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It's been ten years since Guernsey's Integrated Transport Strategy was approved by the then-States and the Traffic and Highways Services team are now shouting about the improvements they say they've achieved.
During 2023 alone, THS says they've helped to improve road safety for everyone while also encouraging those who can to leave their car at home.
Deputy Adrian Gabriel says the strategy is "doing exactly what it's supposed to do".
"It's an Integrated Transport Strategy so it's about the movement of people throughout Guernsey, not just in vehicles, and in 2023 we made lots of improvements," said the Vice-President of the Committee for the Environment and Infrastructure.
The Integrated Transport Strategy was approved by the States in 2014, and launched the following year. It was agreed that it would be reviewed every four years meaning the review of 2023 is the second such monitoring report released.
Pictured: Now President of the Scrutiny Management Committee, Deputy Yvonne Burford was the brains behind the Integrated Transport Strategy when she presented it to the States as a 'minority report' in 2014.
"You ask the community what Traffic and Highways do, they will probably say approve roadworks which make my life harder for travelling, but it's not all about that," said Deputy Gabriel.
"As part of the Government Work Plan our main focus is housing and, believe it or not, Traffic and Highways are involved in housing.
"Whenever there's a change to an access to a property, be that commercial or residential, or even a school, Traffic and Highways are consulted because they have the expertise.
"So that means builders can build with the right visibility, and take into account pedestrians needs, people with reduced mobility, people with impaired vision, and some of the upgrades we've been able to include when we're doing our resurfacing projects as well."
Those upgrades include things like dropped kerbs and blister paving at crossing points, which Deputy Gabriel says are now included as standard where possible.
"Those help people with impaired vision and reduced mobility," he said. "The dropped kerb is so they can ease any wheeled transport out and the blister paving is so they can feel it with their feet or even a guide dog can can feel it, to help people cross or know that there's a safe route to cross because there will be a blister paving the other side of the road.
"It's about making a making a difference. It's not necessarily about the larger things, such as resurfacing a whole road. But a small improvement like that can make such a difference."
Pictured: The 2023 review is the second positive review of the work of the Integrated Transport Strategy since it was introduced in 2015.
The Integrated Transport Strategy was always intended to see pedestrians, cyclists, and users of public transport given priority over other road users as part of wider plans to reduce congestion and aid the environment.
Deputy Gabriel said it is still doing just that, but there is never any intention to demonise car drivers he insisted.
"...traffic and transport is about choice," he said. "It's not just about providing facilities for car users, it's about everyone.
"We appreciate that people can do multiple things with their vehicle, have multiple passengers and do a a drop off here, a bit of shopping there, and do the main aspect of their travel with their vehicle or if you've got large, bulky items to carry, or the commercial vehicles that do all the deliveries that we have."
However, Deputy Gabriel said he believes there has been a visible increase in the number of people choosing active travel methods over their cars recently.
"It's quite hard to measure, but certainly anecdotally, if you speak to the bicycle retailers, they will probably tell you there's been an uptake in e-bikes and also non e-bikes as well, so I did my own little survey whilst I was sitting on the bus along the seafront and 88 bicycles passed me on the seafront path in about three quarters of an hour."
Pictured: Deputy Gabriel recently counted the number of bikes he saw, while he took a bus to town along the east coast. He saw 88 bikes beating the traffic during a 45 minute period.
Colin Le Page is Lead Officer for Traffic and Highway Services.
He also insisted that the island's Integrated Transport Strategy is not about preventing car use, but is instead focused on prioritising other methods of travel, especially where children are involved.
"As a department we look at the needs of people walking, cycling, and those catching passenger transport. It's all about transport choice.
"One of the things we're looking to do is encourage people within the schools to look at the choices that they have. We're looking at building confidence and improving safety around the schools. One of the projects which we've got on the go at the moment is the 'bikeability' scheme, which is the old cycling proficiency, which many people will know.
"Level one is the basic level within the playground, which is about assessing balance and making sure people are comfortable with their bike and then level two is taking them out onto the roads and doing proper training. We employ a number of bike community officers which work in all the primary schools providing this training, and we've got a lot of people that are involved with the scheme which gets a lot of positive feedback.
"(The children) say they want to ride with their parents to school, we're also looking at developing travel plans within the schools. We've been concentrating on the primary schools, and there's been a number of schools we've been working with recently to develop travel plans.
"Those travel plans are plans which are put in place to look at the variety of forms of travel and how people can go between home and school, and that can be looking at things like closing down playgrounds where people used to park to make it safer or in the public realm, closing streets like at St Martin's school where they closed the street at school times to make it safer to people to walk and to cycle. It can also be looking at one way systems, and footpath improvements."
The report published today is focused on what the Integrated Transport Strategy was involved with during 2023.
Traffic and Highway Services says it:
coordinated 2,889 works or events requiring traffic management, a 20% increase on 2022 and a 25% increase on 2021
most of this increase was due to the States-supported installation of fibre broadband across the island and Guernsey Electricity’s works to expand the high voltage distribution network, which includes ensuring adequate supplies of electricity to the hospital site ahead of the modernisation programme
of the 2,889 works or events coordinated, 254 of these were unplanned emergency works - which was a 90% increase on 2022 and a 112% increase on 2021, the majority of which were in relation to Storm Ciarán
In addition to the above, THS says 30 roads or sections of road were resurfaced, totalling approximately 13,000m
THS was also responsible for:
2,102 driving theory tests took place as well as 1,560 practical driving tests.
343 children supported through Level 2 Bikeability training, equipping young people to safely travel by bicycle
travel plans were rolled out for five schools, a community centre, and a GP’s surgery - THS also updated six existing plans
16,826 journeys were booked through the newly-launched Guernsey Taxi App
a 12.79% increase in bus passenger levels compared with 2022 while more than 60,000 free bus journeys facilitated during the Island Games
continuing to work with contractors to permit those who are cycling to pass through works wherever possible
the trial of St Martin’s ‘School Street’ with further funding for cycle infrastructure for schools
additional infrastructure to assist bus users and pedestrians, to improve the attraction of these types of travel
Pictured top: Deputy Adrian Gabriel and Colin Le Page.
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