Options for congestion management in St Albans were outlined at an informal meeting with city centre retailers on 28 February. Measures being proposed include:

· Restricting private vehicle access in St Peter’s Street at certain times of the day

· Improved bus transport

· Innovations to bus fare payment options including by mobile phone

· Metro-style bus routes on arterial city routes

· Mini park and ride sites

· Walking and cycling schemes including a green ring around the city

· An Abbey Flyer tram route

· Car sharing and car clubs

· Measures to encourage electric vehicles (16 charging points around the District are planned in 2011)

· Fresh Way To Work – transport initiatives with local employers

City centre retailers heard of plans to help manage city centre congestion, reduce the District’s carbon footprint, improve air quality and enhance the retailing experience in St Albans City centre.

The Council wanted to meet with retailers informally before any further work takes place to make sure their views are considered as proposals – to be put forward for public consultation in the summer – are developed. Retail deliveries, customer collections and suitable arrangements for market stall holders are all important elements to local retailers. The Council will be working to ensure flexibility in any scheme, to address these areas.

Stephen Joseph, chair of local transport group Network St Albans and Executive Director of the national campaign group Campaign for Better Transport, outlined the national context for local proposals. Other speakers included the Council’s Leader Cllr Robert Donald and Hertfordshire County Council’s Programme and Strategy Manager, Rupert Thacker.

The current proposals include restricting private vehicle access in St Peter’s Street during the day, Monday to Saturday, allowing only taxis, public transport and bicycles to use the road during these times. Proposals are based on the outcome of modelling work which demonstrated positive projected real time effects for buses if St Peter’s Street is closed to private vehicles. Closing St Peter’s Street to general traffic during the day would be just one of a possible package of measures that would contribute to an overall congestion, pollution and emissions solution.

Although potential costs have not yet been fully determined, it is envisaged that the proposed scheme would involve limited changes to signage and enforcement measures, which would not be costly to implement.

Cllr Robert Donald, Leader of St Albans City & District Council, said “The public have consistently told us in surveys that we need to tackle traffic congestion in St Albans city centre. On top of this, we now have air quality problems around the Peahen junction which have reached levels exceeding Government limits. We also need to take some radical steps locally if we are to meet our carbon footprint reduction targets. The great advantage of these proposals is that they will not only achieve improvements to all three of these problems but they will also create a more inviting environment for shoppers, residents and visitors to enjoy and benefit the District’s future prosperity and local economy.

“The bus companies and others have told us that during previous periods when St Peter’s Street closed for Hertfordshire Highway’s improvement works, city centre circulation improved. Our research shows that footfall in the city centre at these times was not adversely affected; in fact some of the larger stores have told us business was better. This is the experience of retailers in a number of other cities where traffic is restricted for part of the day in favour of pedestrians.

“While many people welcome these proposals, not everyone will agree. This is why this meeting was important, so we could listen to the views of retailers and build in flexibility to the proposals where we can. A public consultation on final proposals will be held over the summer and, if introduced, any scheme would be the subject of a pilot project. We have to start tackling the major congestion and pollution problems in our city centre and that is what these various measures will help us achieve.”

The timetable for the intended project includes further analysis of modelling by Hertfordshire Highways, improvements to key junctions this spring, and a public consultation on proposals in the summer. Should plans come to fruition, it is envisaged that a pilot scheme of up to eighteen months duration would be introduced in early 2012. Changes could be made during this pilot scheme period at minimal cost.