Archived Topic
Topic ID 2068
05/10/2006 by Berbatov
Hertford Town Centre solutions?
Having looked at the Ugly's thread and read the concern, especially amongst those affected, I thought I'd throw a suggsestion into the ring for debate.
Now I would love to shop in Hertford Town Centre, and get those things that I could easily get in a billion pound profit supermarket and support my town. But I can't. Why? It's obvious, the shops are not there.
Why is that? Rents too high, business rates too high? If that is the case, then none of us can really do anything to coax Mr Blair to help or the landlords to become a bit more flexible.
How about looking at the root cause. Pedestrian activity?
Why not make the whole Town Centre a car free zone, simply allowing buses, refuse lorries, delivery lorries, taxis and permit-only residents to drive into the Town Centre?
Pedestrianise the whole of Fore Street, Salisbury Square, Bull Plain, Market Street into Railway Street (stopping at the Halfords juction). Access-only bollards at both end of Fore Street (controlled by a person viewing CCTV that is already there).
There is a plethora of car parking for those that NEED to drive here; Gascoyne Way, St Andrew Street, Bircherley Green and Hartham. Buses would be able to run more frequently and freely and most importantly, foot travel might just encourage a shop or 14 to sprout up or even a regular couple of weekly Maidenhead Street market days to support the shops.
You can shoot me down if you want, but I haven't really heard a better suggestion so far, bearing in mind that other market towns have implemented a similar stance to decrease town centre traffic and increase pedestrian activity.
Any other suggestions? Mine may be a pipe dream but I reckon there may be some (bus) mileage in it. [:)]
0 replies
Archived Replies
Reply ID 27507
05/10/2006 by nora batty
In my opinion, pedestrianisation would be the final nail in the coffin. Just look what it did to Hoddesdon.
Reply ID 27511
05/10/2006 by Berbatov
quote:
Originally posted by nora batty
In my opinion, pedestrianisation would be the final nail in the coffin. Just look what it did to Hoddesdon.
Hoddesdon has a place called the Tower Centre which is the root cause of the trade decline there as people live in the tower blocks above.
The shops further up in the High Street (which is the actual pedestrian area shared by the buses and taxis) are beginning to flourish (albeit slowly), Aldi has opened and Sainsbury is a popular supermarket for people from miles around. On a week day, the High Street is now flourshing with people wandering the concourse. Fore Street, sadly isn't, even though M&S and Tesco are simply a small walk away.
Bircheley Green isn't like the Tower Centre and we should remember that there is a bit of scope to get the town centre going again without any negative 'ideas'. Come on people, let's put our heads together, negativity is a No No. Suggestions?
Reply ID 27515
05/10/2006 by 60sDJ
Erm, lets look at 2 other areas nowhere near here....say Walthamstow and Ilford at the end of the M11 (southbound... of course...) Both have large pedestrian only areas and seem to be surviving in the case of one and thriving in regard to the second.
With W'stow the once famous market isn't what it used to be and the local economy isn't the most affluent but it's still there. The "High Street" is pedestrian only on market days Thurs-Sat although there always some stalls out every day. Ilford has a sufficiently large car free area and shops thrive whether outside or in "The Exchange". I know I know...these are different in themselves and maybe not entirely suitable for comparison with us but the point I'm trying to make is that pedestrian only isn't necessarily a bad thing.
Reply ID 27518
05/10/2006 by spitfire
quote:
Originally posted by Berbatov
There is a plethora of car parking for those that NEED to drive here; Gascoyne Way, St Andrew Street, Bircherley Green and Hartham.
All at rip off parking charges, the prospect of finding your car vandalised or a ticket for being 30seconds late. People dont like having to pay to park to go shopping, thats one reason people go to out of town shopping malls.
Reply ID 27524
05/10/2006 by Berbatov
Or walk to the town centre.
Or take the bus to the town centre.
Or take the train and then walk to the town centre.
Or cycle to the town centre...
Reply ID 27528
05/10/2006 by Deveraux
quote:
Originally posted by Berbatov
Or walk to the town centre.
Or take the bus to the town centre.
Or take the train and then walk to the town centre.
Or cycle to the town centre...
And carry the shopping home?
Reply ID 27601
06/10/2006 by Dude
quote:
Originally posted by Deveraux
quote:
Originally posted by Berbatov
Or walk to the town centre.
Or take the bus to the town centre.
Or take the train and then walk to the town centre.
Or cycle to the town centre...
And carry the shopping home?
How much shopping can one person manage in a 30 minute parking space? They would be the only spaces to be lost.
Reply ID 27602
06/10/2006 by Dude
I've always been a fan of pedestrianising the core of the town by the way!
Reply ID 27606
06/10/2006 by Berbatov
quote:
Originally posted by Deveraux
quote:
Originally posted by Berbatov
Or walk to the town centre.
Or take the bus to the town centre.
Or take the train and then walk to the town centre.
Or cycle to the town centre...
And carry the shopping home?
I wasn't suggesting a monthly shopping trip to Tesco Deveraux. If you have a car, then you'll use that and park in their car park. I am talking about rejuvination of the Town Centre
only through pedestrianisation of the said roads.
If you can't carry your purchases from a trip to the town, get a taxi, they'd still be there for you. So would the buses. Failing that, park your car in one of the said car parks and walk the long way [:0] to the Town Centre. I am sure that a local trader will arrange for delivery to your home if what you have bought is too heavy for you.
Reply ID 27658
07/10/2006 by codek2
i dont understand the point of this thread. Hertford isnt exactly doing that badly.. Shops close, shops open, thats true in the most ideal town centre in the world!
As for stopping people driving, well yes, that'd kill it. Whether or not you _could_ get the bus, or _could_ get a taxi, people wont for a million and one genuine reasons, so town centres need to accomadate the car or die.. Just look at the tremendous success of out of town shopping places only accessible by car
Reply ID 27775
09/10/2006 by Ted Badger
I don't know why we missed the opportunity to create a riverside parade of shops and restaurants instead of dedicating it to the arse-end of waitrose and the multi-storey car park.
Mind you, I suppose the residents of Folly Island might have had something to say about it.
Hold on - turn the other side of the river into a riverside parade of shops and restaurants as well!
;-)
Reply ID 27780
09/10/2006 by Andrew
quote:
Originally posted by Ted Badger
I don't know why we missed the opportunity to create a riverside parade of shops and restaurants instead of dedicating it to the arse-end of waitrose and the multi-storey car park.
When I moved here that was exacctly my reaction, that has to be one of the worst bits of town planning in Hertford.
Reply ID 27788
09/10/2006 by codek2
Waterside is trendy now, but wasnt when waitrose was built.. It's just a sign of the times, not bad planning back then.
Reply ID 27789
09/10/2006 by Rachel
I have heard a couple of times a probably apopcryphal tale that Hertford is used as a teaching tool for Planning students in some UK and European universities as an example of poor town planning - the failure to use the rivers as a feature and of course the atrocity that is Gascoigne Way. A local councillor even told me that a group of students from a German university visited the town in the late 1980s to see for themselves how poor planning could spoil a beautiful old County town!
Reply ID 27824
10/10/2006 by codek2
lol sounds like an urban legend that does.
16 replies