Blue-badge holders: "Our focus remains on Broad Street"

Wednesday 24 April 2024

Parking spaces near the Royal Square currently reserved for Jurats could be made available to blue-badge holders on all days of the week following a Minister’s request to the Bailiff.

But the leader of a group lobbying for disabled parking to be reinstated to Broad Street said that her focus remained on their original goal.

Jackie Hilton, a former politician and member of the Facebook Disability Parking Group, said: "Our focus is and remains on Broad Street, not the Royal Square.

"Vine Street won't cut the mustard for us, because we want the lower part of King Street to be accessible to those people with very limited mobility."

Broad Street was first pedestrianised in May 2020 to support social distancing in King Street and at the Charing Cross intersection during the pandemic.

In the summer of 2021, Ministers agreed to extend the closure – following a proposition from St Helier Constable Simon Crowcroft – and the disabled bays have not returned. Only buses and bicycles are currently allowed to use the road.

Ms Hilton recently requested a meeting with Infrastructure Minister Andy Jehan to discuss the issue, which she said made disabled islanders feel "forgotten". They are now due to meet on Monday afternoon.

Constable Jehan said that Ms Hilton's initial request had prompted him to write to the Bailiff suggesting that Vine Street should be made available for blue-badge parking throughout the week and not just at weekends.

Speaking to Express, Constable Jehan said: "The availability to blue-badge holders has actually been increased, so some spaces were lost in Broad Street, but there were more blue-badge spaces elsewhere to replace them.

"We will do our best to meet a continued demand, and we want people to be able to access town."

He added: "We're planning work in several weeks' time to promote the hopper bus, which will help able-bodied and less able-bodied people to get around town."

Ms Hilton said: "We have not budged, and we will be making our case to the Minister on Monday.

"We want to try to understand why he believes that Broad Street should remain closed, because nothing has happened since its closure."

Islanders are urged to call Parking Control on 448669 if they see someone abusing a disabled parking space.