Transport for Hatfield

Transport for Hatfield AND BEYOND IN CENTRAL HERTFORDSHIRE JANUARY 2016 Hertfordshire, England CONTENTS INTRODUCTION 5 1 TRANSPORT TODAY AND CHALLENGES FOR THE FUTURE 6 2 THE ROAD AHEAD 16 INTRODUCTION We currently use cars disproportionately, even for should ensure that it is of the highest quality. Among other the shortest journeys across both urban and rural considerations, we should take into account the impact of Hertfordshire. However, there are signs that habits may the increase in population on transport capacity and use be changing. The number of cars and driving licences the pressure for new development to press for effective is already falling among the young. Although half the new transport arrangements for central Hertfordshire. county’s population owns a bicycle, only two per cent at present use them to commute to work. Buses have Gascoyne Cecil Estates believes it will be impossible to a poor reputation for speed and time-keeping. It takes build places where people want to live and work, and of three times as long to travel between Hatfield and St which we can be proud, unless the public and the local Albans as it does between Waterloo and Canary Wharf. authorities put in place a coherent plan for transport, Already, heavy congestion and high travel costs too often both public and private. This will reduce our reliance on turn travelling around Hertfordshire into an expensive the car, improve facilities for cyclists and pedestrians, and and frustrating experience. be complementary to regional projects such as Crossrail 2. If current forecasts are correct, a further twenty- four thousand people will be living in Hatfield by 2032, We are accordingly publishing this document as part of accommodated in over eleven thousand new homes. our briefing for the Stanboroughbury and Symondshyde The rest of the County is growing, too: Hertfordshire’s Charrette. Investment in transport infrastructure and the population will swell by three hundred thousand by 2050. success of future development are intrinsically linked. If transport is to cater for this future development it must bring congestion relief measures to existing roads. In considering what might be done, Gascoyne Cecil Estates suggest it would be worth looking at the area Welwyn Hatfield is facing great change both because of from St Albans to Hertford as one economic zone. With strong housing demand but also because it is so close to effective transport this area would represent an economic London. This understandably worries us. Development powerhouse competing with cities such as Oxford or during the latter half of the twentieth century has produced Cambridge. well-intentioned but often disheartening results that alter the character of well-loved places. Change, however, can As a single landowner, Gascoyne Cecil Estates cannot be positive: we can learn lessons from the past and there solve the problems. Working in cooperation with the are plenty of examples of successful initiatives elsewhere. community and authorities greater things can be achieved. Growth provides an opportunity to improve transport It is important that a well reasoned debate should take infrastructure in anticipation of planned development: place and it is hoped that this document will help facilitate to redesign public transport and enhance pedestrian and our discussions. cycle routes for the twenty-first century. The response of transport authorities has so far been January 2016 disappointing. Hatfield and the surrounding areas are already congested and these blocked roads hamper economic activity. Unless we improve local transport, existing roads and railways will become gridlocked as more houses are built. Gascoyne Cecil Estates is a long-term landowner in Central Hertfordshire. It recognizes that if further development has to come in our neighbourhood all of us who live here 1. TRANSPORT TODAY AND CHALLENGES FOR THE FUTURE This section details the current state of affairs in Hatfield Congestion affects us in more important and personal and broader Hertfordshire in relation to road, rail and ways as well. The frustration of a traffic jam causes stress pedestrian transport. and boredom, and has knock-on effects through the day. Those who cycle or walk to work, or combine both with The Car public transport benefit psychologically, can focus better and are happier. Their physical health obviously improves, “Nothing behind me, everything ahead of me, as is ever so on too, reducing the risk of cardiovascular illness. the road.” Jack Kerouac, On the Road Hertfordshire currently has the fifth largest economy in the UK outside of London. The County Council aspires Driving a car is convenient, and can be enjoyable. to reach the top three. A road network which is fit for Warmth, comfort, and security, as well as the more purpose will contribute significantly to this growth. The practical benefits of easy and flexible movement, are attractive and can save time. The individual freedom, and the feeling of being in control, that is offered by the car, is empowering. Indeed it is these very qualities which have driven individual car ownership over the last half century. The Congestion Charge in central London reduced However, congestion reduces the car’s appeal: time spent in traffic jams is neither productive, healthy nor appealing. the number of cars on the Nevertheless, over 50% of the populations of Hatfield, St roads by 25%. Albans, Welwyn Garden City and Hertford at present travel to work by car. The A414 will soon reach capacity: rush-hour commuters at the western end in St Albans crawl through the city at an average of 13 mph, whilst those coming into Hertford at the other end, and those using junctions 3/4 of the A1(M) struggle similarly. In the end, prosperity and wellbeing suffer. Congestion erodes economic performance. In its 2008 report, Economic Costs of Congestion in the Regions, the This immediately improved Institute for Economic Development (IED) found that the environment: nitrous congestion of the road network adds to business costs and increases the inconvenience of travelling to work: oxide and carbon dioxide longer, less reliable journeys raise operating costs and levels both fell by 13% reduce productivity. during the first year. The 2006 Eddington Study calculated that a 5% reduction in travel time for all business and freight travel on British roads would save around £2.5 billion, and that the elimination of existing congestion on the road network would be worth between £7-8 billion to UK GDP each year. The Centre for Economic and Business Research (Cebr) found that this figure had increased to £14 billion by 2013, and is projected to reach £23 billion by 2030 - more than the entire UK transport budget in 2014. 6 Hertfordshire Transport Vision 2050 therefore prioritises Car Sharing congestion-reduction measures. Smart Motorway programmes and widening certain roads or junctions Innovative use of digital will be important in achieving this. However, such work can too easily hold back other, longer-term goals. Since networks allows drivers with mass road traffic has wider detrimental effects on the empty seats to post details environment, we should not make it worse by channelling of their trip alongside a price even more traffic into and around towns. to cover fuel - they can save Mass traffic uses land inefficiently. It forces new buildings money by sharing travel costs to accommodate garages and driveways. In the last whilst cutting congestion and half-century houses have been built with garages and driveways: indeed, in the 2014 Hertfordshire Guide to Growth pollution. Those who want a (Five Years On) the Welwyn Hatfield Borough Council lift can choose who they would suggested that to design without car parking provision prefer to travel with, and usually would be unrealistic and subvert our expectations. Given save money compared with that land prices are already incredibly high, however, it is wise to use the land available as efficienty as possible: other forms of transport. car-parks and driveways are both inefficient and typically unattractive uses of space that sit empty for much of the For example: day. The use of land for car related purposes is worthy of further scrutiny. Moreover, and as noted elsewhere, habits are already changing and this should be taken into account when planning for the future. Car use is falling amongst younger people and looks likely to continue. Whilst almost half of 17-20 year olds held a driving licence in 1990, only 30% do so now. The reasons for this are complex and range from prohibitive costs to aspirations for cleaner transport. We are also increasingly open to the idea of sharing: ride-sharing, taxi-sharing, car clubs and bicycle hire are relatively new but fast-growing trends. This all implies that lower levels of car use might become achievable amongst the Millenial generation. Wider roads and vast car parks will become ever less appealing and demand for accessible public transport and cycle routes will continue to increase. If every motorist shared their commute with one other person the number of cars on the roads at peak times would half. 7 The Bicycle Half of all trips to work across the borough of Welwyn Hatfield are shorter than 5 miles in length. These are short distances which are eminently cycleable given the right conditions. Given that the average commuter cycles at a speed of 10mph, these distances imply a pleasant half- hour commute. At present whilst 42% of adults own a bicycle, just 2% travel to work this way. Even journeys of less than 3 miles are rarely tackled by bicycle - figures suggest only 4% of the time. It is thus not distance, nor access to a bicycle, that discourages people from cycling: other factors must be at play. Fear of speeding road traffic, for example, that moves especially quickly in rural and suburban areas.

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