THS was the States body which put forward the proposal for covering the stream in the Water Lanes, which sparked anger among the public and has now been paused by the new ESC. Its report from 2022 felt there were no other suitable options.
But the transport specialists are now going to look at it again.
‘We are very happy to work closely with all relevant parties to assist with providing safe access for walking and cycling to the new Les Ozouets Campus,’ a spokesman said.
While Education, Sport & Culture is building the new post-16 site at Les Ozouets, it was THS which made recommendations to the planners about safe travel options to the site. The planners then signed off on the ideas in 2022.
As part of the 34-planning report and decision notice, THS laid bare its thinking over the use of the Water Lanes.
It highlighted that the eastern end of Collings Road was narrow and vehicles mounting the pavement put pedestrians at risk. There was no room for a cycle contraflow in the road.
‘It is therefore necessary to consider the routing of cyclists to bypass the eastern section of Collings Road,’ THS stated in the planning report.
‘Per the Arup report, the suggestion is very firmly that the current restrictions on cycling through the Water Lanes should be lifted in order that both cyclists and pedestrians can cycle between La Couture and Les Ozouets in both directions.’
THS then suggested the controversial idea of culverting the stream to create a wide enough cycle lane.
Staff had looked at other options, such as using Skins Lane and La Neuve Rue, but the former was considered too narrow and they had concerns about safety in the lower section of the latter, with several sharp corners and no footpath, facing fairly heavy traffic.
THS had also called for an investigation of the feasibility of a cycle and pedestrian path from Route de la Ramee, and another from Pont Vaillant to Les Ozouets.
In their response, the planners said that traffic safety and pedestrian matters had emerged as a key issue from the consultation on the planning application to rebuild at Les Ozouets.
Unlike other transport ideas from THS, the planners put a condition on ESC to provide details of a safe pedestrian and cycle route using the Water Lanes.
Other pedestrian and cycle routes were not made subject of a planning condition as both solutions and land ownership appeared to be complicated.
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