Single lane traffic through Lower Bengeo
Readers will recall that our neighbours in the Byde Street area are fed up with all the traffic that drives up and down, especially in the morning and evening rush hours. They’ve been asking to the County Council to do something about this for years. Representatives from the MRA are working with them to try and find a solution that suits us all.
The Bengeo rat run was first identified as an issue in a report by Hertford Borough Council in the 1970s. Traffic was worst on Port Vale which was eventually closed off in 1979.
The County Council put up the traffic lights at Old Cross (by the library) to help pedestrians get over the road safely and to give traffic from Old Cross a chance to join the queue from St Andrew Street at the roundabout that had been there. As we know traffic levels have continues to rise everywhere and for us it meant longer queues back up Port Hill in the morning and on St Andrew Street in the evening so the rat run became even more popular.
To try and stop this, East Herts District Council put up the Access Only signs at entrances to the estate from Bengeo Street in 1997. As many of us will recall, despite the necessary Traffic Regulation Order being in place to back up the signs, the police said publicly that they could not enforce such restrictions since it would mean them following vehicles right through the estate to prove that they had no business in it.
Meanwhile householders along the route got more cars and the station car park charges pushed more commuters back up the hill. The effect of all of this was that Byde Street residents started the Bengeo Traffic Campaign. They began to put pressure on HCC to take steps to protect their streets from excessive traffic and the bad behaviour that frustrated drivers were starting to exhibit.
Rat Run The route of the current rat run
The route of the current rat run
In 2001 a questionnaire was sent by the District Council to everyone living in the affected area setting out a number options. 49% of residents voted for a barrier in Byde Street, 37% voted for traffic calming measures and 14% voted for no action. However, as there was no overall majority in favour of any one option, no further action was taken.
Our neighbours nearer the station were not happy about this. In 2005 they got together and formed the Lower Bengeo Residents’ Association after Hertfordshire Highways had written to local residents urging them to unite. The following year residents were asked to comment on any scheme they would not object to. This led to the introduction in 2008 of access restrictions in Tower Street and Cross Road, together with parking restrictions in Byde and Balfour Streets.
This is where we on the Molewood come into the story because the effect of the no right turn and its occasional enforcement by the police was that more traffic comes along The Avenue in the morning.
After much talk about closing Byde Street altogether near its junction with Fanshawe Street, the solution that is currently being considered is to install an Automatic Number Plate Recognition (ANPR) system. This would use cameras linked to a computer which would work out how long each car that passes through the estate takes to do it. If it is below a pre-determined figure they will be deemed to have done it without stopping at any house or shop on the estate (and therefore not needed access) and thereby have broken the law as set out in the Traffic Regulation Order currently in place.
We would like the two councils to push on with the investigation and installation of this system as a matter of urgency as it would simply make effective what was put in place 14 years ago.
County Councillor Sally Newton wrote recently to the Molewood Residents’ Association with the following letter:
“As you will know this work has been ongoing for many years, and Cllr Peter Ruffles and I are as committed to it as ever. We know of the thoughts of those in Bengeo regarding the traffic problems and continue to do our best to resolve them. We are working closely with highways representative, have been involved in the Urban Transport Plan, are trying to find out why Sainsbury’s opening time has been delayed and are in communication with the police regarding monitoring traffic through Bengeo. So this is by way of reassuring you that everything that can be done, is being done.“
If you agree with us please sign our petition here: Online Petition