Accessibility

Royal Square in the heart of St Helier is not a large space, and is bounded on all sides by three storey buildings. It can therefore feel claustrophobic when gathering for the start of the Pride parade. If you are someone for whom this environment may be problematic, we advise you to aim for Vine Street as your meeting point.

Vine Street is where Liberate’s Accès team will be on hand to offer assistance to members of the public should they require it. You can identify our team by their purple hi viz jackets.

The top end of Vine Street where it meets the Royal Square will provide you with a view of what is happening in the Square, without being in the crowd of people. As the parade moves off, from Vine Street you have a choice of following the crowd out of the Royal Square, or turning back on yourself to exit the bottom end of Vine Street into King Street, and joining the parade there.

Royal Square has quite a lot of street furniture and mature trees around the outer perimeter. The central space is clear of such hazards. If the positioning of street furniture in Royal Square is unfamiliar to you, we advise you aim to keep centrally within the crowd.

On moving off, the parade will exit via Peirson Place in the North of the Square, and then turn left into King Street. Peirson Place is a narrow street, and consequently a bit of a bottleneck. However, there is no street furniture in Peirson Place, and the crowd will be moving slowly at this point.

There are plenty of benches and places to sit around the Royal Square that provide a good view of what is happening in the Square.

Wheelchair access to Royal Square is best from Halkett Place where a dropped kerb exists by the corner of the States Chamber building. Access from Church Street involves mounting a kerb. There are no official disabled drop off points around the Royal Square. The quietest road to safely drop a disabled passenger is Vine Street, however there is a kerb between Vine Street and the Royal Square.

There is a taxi rank in Library Place, which may also be a drop off point for people who prefer to use accessible cabs.

On street disabled parking is available in Halkett Place, however there are not many spaces and we would not advise parade goers to rely on this provision. The best provision is in Sand Street, where Shopmobility is also based, and where mobility scooters may be hired. The route from Sand Street to the Royal Square is pedestrianised and about 400m.

Leaving Sand Street, crossing Castle Street, and joining Charing Cross, you have the option of taking King Street or Broad Street to reach the Royal Square. If you require a less busy route, we advise taking Broad Street, which despite appearances is pedestrianised.

Accessing the Royal Square from Sand Street means parade goers are on the side of the Royal Square where the kerbs exist. If this is problematic for you, please come to Vine Street where our team can assist you.

The parade route is 1.2km and at normal walking pace would take 15 minutes, however the parade is slow moving and stops at a number of points, so parade goers should consider that they will be standing or walking for about 45 minutes after having stood in the Royal Square for a period of time.

As you would expect, the parade is noisy, and you are in close proximity to a number of other people. Please bear this in mind, and take your usual precautionary steps for mitigating the effects of an environment like this.

The first part of the parade travels down King Street. There is a lot of furniture on both sides of the street. Running down the middle of the street is a cobbled ‘river’. If you follow this river, you should avoid the permanent street fixtures.

For wheelchair users, the cobbles can prove difficult terrain. There is sufficient space either side of the river, before you get to the street furniture, for wheelchair access.

At Charing Cross, King Street terminates in a line of thigh-high, slim, metal posts that warn pedestrians of the junction with Broad Street. These posts are spaced at about 2m intervals. There is a larger gap that demarcates the zebra crossing over Broad Street. On the day of Pride, hazard warning tape will be wound between the posts to provide a more substantial barrier and warning of their existence. The Accès team will also be on hand to assist people with navigating this area.

The parade will then feed right into York Street. York Street is not pedestrianised, but the road will be temporarily closed to allow the parade to walk down the centre of the street. It is here that the parade will stop to unfurl the 50m Pride flags, which are then carried by parade goers to People’s Park. If you would prefer not to carry one of the two large flags, ensure that you hang back at the end of King Street.

York Street then joins The Parade (road). At this junction there is a central reservation in the road. Ensure that you move to the right of this hazard, which will put you on the correct side of the road for the next junction.

Where The Parade (road) crosses Gloucester Street, the parade will feed right into Parade Gardens. There are two traffic islands at this point, one on the left and one on the right of the route. Cutting between these two islands leads directly to a dropped kerb into the Gardens.

The path through the Gardens heads North East before turning left to head North West. There are benches on either side of the path, and there is a statue in the centre of the North West path. The paths are bordered by kerbs, so are clearly defined. The statue has a high, iron railing around it.

At the end of Parade Gardens, the parade joins the road again. There is a dropped kerb leaving the Gardens. Using the dropped kerb as a point of reference, cross the road to the dropped kerb on the central island, and turn 90° left to leave the island via another dropped kerb. You will now be standing in the middle of The Parade as it meets Cheapside.

In 10m, the parade turns left into Kensington Place, which it follows to the first right turn into Kensington Street. Kensington Street has parking control posts on both pavements, either side. These posts are thigh-high, and spaced at 2m intervals. They do not have any additional warning that they are there, however the parade should pass between the pavements so the posts do not present a hazard across the main route.

The top of Kensington Street has a small dogleg to the right. Following the kerb of the right-hand pavement of Kensington Street should guide you safely past this point to join Peirson Road on the right.

The parade moves down the middle of Peirson Road for about 40m to the main entrance to the Pride Village on the left-hand side.

There is a dropped kerb on the corner of Peirson Road and Westmount Road. There is then a granite kerb around the grass of the Park, which is about 5 inches at its highest point. This has been adjusted for by the provision of a temporary ramp. Users should look for signs indicating the position of the ramp as they approach the village entrance.

The entrance is clearly defined by 3m high Herras fencing, which funnels Pride goers into the village. This also serves to separate pedestrians from the trees that border the Park.

There are a lot of hazards on the corner as you enter the village. There is parking for bicycles in bike racks, a motorcycle parking area, parish bins and an electricity substation on the tongue of pavement. If you are unfamiliar with this area, our Accès team will be on hand to assist.

On the edge of the Park as it turns and then goes up Westmount there are a number of granite blocks that are shin-high, and spaced about 1.5m apart. The route into the village will endeavour to avoid these hazards, but if you deviate from this direct route into the village, please be aware of them in the vicinity of the entrance.

The Pride Village is situated on People’s Park and Victoria Park to the South. The parks are joined by a section of road that will be pedestrianised for the afternoon of Pride.

The terrain of the village is a mixture of firm grass-covered ground, tarmac road, and hard-standing paths.

The border of People’s Park houses the stalls, vendors, and exhibits you would expect at Pride. In the centre of the West edge of the park is the main stage. About 20m East of this point is the stage control marquee, i.e. in the centre of the park.

Alongside the stage control marquee is a raised platform with ramp access. This is reserved for people with disabilities. There is seating on the platform and space for wheelchair users.

The entrance into Victoria Park from People’s Park has a pedestrian safety barrier across it. There is also a low kerb from the road into Victoria Park. This has been mitigated by a temporary ramp.

The paths within Victoria Park have low kerbs to them, which assist with wayfinding. Wheelchair users may wish to ask a member of the Accès team to accompany them if they are concerned about the kerbs involved in moving from the path to the grass of Victoria Park. Again, the stalls, vendors, and exhibits are around the perimeter of the park.

Throughout the afternoon, performances on both the main stage and cabaret stage will be signed by a BSL signer. Please check the schedule for which performances are signed.

There are four toilet stations on site – one to the right of the main entrance, one 20m left of the main stage, one to the left of the main exit in the South, and one at the North end of Victoria Park on the petanque pitches. All four stations have an accessible toilet facility.

The Quiet Zone is within Victoria Park, in the centre, to the north of the statue. This is equipped with soft furnishings to enable people to relax in a quiet space. Ear defenders are available on request from the Accès team stationed there.

First aid is provided by St John Ambulance and is situated between People’s Park and Victoria Park on the closed roadway.

General disability help and assistance is available from three stations in Park – the Liberate marquee on the left of the main entrance, the Eyecan team in the Community Zone on the East edge of People’s Park, and the Quiet Zone in Victoria Park.

Parking along St Aubin’s Road/Peirson Road by People’s Park is suspended for Pride. It is, however, available exclusively for Blue Badge holders.

Approach from the mini roundabout by the statue of Queen Victoria, try to drive up St Aubin’s Road as usual at which point you will be stopped and asked for your Blue Badge. When advised to by security, move slowly into the row of parking spaces.

Please be aware that pedestrians are moving around in the area of the entrance to the parking and you must give way to them.

Exit the parking as you would normally by driving up the parking row and leaving via the gap onto Peirson Road.