Draft strategy designed to get more people out of their cars across Dacorum

Highways officials have drawn-up plans to get more residents out of their cars across Dacorum and Herts – by making shorter journeys on foot or by bike.

Data published by the county council shows that almost one in four car journeys in Hertfordshire – 23 per cent – are less than a single mile. That’s equivalent to just a 20 minute walk.

And the majority of those journeys – 68 per cent – are less than five miles. That’s said to be the equivalent of a 30 minute bicycle ride.

Now they have drawn-up ‘An Active Travel Strategy for Hertfordshire’ that aims to increase walking and cycling for short trips – in a bid to move towards a cleaner, greener and healthier county.

With plans for 100,000 more new homes before 2031, they say that without action roads will become increasingly congested.

And on Monday (May 15) councillors are set to decide whether – or not – the draft document should be put out to public consultation.

Reporting that two-thirds of people back the reallocation of road space for ‘active travel’, the document says it aims to deliver the infrastructure that meets the needs of communities.

It sets out its aim to increase rates of walking and cycling for short trips. And it aims to ensure that ‘every penny spent’ delivers on improvements that people want.

On Tuesday (May 9) the draft strategy was presented to members of the council’s highways and transport cabinet panel.

And – subject to some changes in language used – they agreed to recommend to cabinet that the council does consult on the document.

At the meeting, Conservative executive member for highways and transport Cllr Phil Bibby said it was an ‘important document’ that would seek to ask people what they would support when it came to ‘active’ travel and what it would take to make they travel more actively.

Liberal Democrat Cllr Nigel Taylor questioned how policies would be implemented – asking whether there were budgets aligned and highlighting the connection with other areas of council policy, at county and district level.

But Cllr Bibby suggested it was a ‘chicken and egg’ situation – and that without the policy or strategy the funding may not come.

Meanwhile Liberal Democrat Cllr Stephen GIles- Medhurst questioned how ‘user friendily’ some of the language was in the current draft of the document – suggesting it needed some further work before going out to public consultation.

And he was assured that some of the complex language would be removed.

According to the document, evidence suggests that for every pound invested in walking and cycling £13 in benefits are returned to the economy.

It claims that getting one child to walk or cycle to school could pay back up to £768 in health benefits, NHS costs, productivity gains and reduction in pollution.

And it says that increasing space for people to walk in town centres improve the shopping experience and has a knock-on effect on the local economy.