Residents will be concerned to see that the ‘Oaklands’ site is now reopen and is causing local roads to be filthy with mud and clay.
Developers are not supposed to allow this to happen and Chris has pressed the county council as highways authority to intervene to get them to clean up their act.
The long-delayed work on the junction of Station Way and Hatfield Road is due to start on Monday 3 August and should be completed by mid to end October. The work will be done by Ashridge Construction, working for Linden Homes.
For safety reasons Station Way will become one-way northbound from Monday 10 August until the junction works are completed. There will therefore be no access from Hatfield Road into Station Way.
Buses, taxis and vehicles dropping off or picking up passengers at the station will be able to use the junction with Victoria Street to enter and leave Station Way.
The footpath along Station Way will remain open at all times.
The variable message signs, showing which car parks have spaces, have now been tested and will be fully operational tomorrow. I hope this will contribute to making St Albans both more accessible and less congested.
Chris White will be trying to meet with highways officials over the problems encountered in Hart Road.
In addition to the quality and nature of the work undertaken there has also been an issue in relation to the way in which thw works were advertised. HCC’s explanation is set out below.
PRESS STATEMENT – HART ROAD
“We are carrying out work on Hart Road to repair broken and uneven paving
slabs. These works are necessary to repair footways in heavily parked
streets where vehicles regularly mount or drive over the pavement. In
places such as at a junction bellmouth or at a vehicle crossover, the slabs
have had to be replaced with a bituminous material (or ‘blacktop’). If we
use slabs in these places, they will quickly deteriorate due to cars
driving over them, which will then present a hazard for pedestrians.
When undertaking these works, we decided to rely on the goodwill of
residents rather than implement an official parking bay suspension which
would have been far more disruptive. Unfortunately there was a typing error
in a letter sent to residents which made it appear that they were being
asked to remove their cars from the street for fifteen days. The letter
should have simply stated that work would be taking place in Hart Road for
fifteen days and only selected vehicles would need to be moved if
necessary. A separate note was placed on the windscreens of these vehicles
to clarify the situation. We apologise for any misunderstanding and
inconvenience this may have caused.”
Chris White and Michael Green have protested to Herts Highways about the patchwork quilt effect in Hart Road: in some places slabs are being replaced with new slabs. But in others, they have just used ‘black top’.
We say: we can understand using black top to replace slabs where there are vehicle cross-overs, but not elsewhere.
We have protested to Herts Highways and will hopefully post their reply here.
Two-tone Hart Road:
Meanwhile, we still haven’t had an answer as to why the lines on Lemsford Road were renewed just months before it is due to be resurfaced.
Chris White has formally asked for enforcement action against the builders at number 10 Upton Avenue who are using the road as a store for materials.
Chris said: ‘This has become a serious nuisance both local residents and to other who legitimately use the public highways. It is the county council’s responsibility to protect the highway and I have asked them to take action.’
After years of neglect of our roads the Tory-run County Council are
blaming the weather for the state of our roads. The County Council
seem to think that they have an excuse for their underinvestment and
mismanagment of the road network.
Stephen Giles-Medhurst, Liberal Democrats Roads spokesperson said:
‘Whilst welcoming the extra funding, the reality is the Tories have
just found another reason other than themselves for the bad state of
our roads. Yet again they are not taking responsibility. During the
election they tried to blame us – now they blame the weather. What
they do not say is that if our road network had been in better repair
the winter damage would not have been so severe.’
Note to editors in response to this press release
PR 8581 Winter damaged roads to benefit from Highways ‘Reward’ funding
Following the receipt of highways ‘reward’ funding from the
government, the county council has now set out how it will spend the
money. Most of it will go to help repair roads damaged during the
severe winter months.
Earlier this year, Hertfordshire Highways submitted one of only
fourteen successful bids for a share of additional government highways
funding – and received £500,000 from the Department for Transport in
recognition of its innovative, ‘Asset Management’ approach to roads
maintenance.
Combined with other successful bids for additional funding for roads,
Hertfordshire Highways received a total of £876,100 for the current
financial year. Councillors at last week’s (July 13) Cabinet meeting
formally approved proposals put forward for the allocation of the
extra money.
More than £650,000 of the funding will be used to resurface and repair
some of the roads damaged by the exceptional weather during the last
winter. Comparative surveys carried out by Highways show that the
damage caused to roads during two weeks in February was equal to the
amount normally seen in an entire year.
The remaining amount will be used to help cover the costs of reviewing
the way in which Hertfordshire Highways maintains the county’s
streetlighting stock – much of which is ageing and in need of
replacement.
Stuart Pile, Executive Member for Highways and Transport, said: “We
did very well to succeed in our bids for this extra funding from the
government, and we now want to press ahead and start making the best
use of it on the ground. Most of it will be used to rectify some of
the damage caused by the unusually severe winter – a priority that I
know is uppermost in the minds of road users, while the remainder
means that we can start in earnest on a review of streetlighting
maintenance.
As a condition for being awarded the funding, Hertfordshire Highways
is expected to act as an asset management champion in the region and
to share knowledge and expertise with other local authorities.
More detailed information can be found in the Cabinet papers from the
meeting on July 13. They can be viewed online at www.hertsdirect.org
I have been sent this spreadsheet.
Some of you will have noticed over the past few says that the yellow lines in Lemsford Road have been repainted.
This is a road which is scheduled to be entirely resufaced in months. Or is this another promise on which the county counci is going to renege?
Temporary traffic management measures on various roads in St Albans
NOTICE is given that the Hertfordshire County Council intend to make an Order under Section 14[1] of the Road Traffic Regulation Act 1984, the effect of which will be:-
1. To prohibit all vehicles from proceeding along that length of Station Way, St Albans from its junction with A1057 Hatfield Road southwards to its junction with B691 Grimston Road other than in a northerly direction only.
The alternative route for southbound traffic will be via:-
A1057 Hatfield Road, B691 (Stanhope Road and Grimston Road)
or alternatively via:-
A1057 Hatfield Road, Beaconsfield Road and B691 Victoria Street
2. To prohibit all vehicles from making a right turn manoeuvre from A1057 Hatfield Road, into Station Way, St Albans whilst works are in progress.
The alternative route for traffic will be via:-
A1057 Hatfield Road, B691 (Stanhope Road and Grimston Road)
3. To prohibit all vehicles from making a left turn manoeuvre from A1057 Hatfield Road, into Station Way, St Albans whilst works are in progress.
The alternative route for traffic will be via:-
A1057 Hatfield Road, Beaconsfield Road and B691 Victoria Street
The purpose of the Order is to enable the installation of a new signalised junction to take place.
It is anticipated that the temporary traffic management measures will each be in place for up to 26 weeks, sometime during the period 10 August 2009 and 13 August 2010, when signs are in place.
If you have any queries about the installation of a new signalised junction or the temporary traffic management measures, please contact the Project Engineer concerned Adrian Wilson tel. 01707 356329 at Hertfordshire Highways.
County Hall
Hertford 23 July 2009
Herts John Wood
SG13 8DN Director of Environment