Our Hospital site access (FOI)

Request

The date and requirements/instructions provided by the Infrastructure, Housing and Environment (IHE) to the Our Hospital Project on the dimensions and other related specifications (size, width, gradient, vehicle use, active travel use and so on), including any reasons for such dimensions, for the main road access via Westmount Road to the proposed Overdale hospital site.

Response

In accordance with the Sustainable Transport Policy, the Operations and Transport section of Infrastructure, Housing and Environment (‘IHE’) have requested, as part of regular dialogue between the teams, between July 2020 and the present, that the Our Hospital Project Team (‘OHP’) provide infrastructure to allow sustainable access to the Site.

This included an active travel corridor to and from St Helier town centre (‘St Helier’) plus facilities to allow buses to serve the Site.

In terms of size, IHE have requested that the travel corridor is designed, as far as possible, to meet a level of service appropriate for the anticipated numbers of pedestrians and cyclists accessing the Site. They look to industry best practice for guidance from other jurisdictions, that have been through a robust development process.

The OHP should ensure that the pedestrian access to the Site, from St Helier, is a minimum of 2m width, since this will allow sufficient space for pedestrians to pass one another, especially when using wheelchairs and pushchairs.

IHE have requested that the provisions for cycling access should be, where possible, in line with the Local Transport Note 1/20: Cycling Infrastructure Design which is published by the UK Department for Transport and can be accessed using the following link.

Cycle infrastructure design  

In terms of gradient, as the elevation points are fixed (ie the top and bottom of the hill), there is a constraint on what can be realistically achieved and the gradient must therefore be designed to meet a good level of service, for the various transport users, as far as possible.

In relation to Public Transport, IHE have requested that improvements are made to Westmount Road to allow a two-way bus services to access the site. The existing Westmount Road alignment does not allow two buses (or other large vehicles which are likely to serve the site in the future) to simultaneously travel around the hairpin bend half way up the hill. Therefore, it was recommended that a road cross section of 6.7m should be provided to facilitate this, although it may be necessary to expand this further on the hairpin bend section of the road.

The above has been requested in accordance with the decision-making principles of the Sustainable Transport Policy, various Island Plan policies and other Governmental policies and legislation. The suitability of the hospital proposals will be tested in full, in a public forum, when it goes through the Public Inquiry process early in 2022.