Deputy Kevin Lewis gave the commitment while responding to criticism of a number of bicycle stands which his department has installed on what he said was an experimental basis while the new strategy was being developed.
But St Helier Constable Simon Crowcroft accused the minister of ‘vandalising the public realm’ by introducing the stands against the wishes of the parish’s roads committee. He highlighted one outside the new International Finance Centre building on the Waterfront which he said ‘disfigured’ the architecture and its surroundings.
‘It is the height of vandalism for the minister to put this ugly utilitarian contraption into the public realm,’ the Constable said, adding that he had expressly written to the minister to ask that plans to install the stands be deferred.
But Deputy Lewis said that the stands, which have been installed in other locations including Sand Street and Jardins de la Mer, may be temporary fixtures, depending on feedback from the public.
He said that initial responses had been very positive, adding that the initiative was part of a programme of improvements, which also included enhancing the cycle track at Beaumont and introducing a temporary cycle lane at Snow Hill.
The minister said that the stand at the International Finance Centre was in keeping with the building’s contemporary design, a view not shared by the Constable who was also outspoken when other designs were shown to the parish in May. Minutes of a roads committee meeting record that, when officers from the Infrastructure Department made a presentation, the Constable described the design for a proposed stand in Parade Gardens as ‘horrendous’, a view which was echoed on that occasion by the Dean of Jersey, the Very Rev Mike Keirle, who also sits on the committee.
Mr Crowcroft said that the parish’s frustration was compounded by the fact that the stands had been introduced in the absence of the cycling strategy, which the parish had been seeking for 16 years. It made sense, he argued, for any detailed proposals affecting cyclists to be part of a wider approach.
He said: ‘We have been waiting for years for the strategy, which successive ministers have failed to bring forward. I receive complaints almost every day of the week, not only about cyclists but also from cyclists who have no idea about where they are supposed to be cycling. It is enormously frustrating.’
He added that the presentation made to the roads committee in May did not constitute a consultation. ‘They had already ordered [the stands] then so there was no meaningful consultation,’ he said.
The Constable added that while the parish would not give permission for the stands to be erected on parish land, they could not prevent the government from doing so on land for which it was responsible. He also said there was no indication that the stands would be used as, in his experience, the security of cycle storage was the real issue rather than protection from the elements.
And he questioned why the department had selected a design which allowed advertising to be incorporated when it had been confirmed to the roads committee that the stands would not be used for that purpose.
Meanwhile, Deputy Lewis said no decision on the future of the stands would be taken until the public had had the opportunity to express its views and he said he would welcome any feedback.
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