St Albans Cycle Campaign (STACC)
What we do...
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St Albans Cycle Campaign (STACC) is campaigning for people cycling in St Albans and the surrounding area, including Harpenden, Redbourn, London Colney, Wheathampstead & Sandridge:
To encourage cycle usage in the St Albans District
To promote cycling to play a more significant role in a balanced transport system for the St Albans District
To support, assist and influence to local authorities responsible for managing the transport system in the St Albans District.
Our approach is to work co-operatively with key bodies such as the local authorities whilst lobbying for better funding and provision for cyclists with particular regard to cycle paths & routes, lower speed limits & cycle-parking.
Contact us at info@stacc.org.uk
Latest News (and member actions in red!)
Herts Cycle Facility Register
Herts County Council has made available to the public a Cycle-Facility Register, an online graphics information system (GIS) which allows you to see the following cycle-route facilities:
in the county, with the ability to make anonymous comments about them and view already posted comments. In this context, no facility means a signed route with no special measures to assist or increase prominence of cyclists; the website contains a full illustrated explanation of all the above terms and how to post and read comments. This GIS is designed to help you understand what infrastructure is available for cycling and what is planned. It also provides the way to suggest missing parts of the network which can be considered for future works. HCC hope to build a better idea of the roads and paths with defects of concern to cyclists, and indeed errors in classification, and we urge you make use of the system to help them do this.
Marlborough Road
Construction work has now begun on the active-travel project to improve walking & cycling facilities in the area round Marlborough Road, St Albans. At the northern end of Upper Marlborough Road the junction is being adjusted to allow the entry of cycles heading south and at the southern end of Marlborough Road at its junction with London Road the pavement on the corner is being adjusted to make space for the contraflow cycle lane. Both these locations currently have temporary traffic lights. The scheme will include permanent traffic lights with cycle and pedestrian phases at the London Road junction. Works are scheduled to be completed in September. You can see the full project information here.
Greener Together
St Albans Greener Together is a new sustainability network comprised of individuals and organisations working to create a more sustainable and healthier District with a main thematic focus on reducing energy and transport emissions. It is supported by St Albans City and District Council in collaboration with the University of Hertfordshire.
Members of the network can share stories, best practice, form connections and can apply for funding for innovative climate-action projects when the Net Zero Fund is launched. Anyone in the District can join St Albans Greener Together whether you are an individual, business or community group, they invite you all to join the mission to make a difference locally.
St Albans Greener Together focuses on a different theme each month, starting with sustainable transport. A major part of this is highlighting the benefits of active-transport options, with a big focus on cycling. They would like to hear how and why you incorporated cycling into your life, so they can amplify your voice and encourage others to do that same.
You can find out more and join St Albans Greener Together on their website, and follow them on Facebook, Instagram and LinkedIn.
Pothole and flytipping reporting!
Hertfordshire Highways Fault Reporting is the page to go to if you see a pothole and want it fixed. Potholes more than 50mm deep tend to be fixed quickly and those deeper than 100mm are fixed very quickly. Smaller potholes tend to be 'noted'.
Other faults tend to be less swiftly dealt with, if at all. STACC continues to raise our concern that carriageway faults such as potholes get sorted while mud or vegetation on cycling and walking routes are put 'under review by local engineers' until they quietly drop off the system. Our contacts at Hertfordshire Highways are aware of this shortcoming in the asset management system, and their message to us is KEEP REPORTING IT. This will help them make the case for improvements to the system. Contacting your County Councillor about a particular problem can also help to move things along.
Alternatively, call up a mapping app while you are in situ and take a screenshot of your location. Another option is to make use of What3Words. Here's a short video to simplify reporting of potholes (also works for fly tips and other issues) by using the What3Words app, which puts the three word location identifier onto the photo.
You can then make a report to the relevant local authority..... ah, but which authority is that, and how to contact them? Symondshyde Lane is in Welwyn Hatfield, not St Albans.
Well, there's an app for that... we suggest ClearWaste or FixMyStreet, which use the location that you supply to work out which local authority your report should be sent to. If you have time, you can make the report in situ when you take the photos; the app knows where you are when you do this so you don't have to tell it. You may find the flytip has already been reported.
You may have known of another app specifically for pot-holes, called FillThatHole that was created by Cycling UK. This app is no longer available, but a website with the same name that interfaces to FixMyStreet has taken its place.
Wanted - Bikes, locks, lights and helmets
Do you have adult men's bikes in good condition and any helmets, bike locks, or lights that can be given to local asylum seekers?
Before being given a bike, the asylum seekers need to pass a Bikeability course, the cost of which is covered by Herts County Council. All the bikes are checked over by Andy Brock of Herts Welcomes Refugees before being given out.
If you can help, please contact Nick Clarke, clarkefamily2004@yahoo.co.uk, 01727 855026.
Acronyms, Links and other useful stuff
We try not to use abbreviations in our website and newsletters, at least not without prior explanation; however some do slip through the net so here is a list of those we commonly use:
ATF – Active Travel Fund – government money for local authorities. link
CMS – Countryside Management Service (part of HCC) link
CRoW – Countryside & Rights of Way (HCC & CMS)
DfT – Department for Transport – link to the public support-for-cycling survey
EATF – Emergency Active Travel Fund, link
GAP – Greenspace Action Plan, link
GTP – Growth and Transport Plan, drawn up by HCC, link
HCC – Hertfordshire County Council, link
LTN 1/20 – Cycle-infrastructure design issued by DfT, link
MMP – Maintenance and Management Plan – a follow-on from GAPs & last for 10 years
SAA – St Albans Abbey railway station, link
SAC – St Albans City railway station, link
SADC – St Albans District Council, link
SFRI – Strategic Rail-Freight Interchange, link
TRO – Traffic-Regulation Order, link; ETRO is an Experimental TRO, link.
VRRA – Verulam Road Residents Association, link
WMP – Widen My Path, CycleStreets website to suggest improvements, link