STACC's John Metcalf and Rona Wightman were interviewed on The Environment Show on Radio Verulam Thursday 5 December. If you missed the programme, you can catch it on the listen again service The interview is in the later part of the show, about 45 minutes in.
Venue is the Council Offices (Civic Centre, near Alban Arena) We will be reviewing the Green Ring proposals, come along and give your views. This is an open meeting, bring your friends and family. The Green Ring is for walking as well as cycling. Mulled wine and mince pies!
http://www.stalbans.gov.uk/planning/Planningpolicy/greenring/
UPDATE 11 DECEMBER: Green Ring exhibition announced, consultation period extended.
Resurfacing done.
Alban Way is looking great and the new, smooth surface is appreciated by users!
The section at the back of Morissons was initially not done at all, they were leaving it pending an engineering solution to bank erosion, which will hopefully give a wider and stable path past the tree. However, STACC requested that a temporary improvement be made - and it has been! Result.
Also be aware that adding several inches of tarmacadam has resulted in the surface being locally much higher than it used to be. So take care where a slip off the edge means a drop of 4 inches or more. Even a small drop-off' can lead to a tramline effect fall. STACC did point out locations of biggest drops, and these have been remedied.
The completion of work was celebrated on 26 November with local school children and a big green dinosaur. The Mayor of St Albans and STACC representatives and members were there too. Also supporting the event were CycleTech Herts and ride leaders from the Watford Hub.
updated 2 December 13
If you have a child handy (under 7) take them along to the Musuem of St Albans, Hatfield Road, on Sunday 9th January and you can listen to the story of Mrs Armitage and her incredible bicycle and then watch them making embellished bicycle pictures. Sessions 2pm, 3pm and 4pm, running for 45 minutes. All children must be accompanied by an adult and the cost is £1.
If you have no child available, it is still worth going to the museum and enjoying the Lost Rails exhibition. The exhibition features former railway lines including what we now call The Alban Way, the Nickey Line and the Ayot Greenway. Highly recommended if you enjoy cycling these routes.
Responsibility for the Alban Way (NCN Route 61) is divided between two local authorities, Welwyn-Hatfield and St Albans.
The boundary is marked by the NCN 'fishtail' milepost next to the red granite seat just east of the Blackberry Arch.
Faults east of the boundary should be reported to pedalpoint@welhat.gov.uk
or Phone on 01707 357551 or online [Here]
Faults west of the boundary should be reported to groundsmaintenance@stalbans.gov.uk
or by Phone on 01727 819366.
ALBAN WAY REOPENED ON MARCH 3RD - ON TIME
So the rest of this post is redundant.
Information from Debbi White, Assistant Estates Surveyor, St Albans City and District Council, Tel: 01727 819515 - summary of her letter.
Alban Way will be closed between Camp Road and Orient Way from 11th February for about three weeks (depending on the weather).
This is to allow for works to take place in connection with the Linden Homes & City Station development to provide mains drainage
BUT NOT YET (as previously stated) the (good news) cycling & pedestrian ramp from the site to the Alban Way, giving off-road access to the station.
SADC, appreciating the importance and popularity of the route, had hoped to keep the Alban Way open during the works, but for justifiable safety concerns (a 3.5 metre deep trench is required) closure was the only option.
The work will include re-surfacing affected areas.
Formal notices will appear in the local press and closure notices are erected at Dellfield and Orient Close.
The footpath from Dellfield to Vanda Crescent will remain open
Diversions will be posted.
[[ End of Debbi's Info ]]
Additional info from me....
The first week of closure falls in half term, so the impact will be reduced somewhat.
A number of local school have been notified, STACC have been asked to identify any others which we feel should be notified.
Diversions
Diversion notices in the form of maps are posted at each end of the affected section.
There are no directions posted along the line of the diversion route (only motorists get those), so I have prepared route sheets of my own suggested diversions (below). Please advise any errors to me by way of a comment to this post.
You can print clips from these to take with you if you are not familiar with the area.
Two routes are suggested, one almost entirely on-road & faster, for experienced riders, the other entirely a combination of off-road and quiet roads.
There is a different route sheet for each direction.
Alban Way closure 11 Feb 08
Diversion for EASTBOUND users - ON-ROAD Option
(Traffic conditions could be heavy in some roads at some times, especially around City Station.)
Halfway along Orient Close, instead of going straight ahead, turn left - up slope (also Orient Close)
At Roundabout (London Road Junction) go forward into Grosvenor Rd.
(Option use nearby pelican crossing).
Follow up hill to junction with Ridgmont Rd.
Turn right into Ridgmont Rd.
Go through line of bollards, bearing left (still Ridgmont Rd).
At end turn right into Victoria St. (often busy).
Over railway bridge, forward at traffic lights.
At next junction, main road bears left, go forward into Grimston Rd.
Turn left into Flora Grove.
At fork, bear right to continue in Flora Grove.
Down hill and turn left into Vanda Crescent.
Just before school, take footpath on right (walk).
At end rejoin Alban Way - turning left to cross bridge.
Alban Way closure 11 Feb 08
Diversion for WESTBOUND users - ON-ROAD Option
(Traffic conditions could be heavy in some roads at some times, especially around City Station.)
After bridge over Camp Rd. take footpath on right, beyond school (walk).
At end, turn left (Vanda Crescent).
At end turn right (Flora Grove).
Bear left at junction & follow to tee junction,
where turn right (Grimston Rd.)
At junction with Stanhope Rd, go forward & again forward through traffic lights.
After railway bridge, but before traffic lights, turn left (Ridgmont Rd.)
Forward for 200 metres then right through line of bollards (still Ridgmont Rd)
At junction with Grosvenor Rd, turn left into Grosvenor Rd.
At roundabout (London Rd junction) go forward into Orient Close.
(Option use nearby pelican crossing).
Down incline then turn right to rejoin Alban Way.
Alban Way closure 11 Feb 08
Diversion for EASTBOUND users - OFF-ROAD/QUIET ROAD Option
(Traffic conditions should be very quiet on this route, suitable for children.)
Halfway along Orient Close, instead of going straight ahead, turn left - up slope (also Orient Close), using cycle path.
At junction with London Rd, use pelican crossing to cross London Rd (walk).
Go right & cross Grosvenor Rd, to join cycle path alongside London Rd.
Pass under railway bridge & cross two side roads.
At Cunningham Hill Rd, turn left.
This is a quiet cul-de-sac, so ride on road.
As Cunningham Hill Rd bears right, go left into Barncroft Way.
After 50 metres go through gap with three bollards on right.
Using footway (walk) bear left & go through four bollards.
Still keeping left follow footway and continue alongside Parkview Close.
Continue on footpath alongside playing field, through barriers & down hill.
At Dellfield turn right then take path on left just before junction with Camp Rd.
Up slope to rejoin Alban Way, turn right to cross bridge.
Alban Way closure 11 Feb 08
Diversion for WESTBOUND users - OFF-ROAD/QUIET ROAD Option
(Traffic conditions should be very quiet on this route, suitable for children.)After bridge over Camp Rd. turn left, down slope to Dellfield.
Turn right then after Hawkshill take footpath on left, up hill (walk).
Through barriers and alongside playing field, continue on footway alongside Cell Barnes Lane.
Bear right between four bollards, then through gap with three bollards.
To join Barncroft Way, turning left.
After 50 metres go right into Cunningham Hill Rd.
This is a quiet cul-de-sac, so ride on road.
Just before end (junction with London Rd) go right on shared cycle path.
Cross two side roads & go under railway, continue to Grosvenor Rd.
Cross Grosvenor Rd & take pelican crossing over London Rd (walk).
Join cycle path in Orient Close, go down slope to tee junction.
Turn right to rejoin Alban Way.
Post updated 31 Jan due to fault in Blogger, which resulted in route sheet headings being rendered with font-size of zero!
Post updated 8 Feb due to the closure start date being brought forward (or incorrectly advised) - It is now Feb 11th, not 12th. Plus other detail changes.
Police are appealing for any information which could relate to an
armed robbery about 10:15 a.m. on 27th June, 2007.
Full details & photofit of the assailant, as well as police contact number are on:
http://www.herts.police.uk/crimedatabase/site/content.php?article_id=3864
Did you see anything that day which might be relevant?
Perhaps you are a regular Alban Way user; have you seen the
attacker on another occasion - before or since?
Think Back - 27th June was in the week after Bike Week.
(It appears that the escape route was the Timberland Trail footpath
- where it's unusual to see a cyclist - rather than the footpath
which crosses AW near the Smallford bridge.)
Yes it's very disturbing to have such things happen on 'our' Alban Way.
A way to mitigate one's fears is to commute with one or more companions using
the Bike Buddi scheme.
See
http://stalbanscyclecampaign.blogspot.com/2007/06/bike-buddy-commute-with-companion.html
for a link to more information.
Don't let them win!
A STACC member advised me today that he recently encountered motor cycles being ridden on Alban Way, when he was walking there.
The attitude of one rider was aggresive.
He reported the incident to the Police & commended their very rapid response. An incident number was assigned.
A week later he was nearby when he heard a motorcycle being ridden along Alban Way. He did not report this.
He also drew my attention to an article in the Herts Advertiser of 19/4/07 on page 9 describing incidents where people have actually been threatened, chased and assaulted on Alban Way by riders of illegally ridden motorcycles.
With your help, STACC can involve itself robustly in this matter, to ensure that these incidents are sorted out correctly.
The HA article quotes Police Inspector Mike Hanson describing reported incidents & stating "We have run operations to target nuisance motorcyclists .... many times and have seized and destroyed a number of bikes." (Why not "many"?)
Clearly police action has been ineffective, perhaps due to offenders only being warned the first time & seizure taking place only on being caught a second time (and not giving another name).
We support strong police action against the offenders, especially as the offences have escalated to physical crimes against the person.
We need to be reassured that the police have not forgotten to use traffic law too - insurance, road tax, driving off the highway, MOT, helmet wearing, licences, etc. Confiscation on first offence would seem to be a good start.
There is a risk that the SADC & local residents' knee-jerk reaction would, once again, be to have more barriers erected, so obstructing the legitimate users of the Alban Way. The barriers would remain long after the problem goes away.
We should robustly resist barriers. This time we are able to cite the clause in the new St Albans Cycling Strategy which requires cycling facilities to be accessible to all types of cycle and riders of all abilities.
Meanwhile we should encourage more youngsters to enjoy using cycles, which might influence them not to be attracted into illegal use of motorcycles.
If you see a motor vehicle on Alban Way (or any public place off-road) report it to the police on 0845 3300 222 and obtain an incident number.
Then please add a comment, including incident date, to this Post (anonymously if you wish) so that STACC can pursue the matter. General topic-related comments also invited.
There's certainly no intention to criticise legitimate responsible motorcycle riders, as we recognise that they also get a bad name because of illegal users.
