St Albans Cycle Campaign (STACC) is campaigning for people cycling in St Albans and the surrounding area, including  Harpenden, Redbourn, London Colney, Wheathampstead & Sandridge:

• To encourage cycle usage in the St Albans District 

• To promote cycling to play a more significant role in a balanced transport system for the St Albans District 

• To support, assist and influence to local authorities responsible for managing the transport system in the St Albans District.

Our approach is to work co-operatively with key bodies such as the local authorities whilst lobbying for better funding and provision for cyclists with particular regard to cycle paths & routes, lower speed limits & cycle-parking.

Contact us at info@stacc.org.uk

The Temporary Traffic-Regulation Order (TTRO) for the closure of North Drive, between Sandpit Lane and Oaklands College, expired at the end of March, and the bridleway has re-opened.  The 'contaminated land' issue affecting the bridleway has been resolved by a re-assessment of the risks as 'Level 3' which does not require closure of the route.  Notices advise you to take sensible hygiene precautions.

As of 4th April, latest update from Oaklands College is:

We would like to inform you of upcoming road surfacing works that will be taking place on the South Drive over the next few days. On Thursday, the 4th and Friday the 5th of April there will be restricted access on the South drive for vehicles. On Saturday the 6th April we will need a full closure for motor vehicles. As a result, we advise all who require vehicle access to the campus to use the East Drive and park in the Temporary Car Park.

Please note that although we will be working on the South Drive, Pedestrians and other PROW users will have access along all three Rights of Way as usual.

Kind regards

Claire

Claire Dolan

Deputy Principal Strategy, Partnership and Business Development

Oaklands College, St Albans Campus, Hatfield Road, St Albans, Hertfordshire, AL4 0JA

Communication from the college continues to be poor, the 'North Drive closed' sign at the Hatfield Road entrance to the college was still up on 4th April and there is nothing on the college website.  The best source of updates is the Marshalswick North Residents Association Facebook page.

Huge appreciation to MNRA for their persistence on this and other local issues - if you are local to their area, the membership form is here.

Signage has been installed for the Quietway on the southern section of Buncefield Lane in Hemel Hempstead. If the signs are well received and considered worthwhile to highlight the traffic-free route, similar signs will be installed on the northern section when that ceases to be a through route for motor-traffic in the summer. However HCC will first have to solve the problem of flooding by the bend on this section, which has persisted since late February making the road impassable for cyclists and any pedestrians who are unable or unwilling to scramble over the muddy bank.

The proposals for the northern section of this route are quite exciting actually, as they include upgrading the Boundary Way roundabout on the route to 'Dutch-style'.  Details of this and other Active Travel Fund projects can be found on the HCC website.

Active Travel Fund - other projects

Works at the south end of Watford High Street will be completed this month.  The forthcoming Central St Albans scheme has now completed all statutory consultation phases and the pre-construction phase is underway.  Work is scheduled for this summer.  The Draft Traffic Regulation Order(TRO) was published late last year, ref SA 004 23 and details are on the ATF St Albans scheme page.

Here is a summary of the many recent schemes brought forward, some under national government funding and some under County Councillor Highways Locality Budget.

Beaumont 'Woodlands' Drives, St Albans - the  Traffic Regulation Order (TRO) SA 005 23 is now 'made' and in effect from 1st April.  This scheme does not involve any physical changes.

Cottonmill etc 'St Albans 2' - the consultation was strongly supported and the draft TRO SA 001 24 was published in February.  The design has been modified to address comments from STACC and others to use raised tables or humps rather than cushions and to reduce the speed limit on Cottonmill Lane through the golf course to something lower than 40mph - ideally 20mph as there is no footway, but we'll take 30mph for now. Date for implementation to be advised.

New House Park, St Albans - the draft TRO SA 003 24 was published in February.

Central and East St Albans - consulted, favourable response.  Look out for draft TRO!

Wheathampstead - consulted, favourable response.  Look out for draft TRO.

London Colney Phase 2 - consulted, was not strongly supported. So the scheme as proposed is unlikely to go ahead.

Market Place is now established as a Pedestrian and Cycle Zone, the TRO is SA 001 22 but is no longer online.  It is intended that there will be some Public Realm Improvements to enhance the zone.  STACC hopes this will include dealing with wobbly paviors and replacing the missing or damaged cycle stands by the Clock Tower.

George Street's experimental phases have been reviewed and the outcome is that the current phase will become permanent.  As a reminder, that is one way for all traffic downhill and a cycle contraflow uphill. The contraflow cycle lane is designated as mandatory, this technical term means that motor vehicles must not enter the lane. At weekends - from 11am Saturday through to 7.00am Monday - motor traffic will be excluded and the street will be a Pedestrian and Cycle Zone.  The draft TRO SA 004 24 gives details.  Look out for the TRO being 'made', although this may take time as some highway changes are required and will need to be specified for construction costing and planning.  Once that stage is complete the TRO will be finalised and the scheme implemented.

Well done to the St Albans Cycle Hub on becoming a Schwalbe Inner Tube Recycling location - picture credit above St Albans Cycle Hub. You can now drop off your used inner tubes at the Cottonmill Community And Cycling Centre for recycling by Schwalbe - over 10million tubes have already been recycled by Schwalbe since 2015.

The Cycle Hub is now progressing towards becoming a Trash Free Trails Centre - keep an eye on their social media for updates.

St Albans Cycle Hub website  Facebook Instagram

SustFest Expo - 7 - 9 June

SustFest Expo will be in St Albans at the Alban Arena from 7th – 9th June 2024 and will include two full days of talks, workshops, stalls and activities all centred around making sustainable changes.
Come along and join in the fun! The arena will be open to the public for free on Saturday 8th 9am – 5pm and Sunday 9th 10am – 4pm.
STACC will be supporting the St Albans Cycle Hub at the Expo, details to follow in due course, please get in touch if you would like to be involved.

SustFest Great Big Green Week 7 - 16th June

SustFest will be running a community programme to coincide with Great Big Green Week.  This happens to coincide with Bike Week, so STACC does hope to contribute.  But.... the committee needs some help on this, so please let us know if you could contribute some time or ideas.

This epic event is delivered in partnership between Verulam CC  ATW and Chiltern Velo. With distances varying from the 60km Explorer, the 100km Medio Fondo, up to the formidable 160km Gran Fondo with over 2000m of climbing, there is something for everyone on two wheels. With fully signposted routes, chip-timing, downloadable gpx files and feed stations on the route, this is a great way to explore the beautiful Chiltern countryside.

All routes start from event HQ in Bellingdon, near Chiltern Velo cafe. 

More details and entry form here.  

Travellers Tales: Cyclists should not use excessive speed on a cycle-path in Zaragoza, the capital of Aragon in north-east Spain.