South West Herts Cycling Study
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South West Herts Cycling Study Report February 2013 Prepared for: Prepared by: Hertfordshire County Council Steer Davies Gleave West Riding House 67 Albion Street Leeds LS1 5AA +44 (0)113 389 6400 www.steerdaviesgleave.com Summary Report CONTENTS EXECUTIVE SUMMARY ..................................................................................... I 1 INTRODUCTION .................................................................................... 5 Background.......................................................................................... 5 Consultation ........................................................................................ 5 Structure of this report ........................................................................... 5 2 POLICY CONTEXT.................................................................................. 7 Introduction......................................................................................... 7 This study ........................................................................................... 7 Current Policies .................................................................................... 8 Other relevant documents.......................................................................13 3 BEST PRACTICE .................................................................................. 16 Schemes already delivered in Hertfordshire..................................................16 Best practice examples from London, Chester and Cambridge............................17 Assessing the benefits of cycle schemes ......................................................18 4 CYCLE AUDITS.................................................................................... 21 Audit Methodology................................................................................21 Cycle Audits........................................................................................24 Route mapping ....................................................................................24 5 IDENTIFICATION OF SCHEMES................................................................. 25 Introduction........................................................................................25 Collisions involving................................................................................25 Cyclists .............................................................................................25 Design Principles ..................................................................................26 Potential schemes by District ...................................................................29 6 CYCLE PARKING.................................................................................. 43 7 SCHEME PRIORITIES ............................................................................. 45 Introduction........................................................................................45 Scheme Priorities .................................................................................45 8 IMPLEMENTATION PLAN........................................................................ 49 Contents Summary Report FIGURES Figure 4.1 Recognising the Different Bikeability Levels...................................... 22 Figure 4.2 Level 3 check diagram ............................................................... 23 Figure 5.1 Hierarchy of Measures................................................................ 27 Figure 5.2 South West Herts – Study Area, District Boundaries and Cycle Scheme Areas ........................................................................................... 37 Figure 5.3 Watford and Abbots Langley – Scheme Locations ................................ 38 Figure 5.4 Rickmansworth, Chorleywood and Carpenders Park – Scheme Locations .... 39 Figure 5.5 Watford, Bushey and South Oxhey – Scheme Locations ......................... 40 TABLES Table 2.1 Hertfordshire LTP3 Cycling Targets ................................................. 9 Table 2.2 Cycle Scheme Priorities – Watford Cycling Strategy............................. 12 Table 2.3 Schemes recommended in Previous Strategies ................................... 13 Table 3.1 The number of new cyclists needed to achieve a cost benefit ratio of 1.... 19 Table 5.1 Hazardous Sites Relevant to Study ................................................. 26 Table 5.2 List of Potential Schemes Developed .............................................. 31 Table 7.1 Lower cost Schemes .................................................................. 46 Table 7.2 Improvements to Core Routes....................................................... 46 Table 7.3 Improving town centre permeability............................................... 47 Table 7.4 Rural links, quiet road and off-road routes ....................................... 48 Table 8.1 Implementation Plan ................................................................. 50 APPENDICES A SCHEME PROFORMAS B COLLISIONS INVOLVING CYCLISTS C SCHEME LIST AND LOCATION MAPS D BIKEABILITY LEVEL OUTCOMES E FULL RESULTS OF SCHEME RANKING F CYCLE PARKING PROPOSALS G CORE ROUTE MAP Contents Summary Report Executive Summary 1. This document sets out the Cycling Strategy for South West Hertfordshire, including the urban areas of Watford, Bushey, Rickmansworth, Chorleywood, Kings Langley/Abbots Langley and South Oxhey. 2. The South West Herts area has become increasingly prosperous over the past ten years with Watford becoming a major attractor for retail and leisure journeys. Watford town centre has been identified as a Key Centre for Development and Change within the London Arc (from Watford and Hemel Hempstead in the west, stretching to Chelmsford in the east) but levels of congestion are increasingly threatening future growth in the South West Herts area as well as significantly impacting on the quality of life of the area. 3. Cycling has been identified as a key contributor to both improving quality of life and levels of health whilst also reducing levels of congestion through encouraging more people to cycle shorter journeys. The Department for Transport estimates that if all the commuters in England with a journey of fewer than five miles travelled by bike rather than car or bus, they would save a collective 44,000 tonnes of CO2 in one week1. This document 4. This South West Herts Cycling Strategy sits below the Hertfordshire County Council Active Travel Strategy, developed as part of the Third Local Transport Plan. The need for a South West Hertfordshire Cycling Strategy was identified within the South West Hertfordshire Plan (2008). The forward vision set out in the South West Herts Plan is for “a sustainable, innovative transport system that seeks to make travel within South West Herts area easier through the full utilisation of different transport modes and the better management of the existing network.” Cycling plays an important role in achieving this vision. In particular, increasing levels of cycling will contribute to: I Reduce levels of congestion, especially localised congestion related to shorter journeys; I Improving levels of health and tackling obesity, particularly within children; and I Helping to reduce levels of carbon emissions and improving quality of life. 5. This Strategy will also contribute towards achieving the aims of the Hertfordshire Third Local Transport Plan. In particular, increasing levels of cycling will help to support sustainable travel to reduce growth in car traffic, contribute towards improved health and quality of life for residents and improve access for all to everyday facilities. 6. As part of this Strategy, cycle schemes have been developed which contribute to the objectives outlined above and also identify opportunities to improve cyclist 1 The equivalent emissions produced by heating nearly 17,000 houses. Source http://www.dft.gov.uk/cyclingengland/encouraging-cycling/benefits-of-cycling/ i Summary Report safety where feasible. Some of the potential schemes address the Hazardous Sites identified within the Countywide Hazardous Sites Report. The Hazardous Sites report provides an identification of sites which meet specific criteria in terms of the number, type and severity of the collisions recorded. Where a site meets the criteria, schemes which contribute to improving safety at the site would be eligible for funding as part of the Local Transport Plan programme2. 7. These schemes also take into account the recommendations of previous studies including the West Watford Transport Plan, the Watford Cycle Strategy and the Oxhey Transport Plan. 8. Scheme prioritisation has been undertaken using the Hertfordshire County Council cycle ranking list. This ranking process takes into account the following factors: I detractors to cycling such as hilliness and the speed limit of each route; I potential trip generators/attractors; I proximity to potential users including the number of residential properties per square kilometre within 400m of the proposed scheme; and I if the scheme provides a missing link in the existing cycle network. 9. On the basis of the outcomes of the scheme ranking, ten schemes have been examined in further detail and recommendations made on how these could be taken forwards. How does this Plan fit with wider initiatives? 10. The potential schemes identified within this Plan will be delivered in coordination with smarter choices and cycle training initiatives that are currently in place across the County. TravelSmart and travel