Accident waiting to happen on the Vrangue crossing

I’ve seen a motorbike skid across the crossing while attempting to miss the person who’s crossing. Cars come to a screeching halt just in time. This accident happened with the car heading towards the Bouet, that direction offers the clearest view of the crossing giving the most advanced warning that anyone is crossing.

Coming from the Bouet towards the Post Office is lethal. The hill leading up to the crossing is steeper and provides no clear-cut view of the crossing until you’re virtually on top of it.

What doesn’t help is that coming from that direction, the crossing is on the far side and obscured until you come over the crest of the hill.

The crossing, among other changes by the States on the island roads, was implemented without consulting the police. Implemented despite public outcry and the States was warned that such an accident as this would happen immediately they introduced it.

Not only did the States not consult the police, but they obviously don’t know their highway code.

Among other places, where not to park your car: ‘On the brow of a hill’. Doesn’t this tell you something? The reason is that the parked vehicle is obscured from view of the approaching traffic.

Doesn’t simple logic dictate that such would be the same for anyone crossing on the brow of a hill?

The States located the crossing on the brow. OK, I agree something needed to be done and a little bit of forethought would have reduced the likelihood of such an accident and made it safer to locate a crossing there. Obviously, forethought is another faculty that the States does not possess.

At the end of Bulwer Avenue where the road meets with the junction of Grandes Maisons Road, the States also introduced a crossing. This is a junction with no visibility issues, little difficulty in crossing and yet this time they installed crossing-operated traffic lights.

In reality, there was no requirement or very little for a crossing of any type – the States introduced one anyway. So, the logic of the States is to install traffic lights at a junction with no visibility issue, but not to install traffic lights where there is virtually no visibility at all.

And yet, the States expects us to not only listen to them, but trust that they actually know what they’re doing. A crossing is meant to ensure that pedestrians can cross in relative safety, not to further endanger their lives.

JOHN DE CARTERET

17 Delancey Court

Rue Des Monts

St Sampson’s

Phil Ogier, manager – Roads & Traffic Management, responds:

Thank you for the opportunity to reply to your reader’s letter highlighting their concerns.

The majority of the concerns raised by your reader seem to be referring to the crossing near Guelles Road, however, following the latest information from the ongoing police investigation, we understand the road traffic collision took place approximately 150 metres away and was not at a zebra crossing.

Before new formal crossings are installed, factors that are normally taken into consideration include the number and frequency of people crossing, traffic flow, sightlines, approach speed and the points at which people ordinarily cross, also known as desire lines.

The crossing near to Guelles Road is located on a clear desire line with facilities such as a school and a leisure centre in close walking distance.

Before the crossing was installed, people regularly crossed at this point but with no formal measures in place to assist them.

The zebra crossing at Guelles Road has been in place for about five years and we’ve received very little comment about this until recently. However, we always welcome constructive feedback from members of the public, who can submit their experiences to us by email at traffic@gov.gg. In this way, we

can try to build a picture of any issues that are ongoing and consider whether there are practical ways to address

them.