Albert Pier's benefits outweigh problems
THERE is much discussion about the recently installed single-lane traffic heading south along the North Beach. There is no doubt that it does slow down traffic even sometimes backing up to the Weighbridge roundabout. On the other hand it does succeed in keeping pedestrians safer when crossing to the Town Church.
The reason for this controversy is the decision to bring cruise passengers ashore on the Albert Pier. Leaving aside the suitability of the landing pontoon and its ramp for which improvement is planned, I believe that the Albert Pier is a much more user-friendly and safer place to bring cruise passengers ashore than the White Rock and it is closer to Town.
There is room for the Tourist staff to greet them which they do warmly, room to congregate and safe guided walkways. There are excellent facilities immediately adjacent to the landing and the coaches are safely out of the way on the north arm. There is also the opportunity to provide shelter for passengers returning to the ship. I don't know if that has been considered but it would be impossible on the White Rock.
From here it is a safe walk to Town along the Old Harbour with a very pleasant view of the Town Church and seafront and the marina alongside.
Between March and September there are 61 days when more than 900 cruise passengers could potentially come ashore. They don't all come of course but nevertheless many hundreds if not thousands do and it is essential to guide them to Town safely. However with two-lane south-bound traffic there would be no room for them to wait at the Town Church crossing. There could be 50 or more waiting to cross with another hundred on the way. When the traffic is reduced to one lane heading south then there is plenty of room for them to wait and then cross safely though, as an aside, I don't think it is necessary to have a policeman and a traffic warden controlling the traffic. Perhaps two special constables or even volunteers with lollipops might do.
Perhaps the fault lies in making the crossing permanent. I am sure it could be easily altered to one-way south for the really busy days and then revert to the usual layout for the great majority of days when pedestrian traffic is more normal and certainly in the months of October to March.
If that crossing is closed then the only route from the Albert Pier to the Town is via the crossing at the bus station which again brings traffic to a halt. Cruise passengers taking this route must pass between the toilet block and the back of the news stall, both equally unattractive. They then face the Albany, a very functional building with a clock which hasn't worked for years and onwards through a somewhat nondescript square only to bring three lanes of traffic to a stop again at the bottom of Cornet Street and Fountain Street. This is probably three times the distance and using three crossings only to arrive at the same place and with no greater safety.
We are concerned that the tourist industry is not what it was and we need more visitors. Well now we have thousands visiting us, even if they are only here for a few hours and we complain that they cause a minute or two's delay in traffic. Perhaps we don't want Guernsey to be the best tender cruise liner port in Europe which it is. Can you just hear Jersey complaining about all the extra visitors if they were fortunate enough to be 'in the same boat'? What's so special about south-bound traffic anyhow? There is only one lane heading north and no-one complains about that.
B. MAUGER,
St Peter Port.
