Further Funding for Hertfordshire Walking and Cycling Projects

Published: 23 May 2023

Hertfordshire County Council has been awarded an additional £4.6 million by Active Travel England to deliver new walking and cycling projects across the county.

The funding will help the county council deliver projects that will make it easier and safer for people to walk, wheel and cycle around the county, creating more pleasant places for everyone to enjoy and spend time.

The new funding will be used to deliver schemes in:

• Digswell
• Hemel Hempstead
• Hertford
• Watford
• Welwyn Garden City
• Wheathampstead

Work is scheduled to start on the schemes over the next year.

We have already been able to deliver a new pedestrian crossing in Norton Road, Letchworth with this funding, making crossing the road safer and encouraging walking journeys to St Nicholas primary school.

Cllr Phil Bibby, Executive Member for Highways and Transport said: "We're looking forward to delivering these schemes, which will give people more options for how they get around. The funding from Active Travel England will make a real difference on the ground, and the schemes we have planned will build on the work we're already doing to encourage active journeys.

"Our Corporate Plan sets out our vision for a cleaner, greener, healthier Hertfordshire. Providing safe and easy ways for people to walk, wheel and cycle is key to making this become a reality."

These projects support the objectives in the council's Local Transport Plan and Sustainable Hertfordshire Strategy, reducing congestion and creating cleaner towns and cities, providing us all with better places to live, work and visit.

This award is in addition to the £9 million the council received in November 2020 and May 2022. That funding has already supported the delivery of schemes in Watford and Welwyn Garden City, with a number of other schemes currently underway.

Full details of the schemes that we will deliver with this funding will be available shortly on our website. Information about projects already underway or completed, can already be viewed at www.hertfordshire.gov.uk/activetravelfund

Newly funded walking and cycling improvements

Two schemes in Hemel Hempstead, at Boundary Way Roundabout and Jarmans Park, have received funding. The improvements to Boundary Way will include a new Dutch style roundabout at the junction with Buncefield Lane providing a segregated cycle facility and installation of new crossing points. The scheme continues along Buncefield Lane towards Three Cherry Trees Lane providing a quietway route through the heart of Maylands. Bollards will be installed to create a low-traffic route, increasing comfort and safety for those walking, wheeling and cycling. These projects will further enhance recently implemented walking and cycling projects including the signalised crossing over the A414 and quietway route on Buncefield Lane South.

At Jarmans Park, the fund will be used to deliver a series of improvements on St Albans Road including a new signalised toucan crossing over the A414 to improve walking and cycling access to Jarmans retail and leisure park.

Four schemes across the county received funding as part of the Hertfordshire Safer Routes to School package. This involves delivering new and improved crossing points for people walking and wheeling to create safe and accessible connections between residential areas, schools and local shops. One of these four schemes in Norton Road, Letchworth has already been completed with a new signalised crossing near the junction with Croft Lane to improve the safety and access to St Nicholas JMI School and local shops. The schemes in Brickendon Lane, Hertford, Codicote Road, Wheathampstead and Digswell Park Road, Welwyn Garden City will be delivered later in the year. The Brickendon Lane scheme will be constructed over the school summer holidays and we will update in due course on the delivery of the other crossings.

In Watford, the fund will be used to build on the success of the work carried out on Wiggenhall Road completed in September 2022, which replaced the previous temporary cycle lane with a new wider shared-use pavement.

Walking and cycle improvements in Lower High Street, Watford at the junction with Water Lane to improve safety, will complement the existing cycle networks through the heart of the town centre, with onward connections to Cassiobury Park to the north and the National Cycle Network Route 61 to the south.

ENDS

Notes to Editors

Walking and cycling projects currently underway in Hertfordshire

Funding received from the previous award is being used to progress projects on London Road, Buntingford and in Welwyn Garden City Town Centre, both of which are well underway and due to be completed in late summer and autumn this year. In Stevenage, a new cycle route and walking facilities will shortly be delivered along North Road, with works starting in June 2023.

Additionally, we are engaging with local residents, schools and local businesses to help us to develop our proposed improvements on High Street, Old Town Stevenage ahead of public consultation later in the year. The proposed improvements could include new crossing points, wider pavements and other suggestions to encourage lower vehicle speeds, create a safer and more inclusive place, and make walking wheeling and cycling easier and more convenient.

Completed active travel projects

Previous Active Travel Funding has enabled the successful completion of schemes in Watford and Welwyn Garden City.

In September 2022, a new shared-use path was successfully installed in Wiggenhall, Watford, with additional resurfacing on the opposite footway. This replaced the temporary cycle lane that was previously in place. The shared path now provides the missing link on the cycle route between Watford and Rickmansworth, which is also part of the National Cycle Network. The cycle route also connects into the existing provision on Thomas Sawyer Way with help from new wayfinding signage. The improvements support access around Watford and to the 4,000 new homes planned at the Riverwell site.

In Welwyn Garden City, the second of a total of three schemes in the town centre was completed in January 2023. A new two-way cycle route was installed on Bridge Road, connecting to the town centre via a new crossing into the completed developments in Stonehills. The cycle route also connects into existing shared-use path on Broadwater Road.

The most recent Active Travel Funding received has already been allocated to a new crossing facility on Norton Road, Letchworth, which was completed in April 2023. Following calls from residents and local councillors, the new signalised crossing by the junction of Croft Lane has provided a much safer walking route to and from North St Nicholas Primary School.

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