‘We have thought of moving as the school traffic will be so bad’
ONE woman living in Duveaux Lane, which she said was already a rat run, said she and her husband have contemplated moving house because of the plans to enlarge St Sampson’s High School and the impact it will have on traffic.
Several people living near the school, which will become Victor Hugo College in the new two-school model, are concerned that if Les Gigands Road becomes one-way, as identified in the traffic impact assessment, then their road will be chaos as drivers use it as an alternative.
‘I don’t think it should go ahead,’ said Phyllis Pipet, 47.
‘This road is a rat run now, let alone when the amount of people who are travelling to here increases. The area and the school will not be able to cope.
‘Four of our cats have died in that road and then there have been multiple crashes, I just cannot understand it.
‘In fact we have even contemplated moving because of it all.’
Between 2016 and 2019, there have been 91 road collisions in the St Sampson’s High School study area, including 44 at junctions and 47 along roads.
Of those, 24 reported personal injuries, including one on La Route du Braye recorded as serious.
The TIA estimates 482 vehicles would drop off students in the morning, reducing in number for the afternoon pick-up to 198 vehicles.
However, ideas for road traffic improvement near the school included a potential signal crossing on Les Gigands between the car park and La Vielle Rue, should the Oatlands car park be identified as a proposed drop and stride location.
Sustainable transport interventions were also suggested within the TIA, such as a potential footway and cycleway on Les Gigands to encourage active travelling.
Yet residents of Duveaux Lane think it is not enough for their area.
Milton Carre, 71, said their road was bad enough at peak times already.
‘We try not to drive at times when people are leaving or going to school,’ he said.
‘It’s going be even busier once they more than double the amount of people that will be travelling to the school.
‘They’ve said that they want to encourage walking to the school, but the States are living in cuckoo land if they think students and staff should walk and use bikes to school.
‘I’ve seen the bags that they carry and the amount of work they need to bring, they’ll have back problems before long carrying all that.
‘Children’s lives are at risk, I don’t think they have even considered that.’
His wife, Jean, 69, agreed that it would be dangerous to expect children to walk during all seasons and all weather.
‘Imagine in the dark – you can hardly get a child to wear a waterproof, let alone a high-vis jacket,’ she said.
‘One idea would be to introduce traffic lights at the Saltpans crossing, but it wouldn’t be a solution, it would just slow traffic down and then cause backlogs of traffic.
‘Either way, we’re not sure anyone at the States will take any notice of our concerns anyway.’
Pupil numbers will increase from 713 to around 1,500 at the St Sampson’s site.
In addition the number of staff on-site, including support staff, is expected to rise from 102 to approximately 180.
The site will change into Victor Hugo College by 2025.
