North Herts Highway Partnership is about to start drawing up new Urban Transport Plans for Hitchin and Baldock. I was involved in consultation for Hitchin's previous transport plan 10 years ago, so how have we done in the intervening decade ?

"As part of establishing the changed order of priorities described above, measures are required to demonstrate the new sense of value given to pedestrians and cyclists. This will mean high quality access routes from most parts of the town and beyond to key destinations... " Hitchin Transport Plan 1998.

Maybe I am missing something, but I haven't noticed much of this "new value" that we were going to experience. Nor have I seen much of the "Cycle Route Network" that we worked on taking shape, or the priority crossings that were promised. In fact, although creation of a cycle network came second from top (town centre pedestrianisation came first) in the public's priority rankings, absolutely no progress seems to have been made.

What use is a plan if there is no will or mechanism to deliver it ? It is just a waste of public money

So, we have written to the Highway Partnership expressing these concerns, and asking why three quarters of a million pounds worth of "Section 106" developer contributions, intended for the cycle network or other sustainable transport schemes, are sitting unspent in a vault somewhere. It isn't like we haven't already identified a wealth of badly needed improvements already.

Read our letter ( on the Cycle Hitchin filespace, see below for location ). 

 Location of letter:

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Cycle_Hitchin/files/Letters/N%20Herts%20Highway%20Partnership%20190408%20Hitchin%20Baldock%20S106.pdf