Discover Hertford Online Forum

With a study currently underway to determine how to revitalise the town centre, it could be argued that traffic flows in and around the town centre would benefit from a proper bypass that would take traffic on the A414 out of the town and ease congestion.

This one continues to rear its head. With the new Cole Green by-pass in place there are suggestions that a new road could go south from here and meet up somewhere such as at the Rush Green roundabout. I've heard no more of this because the Hertford Transport Forum no longer exists. But various people from Highways, Councils and even Police have mentioned this so I reckon the idea is still on someone's drawing board somewhere. Of course such a plan if there was funding would eventually lead to in-filling with much needed housing.

What would we do with Gascoyne Way then? I remember a plan that got as far as public meeting for a flyover over the town centre over Gascoyne Way. And of course we could just open up the tunnels, buried under the rubble when the 'relief road' was built. That would take the traffic away and possibly lost down its own Bermuda triangle.

I believe the Hertford & Ware Urban Transport Plan is up for review this year.

The following paragraphs from the 2010 report are pertinent:

2.3.11 Whilst it is acknowledged that the A414 is a primary route that passes through the centre of Hertford, and there is peak time congestion associated with this road in the town, Hertfordshire County Council does not currently plan to construct a bypass. The UTP does, however, include a wide range of schemes and measures that will seek to help address the issue via the management of congestion and encouragement of walking, cycling and the use of passenger transport.

2.3.12 This UTP sets out short and medium term schemes over a five-year period but also includes longer term schemes up to 2021. Whilst a bypass is not included within this Plan as a longer term scheme, a review in five-years may involve revisiting potential bypass proposals. Should a bypass scheme gain support, implementation would be subject to funding and satisfactorily resolving other aspects such as establishing suitable routes and mitigating the impacts of any proposals.

The first paragraph is somewhat amusing (or naive depending on your view) in that it suggests that traffic passing through the town on the A414 might be mitigated by encouraging people to walk, cycle or use public transport. Not very helpful when the M25 is closed and the A414 is used as an alternative route.

20 minutes to get from one side of a relatively small town to the other at peak time is very slow.

I also think the problem is made worse by the traffic lights near Tescos where traffic is backed up onto the main roundabout but I feel it is wrong to criticise when I do not have a viable alternative suggestion.

So Steve is saying that the bypass is most needed when the m25 is closed?

that's utterly bonkers.

Should we build bypasses around every town that circles the m25 including waltham abbey etc? why don't we just build another m25 just incase the old m25 is closed? Then what if the new m25 is closed? Lets just pave the whole country.

You do make a valid point though. The ONLY time a bypass is "needed" is when there is an accident elsewhere on the road network. At no other time is a bypass needed in hertford - and in fact building one would be massively detrimental to the town center too - but if we want a hoddesdon like town that's fine. which seems counter intuitive to the current study which is all about improving the town commercially, not chopping off its arm.

There are pinch points through Hertford at certain times. But most drivers know where these are.

On odd occasions an M25 incident completely scuppers traffic through the town as the A414 becomes an outer ring road for the M25. But these are few and far between.

Accidents and roadworks are also an issue but again these seem to be relatively infrequent.

OK Codek2 and Ewoowar which of you hasn't voted against a bypass. As of a few seconds ago the vote 16-1 in favour...

Although its at its worst when the M25 is closed its also pretty bad at rush hour - I used to drive back from Lambeth every day and Hertford was generally the worst hold up that I experienced in that journey. As well as the traffic the road is a blight on our town and the 60s planners should be strung up from the multi-storey in my opinion

Golden wrote:the road is a blight on our town and the 60s planners should be strung up from the multi-storey in my opinion

Indeed. A shocking act of urban vandalism.

I'm leaning towards a "no" for the bypass, though. I generally prefer to see congestion dealt with my discouraging car use and providing alternatives, rather than building roads to encourage more cars.

Sink the road into a tunnel and build a park on top. Completely unfeasable, but so is joining cole green to rush green and avoiding us in the middle.