La Mare de Carteret Primary School and the Sixth Form Centre are the next schools in the island to start trialling the national School Street scheme. From Monday 8 June until at least 6 July, the entirety of Rue des Francais and the eastern section of Rue du Galaad from the schools to the junction with Rue a Ronces and Route de la Hougue du Pommier will be closed on weekdays between 8.15am and 8.40am and 2.45pm and 3.15pm.
Only pedestrians, cyclists, buses, emergency vehicles and those accessing properties will be allowed access during those times.
‘With two educational institutions currently based at the La Mare de Carteret site, this latest informal trial will allow for a safer journey to and from school for a larger proportion of young islanders, their families and school-based staff,’ said Traffic and Highway Services road safety officer Paul James.
‘The School Street schemes also increase the expanding network of safer routes across the island that vulnerable road users can be confident using as part of their journeys, especially at peak times.’
Two School Streets already exist in Guernsey, at St Martin’s Primary and La Houguette Primary. A further three – at St Sampson’s High and Hautes Capelles Primary, Les Beaucamps High and Castel Primary – are in an official trial period, which lasts between nine and 12 months.
The scheme is being implemented across the island in partnership with Traffic and Highway Services, as part of the States’ Integrated Transport Strategy to improve road safety.
The upcoming trial is set to target an area of particular concern, where a total of seven separate road safety incidents in the last five years have occurred, two of which were near misses involving parents with a young child, and vehicles encroaching footpaths or not stopping at crossings.
But some parents yesterday said they did not see the need for a new School Street.
One Year 6 parent, who preferred not to be named, said she had not heard of any near misses over the years.
‘I think the whole drop-off procedure in the morning is quite slick, especially if you time it right,’ she said.
‘I actually don’t agree with the road closure. It’s not taken into consideration those parents who really have to drive their kids to school, and the direction from which they’re travelling. But we’ve only got six weeks left, so it won’t impact us greatly.’
Andre Vaudin, who was walking his six-year-old granddaughter Ronnie home, was sceptical about the scheme working in the area.
‘We’ll wait and see,’ he said.
‘The one in St Martin’s, the school’s a completely different set-up, with no special constable outside and no zebra crossing. Whereas we have both here.’
Nine-year-old Aimee’s dad, James Le Messurier, agreed that the precautions already in place at La Mare de Carteret were ample for a safe walking commute. He thought that a School Street would create a worse knock-on effect on traffic.
‘It’s going to be carnage,’ he said.
‘They’re going to double the amount of traffic either side and apparently there’s going to be no parking in the school. On a rainy day you’re going to have all those cars parking on the road. I don’t think it’s going to work here. All the parents who have kids at the Varendes – which is in this catchment now – will have to go round Cobo.
‘We walk nearly every day, and it’s never been a problem. You get the odd truck come along, but there are so many gateways that you can stand in, and they generally just stop anyway. This is a busy day and there’s hardly any cars. There’s plenty of visibility at the junctions – I just can’t see the point. I don’t think it’s worth it.’
However, La Mare de Carteret Primary headteacher Alison Elliott said the scheme would support the school’s commitment to safety and wellbeing.
‘We hope that this trial will create a calmer, safer environment that will transform the streets surrounding our school into a welcoming space that actively encourages families to choose walking, cycling, or scooting.
‘Active travel not only boosts physical health but also ensures our children arrive at their classrooms energised, focused and ready to learn.’
And though the launch is unlikely to impact the sixth-formers’ later pick-up and drop-off times, Kieran James, principal of The Sixth Form Centre, said it would still benefit the older students.
‘While this initiative is understandably aimed at the primary school pupils first and foremost, we fully support facilitating and encouraging safer active travel and reducing congestion around our site for sixth-form students as well,’ he said.
‘Our student active travel team is particularly keen to welcome this new School Street prior to an event they are organising in July – at which they will be sharing young people’s experiences of local roads with our deputies and asking for change.’
The owner of Up Climbing, Dimi Hutchinson, has been told that her business – located within the School Street zone – will be exempt from the rules, but she still had reservations.
‘Anything that can help kids be active is great and we’re all for it,’ she said.
‘But my only concern is that it might cause confusion. We need to let people know that we’re still accessible. Hopefully it should be fine, but we’ll wait and see.’
The first stage is an informal feasibility trial, which will be conducted under temporary signage.
Traffic & Highway Services will monitor its workings, before it potentially progresses to an official trial.
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