Your Home Your Community Your Campaigns Your Association

Roadworks

Jump straight to resident's comments.

The Triangle Residents Association asked the community in 2002/3 about traffic and transport problems and we presented your concerns to NHDC and Herts Highways. They consulted with the community and the current streetworks are designed to make things safer (and keep parking spaces) by introducing a one-way system. Also to provide a pedestrian crossing to the Recreation Ground.

For queries or to report any complaints or problems you can call Herts Highways project manager Jimi Edwards on 01707 356318 or email jim.edwards@hertshighways.org.uk

ALTERNATIVE PARKING OPTIONS (Especially for non-residents): Nightingale Road Amenity Car Park (24 spaces) next to Esso petrol station 2 hours free Mon - Fri 9am-5pm Unrestricted off peak A good option for a Saturday all day.

Woodside Car Park (235 spaces) *with cctv* on Walsworth Road near Queen Mother Theatre. 5 mins walk from Dacre Road. Pay and Display Mon to Sat 8am-6pm Unrestricted eves, Suns, Bank Hols.
Plenty of spaces weekday eves evenings.

Email your comments to Charlie for inclusion on the website.

Date	Comment	From
14/04/2005 08:54	Traffic scheme news. The electricity company are now delaying the crossing opening. May be up to a month away yet. But - the one way system in Dacre/Radcliffe Rds will be up and running and being enforced by police after the 25th April. I would be very pleased to collect any feedback residents and road users have - can you notice any difference in the way traffic uses the roads? Are drivers slower? More considerate? Do you like the trees etc? We already have several tree queries why no tree nr 35 Dacre Rd? why the plastic pebble seal so close to the tree roots? how will watering work? why no protective stakes/guards the road layout/traffic calming we've been asked can there be some motorcycle parking bays on the buildouts? can some bollards be removed nr 34 Walsworth Rd backyard are the signs in the right places - eg one is obscured at entry to Kings - others on Walsworth aren't visible enough - need angling more. I've noticed cars are more courteous to pedestrians crossing the top of Dacre and Radcliffe Rd - perhaps due to the road entrance narrowing? Does anyone else think this is the case? What about the Nightingale Rd ends? Do Kings Rd and Florence St notice any differences? All and any feedback welcome. HertsHighways will take it all on board in their follow up review.	Susan Dye Residents Association Transport Committee
10/02/2005 14:19	Please be advised that to carry out alterations to the road humps in Dacre road (which were constructed too high!) the contractors will be working on a Saturday. Please let as many of your neighbours know as possible as this is bound to cause unexpected disruption. It is also likely that work in Radcliffe Road will also continue though this coming Saturday and further Saturdays to come.	Ashley Walker Residents Association Secretary
29/01/2005 10:38	I have woken up this morning to find that Hertfordshire Highways has erected 4 black bollards across our driveways in Radcliffe Road. This has effectively meant that where residents of our building could effectively park 4 cars (4 flats in our building) we can now only park one car or possibly two with a lot of manouvering. I am certainly not impressed by this and was never informed by the council or Hertfordshire Highways that they would be completely blocking off access to our driveways. I knew a tree would be planted in front of one but we could have gotten around this but did not know that it would be totally blocked off. I am extremely ****** off about this as i thought that the idea was not to take away parking in the street. I have spoken to Richard Thake this morning and am hoping to speak to him again this afternoon.	Bronwyn Tarrier
27/01/2005 20:23	... Here are 12 questions I fired off with Jim Edwards replies. If there are additional questions you would like to pose please either pass them via an email to me or email Jim Edwards by Tuesday evening at the latest. We are hopeful that there will be a HertsHighways rep at the Res Assoc public meeting as well. ... Q1 - Is the hump at the bottom of Dacre rd going to be flat topped or not? Reply " The one at the end is not yet finished, the truck could not hold enough tarmac, it will be finished when more tarmac is delievered, we are cutting down on lorry movements. Don't worry we will finish it." Q2 - What is the target date for finishing Radcliffe Rd? Reply: The end of civil engineering work is scheduled for 25th Feb. Q3 - what is target date for closing Nightingale Rd to install the pedestrian crossing, widening pavements and reopening? And how can businesses ensure access? Reply: At the moment the contractor is aiming to start on 25th Feb and finish on 17th Mar, the road will be totally closed in the works area between the car park and Dacre Road, the remainder will be open for access. It will be similar to Dacre Road, road closed ahead boards at either end. When the road makings are applied the closure point will widen but this will be only a couple of hours. Q4 - what kind of Pedestrian crossing will it be? Reply: - The crossing will be a PUFFIN crossing, this is the newest version of a pedestrian crossing. There are various sensors on the crossing. These can detect when someone who has requested the pedestrian phase has walked away and can cancel the crossing which helps to reduce the problem of lights turning red when noone wants to cross. The sensors can also detect if pedestrians are taking longer to cross the road and will extend the crossing time as suitable. Q5 - any news on the species of trees being planted? Reply: The contractor has been given a list of species to choose from, a lot depends on what they can get which meets the requirements on size and condition that we laid out in the contract. The list included plain, Prunus Umineko and Sorbos arnoldiana schouten. Q6 - any news on expected date for imprint surface which will cover the road entrances (Dacre, Radcliffe, Florence, Kings)? Reply: The imprint is scheduled from 28th Feb onwards but we are looking into the possibility of bringing it in earlier. Q7 What colour will imprint be? Reply: The colour is called "Burnt Red" this is a dull red colour similar to the imprint on Whitehill Road at the Stevenage Road junction. Q8 - when will double yellows be in their final form? Reply: - The road markings are scheduled for the week commencing 14th March Q9 Are there any questions / feedback HertsHighways will want from community asthe scheme beds in? Reply: How are peoples attitudes about the area changed by the scheme if at all, although we are not solving the parking problem. Q10 - there was a review promised at 6 months in - is this still on the cards? What might the outcomes of such a review be? Reply: The Review will take place sometime with a year, until the review takes place it is hard to say what the outcome will be. On some schemes it means no works others it is rotate signs change some markings and in extreme cases it can mean significant works. We are aiming for either no works or minor corrections in sign angles. Q11 How much has the scheme cost? Reply: The scheme is a Target cost scheme which means that there is an estimate of the cost, if the job costs more we and the contractor split the difference the same if it costs less. The street lighting was around £22k and the civil engineering works are between £250 and £300k Q12: Who do we contact if there are problems after installation ... eg if HGVs still try and deliver up Dacre Rd or if the humps are causing problems for funerals (just to pick out 2 random nightmare scenarios!!) Reply: This is a tricky one as there is not a bar on HGV's however if they are blocking the road then it would be a police matter for obstruction. The raised tables in Radcliffe are of the type used on bus routes so there should not be a problem if the hearse is driven appropriatly. If the hearses are grounding out in the first six months then I will be the contact, after that it would be the area office in Stevenage or the call centre.	Susan Dye Residents Association Transport Committee
20/01/2005 21:14	Best not to have a car if you live in the Triangle. The new wardens coupled with the Dacre Road repairs have made life much easier for car owners. I do appreciate that car ownership in itself is an issue and for some we shouldn't have one. If you do, then park in the Queen Mother Theatre Car Park @ £7 per week, notwithstanding any risk if you are a woman of having to walk back to the Triangle late at night. Not to worry! Get a bike!	Pete Green
20/01/2005 13:16	Do not try driving over the home-made barriers that Blythewood are using, even though they are always lying down across the road, and even if you are turning off the main road with someone close behind you. I have just written-off an expensive tyre punctured on the long bolts sticking out of the top boards.	Giles
19/01/2005 21:13	We have heard today from contractors in Dacre Rd that work is planned to start in Radcliffe from next week, and that Dacre will remain closed off at the Walsworth Rd end until the end of works (because it can't be opened up till it's all one-way). The end of works is expected to be some time in March. Also found out that the small car park on Nightingale Rd won't be enforced until early March - which will help enormously. This means that people can stay over the 2 hours. If things become difficult in the road I really do recommend people consider using this. Of course once the crossing is installed it will be even easier to use for Radcliffe Rd residents and visitors. Finally a sign has gone up on a lamppost near Cherry's shop that Nightingale Rd will be closed for installing the pedestrian crossing to the Rec (with access for residents and businesses hopefully) sometime between Feb and May. They presumably can't be more precise than this because of over-runs on the work in Dacre and Radcliffe Rds I know that there were some access problems last time the road was closed for resurfacing. If anyone wants more info please contact Jim Edwards preferably before the 2nd Feb after which he will be away on leave. If anyone wants to see councillors Judi Billing or David Billing (for example to ask about progress on residents parking schemes ...) please come along to the councillor's surgery before our next public meeting on Fri 4 Feb from 6.30pm.	Susan Dye Residents Association Transport Committee