Campaigner wants review of island's speed limits

Lisa Blondel has called for a review of the island's speed limits

"Crossing the road each day is dangerous," says Lisa Blondel, a mother who is calling on the government to review the island's speed limits.

Ms Blondel said she always walks her eight-year-old daughter to school and they have both had near misses with cars coming around the corner at Landes du Marché too quickly in recent months.

She said: "We need to take responsibility for the safety of our children. We safeguard them day in and day out in education, and yet they are not safe on the way to school."

Traffic and Highways said the bus stop had been moved since the complaint was raised.

Ms Blondel was happy with the plans to move the bus stop to ensure a better line of sight for drivers coming around the corner, but also wanted more changes including lowering the speed limit and installing pedestrian crossings, to further reduce the dangers.

There is no law covering the age children are allowed to walk to and from school on their own, meaning young children can legally walk alone.

The NSPCC website says some schools advise children under eight should not walk home without an adult or older sibling and shares some advice when parents and children feel they are ready to do so.

The Child Accident Prevention Trust website says environment, distance to school, and their confidence and maturity levels are among the reasons that should be considered in allowing children to walk alone.

'Just too high'

Landes du Marché road is 35mph, the maximum speed limit for the island.

Ms Blondel said: "The speed limits in Guernsey are just too high... most of our roads should be a lot less than that."

She welcomed the idea of a speed limit review, but also wants all infrastructure for travel to be looked at.

Environment and Infrastructure President Adrian Gabriel said a review of speed limits was not at the top of his list.

An independent report looking at how driving offences could be tackled in the island has recommended installing speed cameras, introducing a points based system for breaches and strengthening rules around pavement surfing.

Traffic and Highways added: "As part of our Integrated Transport Strategy, we are constantly looking at ways we can make our transport infrastructure safer for all road users.

"We review inquiries like this and determine on a case-by-case basis which are most feasible to resolve depending on factors such as scale of change, level of risk, cost, and the amount of work required alongside other areas of work."