Parish aiming to slow down traffic in rat-runs

Monday 02 August 2021

Two roads in St. Peter which have become rat-runs despite their narrow width are likely to have traffic calming measures introduced, according to the Constable.

Rue du Craslin, which links the bottom of Beaumont Hill to Sandybrook, and Rue des Sapins, which runs behind M&S from St. Peter’s House to close to the start of the 20mph section, have been monitored by automatic devices for up to a year, and the Constable says the Parish now has clear evidence of the speed, and volume of traffic, using them.

And it has concluded that changes need to be made - although Rue des Sapins is currently not under the Parish’s control.

Rue du Craslin, however, is within the Parish’s remit, and it is expected that five speed humps will be laid along its length by the end of the year.

Pictured: Rue du Craslin runs from the bottom of Beaumont Hill to Sandybrook.

St. Peter Constable Richard Vibert said: “Believe it or not, more speeding goes on in Rue du Craslin than it does on Beaumont Hill.

“The top speed we have recorded on it is 55 mph, which is just horrific and unacceptable. It also has a high volume of traffic as people cut through from the canon to St. Peter’s Valley and vice versa.

“We have to take action as it is totally unsafe for the road to stay as it is. We also have the backing of residents, who have long called on us to do something.

“We have invested in quite sophisticated speed indicator devices, so we now have the data to back up to prove our observations.”

Mr Vibert added that the 55mph top speed had been recorded early in the morning and was thought to be a driver racing across the island, which has become increasingly common since the pandemic hit.

Pictured: Rue des Sapins leads from St. Peter’s main road to the top of St. Peter’s Valley, opposite St. Peter’s House.

Rue des Sapins, he said, had a different set of issues. 

“Speed isn’t so much an issue there, as there are a number of pinch points; however, for some reason it has become the preferred choice for heavy goods vehicles coming from St. Mary.”

The 30mph road is currently managed by the Infrastructure Department but the Parish has asked that it be transferred to the ownership of the Parish.

Mr Vibert said the road had been discussed at a recent parish assembly and he would be visiting all residents on Rue des Sapins in the next few weeks to discuss any concerns.

Pictured: St. Peter Constable Richard Vibert.

“We will certainly be looking at putting traffic calming measures in place and possibly making the road a Green Lane but this is subject to the road being transferred over to us,” he said.

“Plans are definitely in progress but it is too early to say what exact measures we’ll take.”