TRANSPORT AND TECHNICAL SERVICES
THE JERSEY MOTOR CYCLE AND LIGHT CAR CLUB’S APPLICATION TO
HOLD THE JERSEY CAR RALLY 2012
Purpose of the Report
To obtain a Ministerial Decision regarding approval of road closures and traffic restrictions for the purpose of holding the Jersey Rally on Thursday 11, Friday 12 and Saturday 13 October 2012. In addition, to enable an instruction to be sent to the Law Draftsman requesting preparation of an enabling Order.
Background
The Jersey Motor Cycle and Light Car Club (the Promoter) has submitted details of its proposed Paperclix Rally for 2012. The event is generally enabled by Order of the Minister for Transport and Technical Services under Article 2 of the Motor Vehicle Races (Jersey) Law 1946.
However, the Promoter has also requested permission to use Victoria Avenue as a special stage on the opening evening (between 7pm to 11.30pm). This will require supplementary provisions enabled under Article 2 of the Entertainments on Public Roads (Jersey) Law 1985.
The Promoter has consulted with the Connétables of all parishes within which stages of the Rally are to be held and has provided TTS with signed certificates of support in each case. They have also consulted property owners directly affected by road closures and supplied proof of Public Liability Insurance.
Special Victoria Avenue Stage
The use of Victoria Avenue for the Rally has occurred twice before in 2007 and 2009.
The Course
This year the Promoter has proposed the same course as 2009 (see attached Course Plan) that uses the full width of Victoria Avenue between West Park and First Tower, including the west and eastbound carriageways and lay-bys 1 to 4. The aim of using these areas is to create a varied and challenging course that is 1 mile long.
The course as proposed has been approved by the Motor Sport Association and incorporates chicanes throughout its length to prevent excessive speeds, with average speeds less than 75 mph. The Rally also operates a scoring system which penalises collisions with obstacles with the aim of avoiding damage to surroundings. In addition various collision barriers will be used to protect the Department’s fixed assets, such as shelters, traffic signal poles, etc. However £30 million public liability insurance will be in place should damage occur.
Traffic Management and Access
Total traffic management and road closure measures required will be similar to those implemented for the Festival of Motoring, with traffic diverted on to La Route de St Aubin at West Park and First Tower to allow the placing / removing of materials and pre-race safety inspections, etc. Actual closure times will be as follows:
- From 7am to midnight: Lay-bys 1 to 4
- From 7pm to midnight: Victoria Avenue and Promenade, Tynevillle Lane, Paris Lane
To facilitate diversionary traffic flow roadside parking will also require suspension from 4pm to midnight along La Route de St Aubin between West Park and First Tower.
Access to premises will be arranged on a case by case basis through the Rally’s Stage Commander, however all access to and from St Aubin’s beach will be prevented.
Materials on Course
This year the Promoter is proposing to use lightweight trestles which can be easily moved by marshals manually if it is necessary to do so. Otherwise the only other notable materials to be placed on the carriageway will be ‘one tonne’ Sand Bags located at the ends of the course to prevent vehicle overruns. However, bails will be staggered to allow emergency vehicles to move through and if needed will be cleared altogether in the event of a major incident out west.
Spectators
The principal spectator point will be the Lower West Park (administered by the Parish), where a 5m exclusion strip will be placed behind the southern boundary wall to provide a safety zone.
Traffic Impact
The requirement to close Victoria Avenue will, as in all cases, cause significant delays to traffic diverted on to La Route de St Aubin; experience from previous years indicates that disruption will be reasonably significant into the late evening.
Public Car Parking
Due to the closure of lay-bys 1 to 4 a total of 248 car parking spaces will be lost for the day. These spaces will not be supplemented by the creation of additional parking within the Parish of St Helier
Other Stages
The Promoter has submitted details of its remaining route stages which have been approved by the Connétables of each relevant parish (see attached Rally Stage Plans and Schedule).
Main Road Impact
Of the various main road sections included in this year’s Rally the most significant are as follows:
Bellozanne Valley / Waterworks Valley: Stages 13 - 20 – Friday 12 October 6.15pm and 10.30pm: Both stages to be run concurrently will involve three sections of Mont Cochon / La Route de St Jean (B27) between ‘Fern Valley’ and ‘Le Chemin de Herupe’.
The risk is that the stage will conflict with people returning home from work which is estimated to be 76 households*. As such, the Parish of St Lawrence has already stipulated, as a condition of approval, that access must be maintained during the stages. The Promoter has written to the affected households and assured the Department that there will be times during the stages when the road closures will be opened up to allow residents to return home. Residents have been provided with the stage commander’s contact details during the event.
*NB: All 76 households affected by these closures were contacted directly by letter drop, with 52 houses responding in favour, 6 returned the letter with no comments, 2 said no, and 15 letters were not returned and are presumed to be from empty properties.
St Brelade Stage: Stages 21, 23, 25, 27 – Saturday 13 October 07:45 – 12:45: Closure of La Route du Francfief from Pont Du Val to la Rue des Fosses a Mortier, and La Rue de Mans from la Rue des Fosses a Mortier to La Rue des Longchamps. During this time access to Les Quennevais will be maintained via Beaumont (A12) and St Aubin’s Hill (A13), La Rue des Mans (B25) and La Route du Francfief (B43) although provided there are no delays the roads should be opened earlier.
St Lawrence Stage: Stages 29, 31, 33, 35, Saturday 13 October 12 :45 – 17 :45 : La Rue de La Vallee from le Mont Ramon to La Rue de la Rosiere. La Rue de la Rosiere from La Rue de la Vallee to La Route de Ste Marie.
It is of note that in general the Jersey Rally impacts between two and three main roads per year, this year the figure is closer to 12 plus Victoria Avenue, nevertheless the proposed stage plan is workable for this year. However, we would wish to see this as an exceptional case and would expect the impact to be less in subsequent years. This will be communicated to the Club.
Public Bus Service Impact
For information regarding the impact on public bus services please see the attached ‘Scheduled Changes to Public Bus Services’.
Recommendation
The Minister is recommended to approve the Jersey Rally and the preparation of an Order under Article 2 of the Motor Vehicle Races (Jersey) Law 1946 and Article 2 of the Entertainments on Public Roads (Jersey) Law 1985, in relation to supplementary provisions enabling the use of Victoria Avenue and its lay-bys.
Reason(s) for Decision
The proposed road closures and associated traffic management are reasonable and justified.
Resource Implications
TTS Officer and Law Draftsman’s time.
Action Required
To forward a copy of the Ministerial Decision along with an Instructing Memorandum and the Promoter’s Application to the Law Draftsman.
Written by: | Technical Assistant, Traffic and Infrastructure |
Approved by: | Director, Engineering and Infrastructure |
Attachments: | Road Closure Schedule Victoria Avenue Stage Course Plan Rally Stage Plans Scheduled Changes to Public Bus Services |
I:\Minister\2012\Ministerial Decisions 2012\MD 0069 Jersey Car Rally 2012 Part 1\WR Jersey Car Rally 2012 Part 1.doc
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