Road safety projects light up Guernsey

Thursday 22 November 2018

Various ways of making some of Guernsey's roads safer are starting to come to fruition with new zebra crossings, lights and 'cats eyes' appearing across the island.

This week alone has seen active road studs installed at Albecq while two new pedestrian crossings were unveiled at La Vrangue. Work is continuing to put in a Toucan crossing at Richmond Corner and the Longfrie filter could be raised to make it more obvious to motorists.

It all comes out of the budget allocated to the Environment and Infrastructure Committee which oversees the States Traffic and Highway Services unit.

As well as being responsible for maintaining the island's road networks, THS is tasked with making improvements. One example is the new active style 'cats eyes' which have been put in at two busy areas along Guernsey's west coast.

Pictured: An 'active road stud' is similar to the 'cats eyes' above. 

The first two locations in the cats eyes trial are the sections of coast road at Albecq and Route de Rocquaine, near Fort Grey.

They've been put in "as part of a trial to improve road safety at locations where there is known to be restricted visibility, particularly at night and in periods of inclement weather."
Motorists using Albecq would have seen them in place from Monday night, with both sets due to be installed by the end of yesterday.

THS said they should improve safety, because although the leading cause of accidents on Guernsey's roads is "driver error, behaviour or inexperience," the road environment itself can also be a factor.

Traffic and Highway Services said it is aware that certain roads present a higher risk than others which is why they chose the corner at Albecq and the bend in the road near Fort Grey to go first.

"The coast road at Albecq has been the site of several accidents and is one which has no natural or man-made barriers to properly delineate the edge of carriageway," said THS. 

Traffic and Highway Services said it also considered there would be merit in extending the trial to include another location on the west coast and it has therefore chosen Route de Rocquaine, on the bend near Fort Grey, as a second location. 

Pictured: The view from Fort Grey.

They're not just normal 'cats eyes' which have been installed though. The ‘Active Road Stud’ seen at Albecq and Rocquaine have built in 'ultra bright LEDs' and they are said to 'automatically detect ambient light levels and intelligently switch on between dusk and dawn every night.'

Unlike passive studs the active studs also remain highly visible in conditions of reduced visibility such as fog, rain and surface spray.

La Vrangue is due to reopen fully today, after the road was widened, junctions made bigger and two zebra crossings were put in. One is at the junction at the bottom of Guelles Road and the other is nearer the post office.

The narrow section of road by La Vrangue Manor has been widened by around a metre, which THS said was "to reduce the chance of drivers mounting the kerb."

The junction of Rue Thomas has been enlarged to help vehicles turning into it and a section of road by the Balmoral Estate has also been widened.

The new crossing by the Balmoral Estate has been designed to help residents of Milbrook Estate and others who need to cross the road while a second zebra crossing was installed at the bottom of Guelles Road, "to provide a safer route for pedestrians, especially children heading to Amherst School."

Guernsey Electricity have also installed additional lighting at the crossings and 'tactile paving' has also been installed at the crossing points which is designed to help people with impaired vision.

Pictured: Resident and Douzenier Katina Jones lives near the new crossing on La Vrangue.

Katina Jones, a resident and a St Peter Port Douzenier, has welcomed the improvements along La Vrangue, saying she thinks the new crossings will make it safer for everyone.

“I have been very keen to see safer crossing points on this busy road and am very pleased that there will now be two new zebra crossings to help people using the road, especially walking their children to Amherst school. It was not always easy crossing from Guelles Road onto the pavement at the Vrangue."

Elsewhere, the junction at the Longfrie in St Saviour could be amended to make it safer.

A filter was painted on the road last year, with a planning application now lodged to raise the junction - which THS said will make it even more obvious to motorists.

"The painted filter was very much seen as the next stage in attempting to improve safety at what was one of the more difficult – from a road safety perspective - junctions in the island," said THS.

"Accident numbers have reduced since the filter was installed but we are aware that some motorists don’t appear to realise that the junction is now under filter control. A raised table should address this aspect and this is what is currently being proposed."

Other recent additions to Guernsey roads include a new pavement outside the L'eree Bay Hotel, and a new bus shelter at Port Soif, near Rovers AC. 

Pictured top: One of the new junctions along La Vrangue.