Council leaders launch ambitious plan for safer roads in Hertfordshire

Liberal Democrat county council leaders have launched an “ambitious and transformative” action plan to improve safety on Hertfordshire’s roads.

The key measure is a new approach to 20mph zones. It will become easier, quicker and cheaper to provide these zones, in areas where people want them. 20mph limits will now be created mainly through signage - instead of complex engineering work previously used by the former Tory leadership.

The old method wasted money through unneeded traffic calming. It prevented 20mph schemes being delivered where they’re urgently needed, including outside primary schools and narrow residential neighbourhoods. The new signs-led approach - adopted by the Lib Dem administration - will improve safety for more neighbourhoods, and give better value for money. It’s expected that around 125 miles of 20mph limit will now be completed within existing budgets - approximately 45 miles more than would have been achieved under the Tories.

There’ll also be less use of speed humps, which are often disliked by residents. However, where needed, some zones will include accessibility upgrades, such as raised crossings. These help wheelchair and buggy users by enabling people to cross a road at the same level as the footpath.

Meanwhile, as a second tier of the package, Lib Dem council leaders will explore the use of technology to improve safety on notoriously dangerous roads. The likes of average-speed cameras will likely make it quicker and easier to introduce (and enforce) appropriate speed limits.

A third measure will focus on protecting Hertfordshire’s rural roads from harmful traffic, HGVs and 'rat-running'. This involves a pilot project to designate some routes as "no access". It’s hoped this will reduce traffic volumes by changing satnav options which direct many vehicles down narrow winding country roads.

Together, the measures form the fourth manifesto pledge delivered by Lib Dems within the first 100 days of the new county council administration.

Cllr Paul Zukowskyj, cabinet member for Environment, Transport and Growth at Hertfordshire County Council, said: “We’ve wasted no time in launching this ambitious programme of measures. We’re determined to improve road safety for all road users in Hertfordshire - motorists, cyclists and pedestrians.

“Top of the agenda is 20mph zones. In so many areas, residents are crying out for safe, sensible speeds on the roads where they live, walk, learn and play. They were long ago promised 20mph zones but the Tories failed to deliver. They wasted money through their wrong-headed insistence on cumbersome and expensive engineering. Lib Dems will make the process far more efficient - and get far more results.

“We’re also using innovative methods, and the latest tech, to curb dangerous speeding on the roads where it matters most. And as rural areas are so important in Hertfordshire, we want to protect our country lanes from being used as shortcuts.

“There’s a lot of work still to do - but we’ve taken the crucial first steps towards a much safer and greener Hertfordshire”.