Victoria Avenue (classified as the A2) is a major road in
Jersey
Jersey ( , ; nrf, Jèrri, label=Jèrriais ), officially the Bailiwick of Jersey (french: Bailliage de Jersey, links=no; Jèrriais: ), is an island country and self-governing Crown Dependencies, Crown Dependency near the coast of north-west F ...
, connecting the capital
St Helier
St Helier (; Jèrriais: ; french: Saint-Hélier) is one of the twelve parishes of Jersey, the largest of the Channel Islands in the English Channel. St Helier has a population of 35,822 – over one-third of the total population of Jersey – ...
to Bel Royal in
St Lawrence
Saint Lawrence or Laurence ( la, Laurentius, lit. " laurelled"; 31 December AD 225 – 10 August 258) was one of the seven deacons of the city of Rome under Pope Sixtus II who were martyred in the persecution of the Christians that the Roman ...
, also providing access to the western part of the
A1 for non-bus traffic, due to a
bus gate that prevents traffic from the A1 continuing on the A1.
The road has been referred to as "the Island's most important route and event venue", due to the fact that 30,000 vehicles travel along the road each day, and it provides a vital route between the two largest
conurbations on the island.
The road also plays host to the island's largest annual festival, the
Battle of Flowers.
It is the longest stretch of dual carriageway in the
Channel Islands
The Channel Islands ( nrf, Îles d'la Manche; french: îles Anglo-Normandes or ''îles de la Manche'') are an archipelago in the English Channel, off the French coast of Normandy. They include two Crown Dependencies: the Bailiwick of Jersey, ...
. The road has three signalised junctions, one at the eastern end of the road at West Park, one at First Tower and one at Millbrook.
Running along the southern side of the road is a series of
car parks
A parking lot (American English) or car park (British English), also known as a car lot, is a cleared area intended for parking vehicles. The term usually refers to an area dedicated only for parking, with a durable or semi-durable surfac ...
(known as "lay-bys"), a
cycle track
A cycle track, separated bike lane or protected bike lane (sometimes historically referred to as a sidepath) is an exclusive bikeway that has elements of a separated path and on-road bike lane. A cycle track is located within or next to the ro ...
and the
St Aubin's Bay
ST, St, or St. may refer to:
Arts and entertainment
* Stanza, in poetry
* Suicidal Tendencies, an American heavy metal/hardcore punk band
* Star Trek, a science-fiction media franchise
* Summa Theologica, a compendium of Catholic philosophy an ...
promenade. The road has lovely views of the bay, and there are cafés and public toilets on the sea front.
History
The road was constructed between 1895 and the
Diamond jubilee of Queen Victoria
The Diamond Jubilee of Queen Victoria was officially celebrated on 22 June 1897 to mark the occasion of the 60th anniversary of Queen Victoria's accession on 20 June 1837. Queen Victoria was the first British monarch ever to celebrate a Diamond ...
, after whom the road is named, in 1897. The road had initially been named for the former Connétable of St Helier Mr. Baudins as Boulevard Baudins.
The road was originally a single carriageway, extending only as far as First Tower, however over time the road was extended and converted into a dual carriageway in the late 1950s.
Aerial photographs from 1965 show that the two ends of the avenue were roundabouts at that time. Nowadays these have been removed.
Between 2009 and 2010, upgrades to the road were part of a
fiscal stimulus
In economics, stimulus refers to attempts to use monetary policy or fiscal policy (or stabilization policy in general) to stimulate the economy. Stimulus can also refer to monetary policies such as lowering interest rates and quantitative easi ...
plan in response to the
2007 financial crisis. It involved the replaced of the aged
drainage system, improvement of pedestrian facilities, the replacement of
street lighting
A street light, light pole, lamp pole, lamppost, street lamp, light standard, or lamp standard is a raised source of light on the edge of a road or path. Similar lights may be found on a railway platform. When urban electric power distribution ...
columns to improve energy efficiency and the lengthening of right-turn lanes to reduce congestion.
In May 2020, the Government of Jersey announced that some parking in the lay-bys could be removed to promote
sustainable transport
Sustainable transport refers to ways of transportation that are sustainable in terms of their social and environmental impacts. Components for evaluating sustainability include the particular vehicles used for road, water or air transport; th ...
in response to a rise in usage of the promenade and cycle track, and a reduction in usage of the road during the
COVID-19 pandemic
The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...
.
See also
*
Roads in Jersey
Transport in Jersey is primarily through the motor vehicle. The island, which is the largest of the Channel Islands has 124,737 registered vehicles (2016). The island is committed to combatting climate change, having declared a climate emergency ...
References
External links
A2 (Jersey) at ''Roader's Digest'' (SABRE)
Roads in Jersey
{{Jersey-geo-stub