7) District/borough delivery of plan
St Albans City & District Council
Population:131,000
Area:161 km2
Population Density: 808 people/km2
Principal Settlements: St Albans, Harpenden
Motorways: 25km M25, M1, M10
Trunk Roads:11km - A414 (to be detrunked)
A Roads:47km
Other Roads: 518km
Navigable Waterways:-
Rail Routes and Operating Companies: Midland Main Line, (Midland Mainline Thameslink)Watford to St Albans Abbey Line (Silverlink)
Rail Stations:St Albans City, Harpenden, St Albans Abbey, Park Street, Bricket Wood, How Wood
Statement by City & District of St Albans
This Council is committed to the development and implementation of sustainable transport and development policies and strategies to promote the economic, social, historic and general environment of the District.
Geographical, Socio-Economic and Infrastructure Context
Geographical
The City and District of St. Albans has a population of 131,000 and is located in the Green Belt, a few miles north of the edge of London. St. Albans and Harpenden are the main settlements and there are also several large villages. It is a high quality environment.
Socio-Economic
Low unemployment, high car ownership, high interaction with London, Luton/Dunstable and nearby Hertfordshire towns, particularly Hatfield, Hemel Hempstead and Watford, for employment, retail, cultural, leisure and residential purposes. Vitality of town and local centres being maintained to promote economic activity and regeneration.
Infrastructure
Road - M1, M10, A5183 (A5) are radial corridors out of London and strong commuter routes. A414 and M25 serve the main east-west movements through the District. Radial routes out of St. Albans A1057 to Hatfield, A1081 to Harpenden and Luton to the north and London Colney and M25 to the south, A4147 to Hemel Hempstead.
Rail - Main line from Brighton, Gatwick and London connecting St. Albans, Harpenden, Luton and Bedford. Local line connecting St. Albans with Watford.
Waterways - None
Overview
This Council has recognised the need to formulate corporate policies and strategies in all areas of service provision to deliver a sustainable future for the District. This has been achieved through wide ranging consultation in both the public and private sectors with particular emphasis being placed on customer needs as appropriate. The District Council will continue to develop and review policies and strategies to further sustainability objectives. St. Albans is however an historic City and such policies and strategies developed have to be sympathetic to the conservation of the historic environment as well as promoting the economic, social and general environmental well being of the District.
High on our agenda for achieving the objectives is the introduction of Controlled Parking Zones (CPZ's) in St. Albans and Harpenden which is fundamental to the process. It is important however that the commercial viability and vitality of the town centres are maintained and improved and that car parking is managed appropriately such as not to deter shoppers and short term parking. This can be achieved through carefully structured car parking charges. It is necessary however to discourage long term commuter parking within the town centres. New Planning Policies will be developed within the District Local Plan Review to compliment the CPZ's. Consideration will be given to identifying and developing Park and Ride sites based upon viability and demand. It is hoped that the police resources released through the introduction of the CPZ's can be channelled more effectively in dealing with highway safety issues relating to dangerous and obstructive parking, thereby reducing congestion, accidents and air pollution.
The improvement of bus journey times through bus priority measures and enhanced passenger facilities and information should provide an attractive alternative to the private car and enhanced facilities at interchanges combined with the Councils Smartcard Scheme should in the future provide a seamless means of changing mode from train to bus or taxi. The development of the cycling and walking networks and improvement of access to facilities for all user groups will make cycling and walking more attractive for short journeys. Revenue derived from commuted parking payments, workplace parking taxation and road pricing can be used to support these strategies if such measures are found to be acceptable.
All Departments of the Council and sectors of the community have a role to play in developing appropriate policies and strategies, and it is recognised that providing Education and Information will be important in achieving the culture change that is necessary for a sustainable future.