Watford sets out 20-year programme to reduce congestion and make air cleaner

Watford Borough Council’s cabinet has approved a 20-year programme to help transform how people travel to, from and around the town centre.

Peter Taylor (right), elected mayor of Watford, on a shared bike

Planned activities are expected to start taking place over the next two years, which begin fulfilling the proposals to make it easier for people to walk, cycle and use public transport.

Peter Taylor, elected mayor of Watford, said, “Not only are congested roads annoying, but the pollution from vehicles has a big impact on our health. Improving how we get around Watford will be really important to the health and success of our town in the future.

“In particular, our Beryl bike share scheme has been incredibly popular with almost 200,000 journeys since the launch last March. Our new strategy builds on the work we have been doing since declaring a climate emergency in 2019 and the top priority is to reduce the congestion around Watford and make our air cleaner.”

The programme of scheduled works follows Watford Borough Council and Hertfordshire County Council’s consultation on its Transforming Travel in Watford 2021-2041 strategy. The public consultation showed the majority of the 1,000 people who provided feedback were supportive of the need for change to the way people travel, as well as the proposals put forward to do so.

Over the next 12 to 24 months key projects take place including relaunching an expanded Watford Car Club to provide more residents with short-term car rental services “without the hassle of owning a vehicle”. There will also be the implementation of further phases of public realm improvements in the town centre, starting with a bus gate to reduce traffic entering the High Street, and improvements to cycle and walking routes.

Additional works will include continuing sustainable travel projects already underway, such as installing more EV chargers around the town to help the shift towards less polluting vehicles, and providing more cycle parking facilities to help people travel around the town more easily.

Watford’s portfolio holder for transport and sustainability, Cllr Ian Stotesbury, added, “As a sector, transport produces more greenhouse gases than any other in the UK and with last year’s climate change report by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change declaring we are at ‘code red for humanity’, both councils are taking a stand against climate change to help fulfil the strategy.”