most contentious political issue of the moment. It certainly isn't the biggest. In fact it's dwarfed by population policy, demographics, the deficit, public sector pension reform, secondary education and changes to our system of government. But the traffic layout along the Town Quay certainly has got everybody talking. Every islander and their dog seems to have an opinion, and in most cases a strident one.

My take, by contrast, is far more moderate. In fact, the issue hasn't really registered on my political Richter scale, but I accept it is something which affects most islanders directly and needs to be resolved.

To my mind the 'problem' stems from the ever-growing number of cruise line passengers visiting Guernsey. Of course it's a nice problem to have. While I'm somewhat cynical over some of the grand claims made about the economic benefits such fleeting visitors bring to Guernsey, it's nice to have them drop in. It certainly gives town a lively vibe, they obviously tend to spend something and maybe a few of them will return for a 'proper holiday'.

More than that, Guernsey has always been a welcoming island so the last thing we want to send out is a message that we are somehow 'closed' or putting a limit on those coming to our shores to enjoy what we have to offer.

So why is the burgeoning cruise business a problem? Well, traffic-wise it's pretty simple. Wherever they disembark, the Albert Pier, the Inter-Island Quay or even at a new cruise ship berth, it will be to the east of the main road along the St Peter Port seafront. Town, by contrast, is on the west. So there is no getting away from the fact that thousands and thousands of visitors (growing by the season) will want to cross that road. This is bound to cause congestion, delays and frustration. The trick is to minimise those problems as far as possible.

The way to do that is not for everybody to get too hot under the collar in some sort of collective act of road rage. Rather it's to look at the situation coolly and logically and try to find the best way forward. Nor is the answer to simply to go back to the previous layout because 'it used to work'. The situation has changed and therefore the solution needs to be different too.

Anyway, I'm not sure how well the previous layout really did work. Certainly the unofficial crossing 'opposite Woolworths' was a menace the way it used to be. I have nearly been run down there myself and I've also nearly got somebody else killed. How? By being too polite and while in the left, seaward-side lane heading south, stopping to let pedestrians across. Alas, the chap on the inside lane was feeling less generous and tragedy nearly ensued as he zoomed through missing the pedestrians by inches.

With thousands of cruise passengers now landing at the Albert Pier, doing nothing to resolve those issues wasn't an option. And even if they no longer landed there it certainly should not go back to the way it was. The other options for that crossing include closing it altogether or turning it into an official crossing – either zebra or light-controlled.

Closing it won't work. It's just too natural a place to cross. People (including, I confess, a far younger version of myself) always used to cross there even when there was no crossing. Anyway, making people go right along to the Crown Pier or to opposite the bus terminus to cross is just too pedestrian-unfriendly. To thrive, towns need to be accessible, not make it harder to get from the car parks to the shops.

A zebra crossing is also a non-starter because it would only aggravate hold-ups. Every time a pedestrian wanted to cross, the traffic flow would grind to a halt. So the only real options are an improved courtesy crossing, which is what is currently being trialled, or a light-controlled crossing.

Initially I tended to be in favour of trying to improve the traditional informal approach to this crossing. Certainly, having crossed it a few times recently as a pedestrian I find it much improved. Alas, it seems to be causing significant traffic hold-ups at times. Why is this? My theory is it's because Guernsey people are just too darn polite. Speaking generally, long may that last, but when it comes to this crossing they are simply giving way to pedestrians too often. Every time a single pedestrian is standing by the side of the road their natural instinct is to stop and let them cross. I know mine is. But it's actually fouling up the system.

The main difference between a zebra crossing and a pelican crossing is that the first stops the traffic and lets pedestrian cross whenever they want. By contrast, the second gathers pedestrians into groups by making them wait for a minute or so and thereby keeps the traffic flowing most of the time. By being so courteous in respect of the 'Woolworths' courtesy crossing we are turning it into a zebra rather than a pelican. And as I can't see the Guernsey person changing their nature any time soon (at least, I hope not), maybe the only answer is to install pedestrian lights to keep the traffic flowing.

However, I agree with the Environment Department (I just ducked) that it's worth running the experiment a bit longer, and maybe tweaking it to see if it can be made to work. I don't really want to see another set of lights along our picturesque seafront.

Where I disagree with the Environment minister is when she says it might be a good idea for the States to discuss the issue. Maybe that's exasperation from 'not being able to do right for doing wrong', but if our parliamentary assembly starts to work on specific traffic arrangements as a committee of 47 then there really is no hope.

These are detailed operational issues of the sort which fall squarely in departmental mandates. If the States intervene to overrule Environment over crossings or PSD over cruise ship landing arrangements then it's a clear sign of lack of confidence. How many more departments do we want stepping down? Are there other deputies who we think will be a better bet? I leave those questions open.

We are all entitled to an opinion on traffic issues and to get a bit angry when we experience delays. That's natural. But road rage, whether individual or collective, is ugly and rarely leads to a good outcome.