Isle of Man Guide

The Department carried out a public consultation on the Douglas Promenade Issues and Options between 15 November 2010 and 28 January 2011. The consultation documents were available for public viewing at the Chief Secretaries office; the Department of Infrastructure’s Sea Terminal office; Commissioners offices, Douglas Corporation’s Town Hall, public libraries and the Government website. In addition, copies were distributed to properties which front directly onto the Promenades. The Department received 452 responses and 90% of respondents answered all the questions on our questionnaire. An overview summary of the main responses was as follows:

• 77% of respondents would like to see the Promenades receive investment to secure their long term future. 57% of respondents stated the aesthetic quality and appearance of the Promenades was not of a high enough standard.
• 80% of respondents thought that maintaining and improving the gateway into Douglas was vital to the continuing promotion of the island as a sought after destination. 58% of respondents considered the whole Promenade to be the gateway to the capital and 66% would be prepared to accept a higher cost for an aesthetically pleasing finish to various surfaces rather than a basic approach.
• 64% of respondents would like to see the horse tramway relocated to one side of the highway and 79% of respondents would prefer a single track arrangement if it is relocated if that is practical.
• The majority of respondents (between 68% and 80%) did not wish to see changes to the width of carriageways; the width of footways; the number of pedestrian crossings; the size or number of taxi ranks; the size or number of the coach parking provision; the size of the gardens and the width of the walkway.
• 64% of respondents did not want a new sea wall constructed at this time.
• 85% of respondents did not want a dedicated bus lane installed on the Promenades.
• 70% of respondents would like the number of parking spaces on the Promenades to remain the same or to be increased.
• 56% of respondents wanted to retain the cycleway on the walkway whilst 38% would like to see it remain in its current position.
• 62% of respondents would like to see vehicular access restricted to Castle Street and Strand Street.

In addition, to the questionnaires three public focus groups and a technical officer focus group was held to help gain a deeper understanding of the issues and the rationale behind the views being expressed. These focus groups identified the following areas for further investigation:

• The Promenade is an important asset for Douglas and the Island. Investment is required to build upon the existing facilities; improve the aesthetic quality of the environment and enhance the safety of existing users.
• The relocation of the horse tramway will improve safety of the users and reduce congestion. If the horse tram tracks are relocated the Department has identified an opportunity to extend their use to allow the MER to share these tracks and also to introduce modern rolling stock to provide a modern system for commuters as well as to retain their heritages uses. The Department is working with Douglas Corporation and DCCL to progress these ideas;
• The promenade is the first location the public use to access free town centre parking. The availability, number and location of parking spaces for Douglas town centre requires assessing to develop a long and short stay duration parking strategy for Douglas.
• The leisure use of the promenade should be enhanced to encourage greater use of this area by tourists and residents.

The consultation outcome will be used by the Department to develop a detailed design proposal for the Promenade. A further consultation will take place later this year to allow the public to comment on this design. Tynwald has provisionally identified a budget of £10M over the next 4 years to progress this project.

Minister Gawne said

“I am delighted that so many people chose to engage with this consultation and share their views. I am very pleased that clear priorities emerged and that there is a viable way forward. There was overwhelming support for the project and both the Department and Government have made an initial commitment to proceed. The next step will be to prepare some detailed plans and we will invite further comment on those before proceeding.”

A full breakdown of the responses received during the consultation on the Douglas Promenade Issues and Options will be posted on the Government Website with supplementary information below.

Supplementary Information

1. 253 respondents suggested that vehicular traffic should have priority as the primary use in future proposals. Followed by pedestrians, trams and then cyclists.
2. Under the existing layout 276 thought the vehicular traffic had priority as the primary use. Followed by trams, pedestrians and then cyclists.
3. In the current financial climate 327 (76.8%) of respondents would like to see the promenades receive investment to secure their long term future.
4. 291 (68.3%) want to see the width of the carriageways remain the same.
5. 363 (85.4%) said they would not like the promenades to have a dedicated bus lane. With 359 (86.1%) indicating a dedicated bus lane would not improve the efficiency of public transport to a degree that more people would use it.
6. The survey saw 187 (44.6%) desire the number of parking spaces to remain the same. Followed by a preference for increasing 108 (25.8%) and relocation 87 (20.8%). Only 37 (8.8%) wanted to see a reduction in the number of parking spaces.
7. 314 (74.9%) wanted the width of the footpaths to remain the same.
8. 294 (69.8%) wanted the number of pedestrian crossing to remain the same.
9. 314 (78.3%) thought the taxi rank provision was adequate and should remain the same.
10. 290 (72%) wished to see the coach parking provision remain the same.
11. A 50/50 split response was received when the survey asked if “would one large coach parking area be more beneficial than several smaller areas?”
12. 335 (82.7%) were not prepared to lose parking spaces to accommodate coach parking.

Junctions

1. 248 (62%) would like to see safety improvement at junctions to restrict vehicular access.
2. No clear preference for a continuous central island along Loch Promenade was established (50%/50% split). 70.7% state a central island would assist pedestrians cross the road and would accept relocation of the tramlines to accommodate a planted central island.

Aesthetics

1. 216 indicated that they consider the whole promenade to be the gateway to the capital. 177 stating that The Sea Terminal to Broadway is the gateway and 131 stating the gateway is The Sea Terminal to Regent Street.
2. 334 (80.3%) considered that maintaining and improving the gateway into Douglas was vital to the continuing promotion of the island as a sought after destination.
3. 273 (66.4%) would be prepared to accept a higher cost for an aesthetically pleasing finish to the various surfaces.

Gardens

1. 312 (78%) considered that both Marine Gardens and Queens Gardens should remain the same and provided an adequate level of landscaping and greenery.

Sea wall

1. 248 (64.2%) did not want to see a new sea wall constructed.

Walkway

1. 254 (63.7%) think the tramway should be relocated adjacent to the highway and that it should be a single track with passing places (57.9%). 21.1% wished to see a single track with no passing places.
2. 302 (77.4%) state the width of the walkway should remain the same and 71.6% believe it justifies its current size. 210 (55.6%) believe the cycleway should remain on the walkway.
3. 220 (56.8%) consider the quality and appearance of the promenades is not of a high enough standard.
4. 328 (84.5 %) believe that holding tourism and leisure events should be encourage.

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