Road Racing (International Festival of Motoring) (Jersey) Order 2014

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A decision made 16 May 2014:

Decision Reference: MD-T-2014-0048
Decision Summary Title :	2014 Jersey International Motoring Festival – Motor Racing on Public Roads Application: Part 2		Date of Decision Summary:	14 May 2014
Decision Summary Author:	Technical Assistant Traffic and Infrastructure		Decision Summary: Public or Exempt?	Public
Type of Report: Oral or Written?	Written		Person Giving Oral Report:	N/A
Written Report Title :	The Classic and Vintage Motor Racing Club of Jersey’s Application to hold the Jersey International Motoring Festival 2014		Date of Written Report:	14 May 2014
Written Report Author:	Technical Assistant Traffic and Infrastructure		Written Report : Public or Exempt?	Public
Subject: Road Racing (International Festival of Motoring) (Jersey) Order 2014
Decision(s): The Minister made the Road Racing (International Festival of Motoring) (Jersey) Order 2014 as prepared on behalf of Transport and Technical Services, as the administering authority of the Motor Vehicle Races (Jersey) Law 1946 and the Entertainments on Public Roads (Jersey) Law 1985.
Reason(s) for Decision: Further to MD-T-2014-0042, enabling preparation of the Order, the Minister accepted that the proposed road closures and associated traffic management were both reasonable and justified.
Resource Implications: TTS’ Road Signs and Markings section to provide assistance to the Honorary Police in putting out, collecting and storing traffic signs. The Promoter is charged for this service on a cost basis.
Action required: To notify the Greffier of the States and the Law Draftsman that the Order has been made, forward the signed and sealed Order to the Publications Editor, States Greffe, and request the Greffier of the States to arrange for its notification to the States.
Signature:		Position:
Date Signed:		Date of Decision (If different from Date Signed):

Road Racing (International Festival of Motoring) (Jersey) Order 2014

TRANSPORT AND TECHNICAL SERVICES

THE CLASSIC & VINTAGE MOTOR RACING CLUB’S APPLICATION TO HOLD

THE FESTIVAL OF MOTORING 2014

Purpose of the Report

To obtain a Ministerial Decision regarding the approval of road closures and traffic restrictions for the purpose of holding the Jersey Festival of Motoring racing events between Thursday 05 June and Sunday 08 June 2014.

Background

The Classic and Vintage Motor Racing Club (the Promoter) has submitted details of its proposed events for this year’s Festival of Motoring. The events are enabled by Order of the Transport and Technical Services Minister under Article 2 of the Motor Vehicle Races (Jersey) Law 1946.

This year the Promoter has requested to close Victoria Avenue on two consecutive evenings. The event traditionally only has one event on the Avenue, an historic sprint which takes place on the Friday. This year the Promoter would like to close the Avenue on the Thursday night so that a Kart Race may be staged. It is proposed that the Kart Race will utilise all running lanes on Victoria Avenue.

As per last year the Promoter is seeking to provide the public with a broad based programme of motoring events with the inclusion of an ‘Activity Arena / Circuit’ course at West Park on Sunday 08 June (see attached plan) along with other static displays on La Route de St. Aubin above the Lower People’s Park. The aim of the Activity Arena / Course is to give motor clubs in the Island a space in which to carry out live displays (as per 2012 and 2013) rather than racing.

The Festival has the support of the Connétable of St Helier, who has given permission for both the ‘Upper’ and ‘Lower’ parks to be used as static display areas. The Promoter is consulting and co-ordinating with the Honorary Police, Emergency Services, TTS Parking Control, Liberty Bus and Fort Regent. The Promoter will also be carrying out a face to face letter drop to residents and businesses affected by the event, notably the Grand Hotel, etc.

The Festival, including the Activity Arena, has been risk assessed by the Motor Sport Association’s (MSA) Director of Motor Sport Safety and has received full MSA’s Public Liability Insurance cover.

Road closure details are as follows:

- Victoria Avenue Kart Race: Thursday 05 June (7pm to 11.30pm): Victoria Avenue will be closed from West Park to First Tower junction. The Promoter also wishes to use Lay-bys 1 and 2 to make part of the proposed race course. Lay-by 1 will be closed from 6am until after the event (around Midnight). Lay-by 2 will be closed from 2pm on the afternoon of the event with all remaining vehicles removed from the lay-by after 5pm. The promenade and the cycle track will be unaffected.

- Victoria Avenue Sprint: Friday 06 June (7pm to 11.30pm): Victoria Avenue will be closed from West Park to First Tower junction. The Promoter also wishes to use Lay-bys 1, 2 and 4 for the parking and display of race vehicles and lay-by 4 for vehicle turning which will require their closure. Lay-by 1 will be closed from 6am until after the event (around Midnight). Lay-bys 2 and 4 will be closed from 2pm on the afternoon of the event with all remaining vehicles removed from the lay-by after 5pm. The promenade and the cycle track will be unaffected.

- Westmount Hill Climb: Saturday 07 June (9.30am to 6.30pm): Westmount will be closed from St Aubin’s Road to the entrance to Overdale Hospital.

- Mount Bingham Hill Climb: Sunday 08 June (9am to 4pm): Pier Road will be closed from its junction with the northern arm of South Hill to Mount Bingham; Mount Bingham from its junction with Pier Road to Green Street. Also closed are South Hill, Fort Regent Road and South Hill Car Parks.

- La Route de St Aubin Activity Arena: Sunday 08 June (8am to 6pm): La Route de St Aubin will be closed from the King George V Homes to its junction with Kensington Street. The West Park slip lane will also be closed, as will Pierson Road.

Discussion

- Victoria Avenue Kart Race (Thursday Night): Following a meeting with the promoter regarding the need for this additional evening event on Victoria Avenue, it appears that the Kart Race is seen as a development of the event which would lead to a more extensive road race in St Helier (perhaps along La Route de Liberation). Obviously this request represents a significant escalation in terms of the impact of the event on the travelling public (though not necessarily on TTS resources) which may go beyond what some consider to be reasonably acceptable.

- Victoria Avenue Sprint (Friday Night): Due to the closure being in the evening (after PM peak demand which ends prior to 7pm) traffic delays will be less significant than, for example the Battle of Flowers. Nevertheless although the Public is now familiar with the Sprint’s traffic impact, experience from previous years indicates that disruption will be significant into the late evening.

- Westmount Hill Climb: The Parish of St Helier administers Westmount Road and its closure will cause little disruption.

- Mount Bingham Hill Climb: While Mount Bingham is actively used by both commuter and commercial traffic during weekdays, its closure on a Sunday should not present significant traffic issues, with the main impact being the loss of the coastal route to tourists and the loss of access to Fort Regent.

Discussion - Activity Arena:

- Traffic: Creation of the Activity Arena entails closing La Route de St Aubin between First Tower and Kensington Street which is the same as last year. In addition the West Park slip lane and Pierson Road will be closed. This will necessitate northbound traffic being diverted up Kensington Place and Kensington Street on to St Aubins Road.

The likely impact of these arrangements is to create westbound congestion at the right turns on Victoria Avenue (at First Tower and Rue du Galet) and eastbound congestion on the right turns off La Route de St Aubin (at Rue du Galet and at First Tower). There will also be delays for vehicles heading northbound via Kensington Place.

- Emergency Services: The Emergency Services have been consulted regarding the closure of La Route de St Aubin (between First Tower and Kensington Street) and Pierson Road and have indicated that they are comfortable with diversion arrangements (i.e. Kensington Place and Kensington Street on to St Aubins Road).

- Bus Services: Buses will be unable to serve stops between West Park and First Tower (normally every 5 to 10 minutes). The following route will be affected in both directions: No. 27, 8, 9, 12, 12a, 14, 15. However, it is worth noting that the same arrangements last year did not cause Liberty Bus any significant operational issues.

- Access to Residences: During the closure access to premises will be maintained via First Tower, this includes access to West Park Apartments. As part of the closure of Pierson Road residential parking will be suspended from 6pm on Saturday 07 June.

- Other Events: There are no other events planned for this day in the vicinity of the Festival of motoring.

Conclusion

The Festival of Motoring is an established and publicly accepted event, the introduction of a circular Activity Arena on La Route de St Aubin three years ago received positive coverage and the event has been well attended with no adverse traffic comments received by the Department. However, the new request to close Victoria Avenue on Thursday 05 June does represent a significant escalation in the scale of what is already a significant event in traffic impact terms.

Recommendation

The Minister is recommended to make the Road Racing (International Festival of Motoring) (Jersey) Order 2014 as prepared.

Reason(s) for Decision

Further to MD-T-2014-0042, enabling preparation of the Order, the proposed road closures and associated traffic management are reasonable and justified.

Resource Implications

TTS’ Road Signs and Markings section to provide assistance to the Honorary Police in putting out traffic signs prior to the start of the event and collecting / storing traffic signs after the event. The Promoter is charged for this service on a cost basis.

Action Required

To notify the Greffier of the States and the Law Draftsman that the Order has been made, forward the signed and sealed Order to the Publications Editor, States Greffe, and request the Greffier of the States to arrange for its notification to the States.

Written by:	Technical Assistant, Traffic and Infrastructure
Approved by:	Director, Engineering and Infrastructure
Attachments:	Plan of West Park Activity Arena

Y:\Minister\2014\Ministerial Decisions 2014\MD 00 Road Racing (International Festival of Motoring) (Jersey) Order 2014\WR Road Racing (International Festival of Motoring) (Jersey) Order 2014.docx