PARTS of East Hertfordshire could be transformed into safe zones for walkers and cyclists, according to a plan overseen by Herts County Council reports the Local Democracy Reporter.

East Herts Local Cycling and Walking Infrastructure Plan was presented to members of the authority’s environment, transport and growth committee on Thursday, June 11.

Anushia Vettivelu, senior strategy programme manager at Hertfordshire County Council, told members that the version of the report in front of them was the eighth to be produced, following amendments from public feedback and stakeholder engagement.

She said: “The [plan] identifies walking and cycling improvements across the network, for the whole district. However, infrastructure improvements have been focused on larger settlements of Hertford, Ware, Bishop’s Stortford, Sawbridgeworth and Buntingford. along with larger villages known as ‘the group one villages’.

“This aligns with the East Herts local plan, agreed with East Herts and HCC members at an early stage.”

Infrastructure improvements identified in the report include:

• Cycle Route North, Bishop’s Stortford. The scheme proposes a non-vehicle route through parkland, connecting Rye Street in the north of the town with Grange Paddocks Leisure Centre, improving links to the town centre. It aims to offer residents in new housing developments and schools a safe alternative to the “narrow, fast‑moving” main roads.
• North Street, Bishop’s Stortford. Measures include a weekend traffic closure on part of North Street to allow room for pedestrians, permanently altering traffic flow to reduce rat‑running between North Street and South Street.
• Ware Road, Hertford. Section 106 funding could be used for improvements to encourage walking between Hertford East Station and the town centre
• Hertford East Station, Hertford. This is undergoing design options to develop a scheme aimed at improving pedestrian access to the train station. This includes proposals for new crossing facilities and upgraded footways.
• Park Road, Ware. Officers aim to improve its links to the Ware towpath and provide better access to nearby businesses and schools.
• Active Travel Phase 1 and Phase 2, Buntingford. Phase one would see a shared‑use path along London Road and Station Road, together with upgraded crossing facilities. Phase 2 has been developed to extend walking and cycling infrastructure into the town centre.
• London Road, Hertford Heath. Routing options are being explored to improve active travel connections between Hertford Heath and Hertford.

The strategy aims to get people in East Hertfordshire walking and cycling in a bid to improve their fitness levels.

WSP, a leading engineering company based in Hertford, was commissioned to work on the plan, which identified four distinct networks for walking and cycling routes in East Herts.

Work on the strategy began in 2021, when a county council identified over 500 roads and lanes that are suitable for 20mph speed limits, with an aim to improve safety and “create calmer streets to encourage walking and cycling”.

The first network covers Bishops Stortford and Sawbridgeworth, a second focuses on Buntingford and a third upon the long corridor of villages in the middle of the district. A fourth network is based around Hertford and Ware.

Cllr Eric Buckmaster (Sawbridgeworth, Conservative) welcomed the report and added: “Something I know residents are looking for is whether or not some rights of way can also be considered in the future for upgrading so that it may be easier to travel between communities, for example.

“We’re not just talking about leisure routes but routes that might be away from a main road, where even an A road running through Sawbridgeworth and Bishop’s Stortford is very narrow and not necessarily the best place that you would like to cycle.”

Ms Vettivelu responded: “The good news is the rights of way team has become part of our directorate now. [They joined] Transport for Hertfordshire last Monday.

“We’ve already approached them and said we’d like to work more closely with them on the network. There’s going to be some great opportunities where we can work with them on the walking network going forward, so that conversation has already taken place.”

Cllr Mark Pope (Bishop’s Stortford Rural, Conservative) also praised the scheme and said: “I think it’s particularly useful because of the rural nature of East Herts. Just interestingly, in the report, it says East Herts has the highest rate of walking in Hertfordshire.”

Cllr Ben Crystall (Hertford All Saints, Green) said: “I just wanted to say a huge thanks to the officers who have obviously spent many years working on this. It’s brilliant to see it come through. It’s been approved at East Herts, and this is obviously the key stage.

“I echo those comments about bringing in those rights of way, footpath and cycling opportunities that we haven’t had until now. It will be really good to see.”