Dear all,

I’m sorry to have to ask but I really do need people to help me here.

Please don’t leave it to somebody else to do. Somebody else also has kids, a job and a busy life (as I do); they won’t get around to it either. These are our streets. If we want them to be safe and inviting for us and our children to cycle on then people need to make some noise about it. If you don’t, it isn’t going to happen.

Please, EVERYBODY take a few moments to contact your councillors (details at bottom) and MP. Tell them that having streets that are safe and comfortable to cycle on is important to you. Tell them that the Hertfordshire Cycling Strategy is a good document, so why are they ignoring it ? Tell them that CTC are an expert user group who know what they are talking about and are representing YOUR views (let me know if I ever say things that you disagree with).

Get your friends to write too. They don’t cycle ? I’ll bet their kids do, or would if conditions allowed.

If YOU don’t say it, you can be sure that nobody else will either, and then you will get what Herts Highways think you deserve – believe me, you don’t want to go there.

This is why...

I have just received a letter from Hertfordshire Highways about the proposal to convert the footway alongside Bedford Road (Hitchin) to a shared path. We have been involved in a long, drawn out dialogue with HH about this proposal, which is very poor.

We have told them, in no uncertain terms, that this was not a welcome proposal. We have sent them 30 pages of detailed comments on how they could improve the proposals. They have incorporated NONE of them. Not one. And this is on a scheme that should never even have been put forward (all planning documents call for the gyratory to be restored to two way flow – removing the problem).

We have made it VERY clear by letter that doing nothing is better than the scheme that they are proposing. They are ignoring this and are proceeding regardless. All of the correspondence is in the file archive of the Cycle_Hitchin group. If you are not signed up, you can join here.

This is not an isolated incident. Virtually ALL of the schemes that have been put forward throughout North Herts over recent months have been poor quality pavement conversions. The Hertfordshire Cycling Strategy is very clear in recommending against these and we have made it very clear in all cases that they are worse than doing nothing.

Every proposal that I have seen has been so bad it made me wince. In all cases we have put forward very detailed recommendations on how these could be improved but I can think of only ONE recommendation of any significance that has been taken up and that was half-hearted.

It has become abundantly clear that this is not just mistakes and ignorance. Herts Highways are clearly pursuing a deliberate policy of putting cyclists on the pavement, in direct contradiction to stated policy. They are not considering any alternatives even when these have been identified in existing plans. They have blocked roads or made them one way without thought, introduced pinch points and barriers, and designed “cycle tracks” that emerge into the road with absolutely no visibility. They do not listen to ANY objections, and they do not put ANY of it right.

So, PLEASE contact your councillor and MP, because they are not listening to me, and I need back-up.

Here is how to contact your councillors:

Type your postcode into the HertsDirect “Who is my councillor” page and it will tell you your MP and county councillor (responsible for transport, health and education). Click on the links for contact details. For details of District councillors, go here for North Herts or here for Stevenage.

MP for Hitchin is Peter Lilley, MP for the rest of North Herts is Oliver Heald.

Regards
 
 
 
Alasdair DV Massie CEng MIStructE

CTC Right to Ride Representative, North Herts

CTC is Britain’s largest cycling organisation with 70,000 members. Formed in 1878 we have actively campaigned for better, safer roads, locally and nationally since our inception.

We have a large and active section for North Herts and Stevenage.

wwww.ctc.org.uk            www.northhertsctc.org.uk