Constable calls for parishes to review speed limit

Tuesday 15 August 2017

St Brelade's Constable has called for other parishes to review speed limits in their area after deciding to drop limits on several roads in his parish from 40mph to 30mph in a bid to enhance pedestrian and cyclist safety.

Steve Pallett said that the speed limit has been reduced over the whole parish, with only a couple of roads left at a limit of 40 mph.

St Brelade's review stemmed from one conducted island-wide by the DfI in 2015. At the time, an island-wide default limit of 30mph was suggested, with only some roads at 40mph. However, 56% voted against it in the Jersey Annual Social Survey, and the proposal was deemed "not publicly acceptable".

St Brelade Roads Committee later carried out their own review and issued a series to recommendations that were passed to the Parish Assembly for consideration. Those included reducing the speed on parish by-roads from 40mph to 30mph, leaving only Le Chemin des Basses, la Route de la Pulente and the roads around Corbière at 40mph. Le Mont à La Brune, la Route des Camps and the roads around la Rue des Mans et Le Mont au Roux will be limited at 30mph. The roads around Noirmont will be further reduced with a maximum of 20mph. 

Pictured: The proposed map for speed limits in St Brelade.

Now that the proposal has been sent to the DfI, Constable Pallett is awaiting their approval to enforce the changes. He said that he is not planning on over-policing the affected areas. "It would put too much strain on the Police," he explained. "People in St Brelade have it in their head that the speed limit is 30mph, even around Corbière and the Five Mile Road. We always encourage them to drive at a safe speed and not necessarily at the speed limit. Driving more responsibly is more about the road condition than the limit."

While he admits that some parishioners were not enthusiastic about lower speed limits, Constable Pallett says that talking to those people has helped them understand their reasoning. "When you explain to people why you are dropping the speed - for the safety of pedestrians, cyclists and people who live in the area - they understand. Driving at 30mph or 40mph only makes a difference of four seconds and yet it could save a life. If you put it in context, people adhere to it because it makes sense. We have a lot of schools on busy main roads and there are some roads where you need to take extra special care. We are hoping that with a little bit more control we can all be safer!"

Pictured: The Five Mile Road will be one of the only few where the speed limit stays at 40mph.

Earlier this year, the DfI launched the Road Safety Action Plan with the support of the Parishes, Honorary and States Police. One of its key objectives is to review all speed limits across Jersey by the end of 2019. This review will be carried out parish by parish, working with the Parish Officials and Roads Committees to set appropriate speed limits to meet community needs.

So far, St Brelade and Grouville are the only parishes who have carried out their reviews, while St Martin has nearly completed its own. DfI are working to move their work towards the implementation stage.

Tristen Dodd, Director of Transport Policy, commented: “This is a significant programme to review the island’s speed limits. We anticipate it taking over a year from start to finish for each Parish. The intention is that by working with the parishes and the wider community, we can set the speed limits at a safe level which is reasonable to drivers but also takes into account the needs of the communities roads pass through. While the target for finishing this project is December 2019 we hope that drivers and residents will see the first changes in early 2018 with a phased rollout over the coming years."

Constable Pallett thinks that the local approach is the best one. He told Express: "Each parish knows its roads and understands them. It is easier to carry out a local review rather than an island-wide one to bring everybody on board. The process needs some commitment but it is not too onerous. We have about 70 or 80 roads in our parish and it was pretty obvious where the speed limit should be reduced."