The closure of Route de la Charruee and temporary traffic lights along Cobo Coast Road were already causing congestion around the area, but when the new term started last week the ‘school street’ restrictions came into place at drop-off and pick-up times, making the problems in the area even worse.
Reduced parking arrangements have also not helped, as parents are parking their cars along the road, sometimes up close to the filter, while they collect their children from school.
‘I can deal with the temporary traffic lights, but the school street is a pain,’ said one parent last week, who asked not to be named.
‘I work in Town so it’s a mad rush to get from Town to the school gates in time at the minute.
‘Parking has been reduced since the sixth form moved here, so not only do we have the traffic but then we need to find somewhere to park too.’
Others said that problems with traffic in the school street were exacerbated by unclear signage placed too high.
‘I didn’t see that – I completely missed it,’ said Geoffrey Jehan, who was picking up his grandson from school.
Mr Jehan also said that despite the school street restrictions there was still a lot of traffic in the area, especially with the road closures.
‘You’ve still got to be a bit careful here,’ he said, pointing towards the filter end of the road.
The States has acknowledged that two of the signs were originally put in the wrong place by its contractor, but said the problem had now been fixed.
Laura Oxburgh, head of on-island travel and transport implementation, said there were now six school streets in operation across the island, each closing a road near a school to traffic during drop-off and pick-up times to protect pupils and their families.
‘Two of the signs were originally placed in the wrong positions by our contractor,’ she said.
‘The No-Through Road sign which was located by the school should have been positioned by Rue des Marais, while the sign located at Rue des Marais should have been positioned by the school. We asked our contractor to prioritise this and it has now been rectified.’
She said the contractor had also been asked to lower some of the signs by 20-30cm, as a few were ‘just too high’, but defended their size and placement, saying the key messages were clear and that none of the signs or poles could be removed ‘without compromising the clarity or legality of the restrictions’.
Ms Oxburgh acknowledged that more vehicles appeared to be driving through the prohibited section than at the end of last term. She said this was down to a number of factors, including the two incorrect signs, parents unfamiliar with the scheme at the start of the year, the roadworks in Route de la Charruee, and the switch from temporary signage to signs on poles.
‘With the corrected signage in place, once drivers have familiarised themselves with the new permanent signage, then I would expect compliance to increase to levels we saw last term,’ she said.
She said Traffic and Highway Services would use social media to remind motorists about the island’s school streets, and that the school planned to position a special constable at the junction of Rue a Ronces to enforce the restriction. If significant non-compliance continued, the police would be asked to attend.