15 Mar 2025
Cyclists appear to be steering away from a new lane through the heart of the city centre designed to promote active travel.
The southbound cycle lane runs down Marlborough Road between the junctions of Victoria Street and New Kent Road, with the aim of ensuring safer, more convenient journeys by connecting to the cycle route at Keyfield Terrace.
But months after it opened the lane is barely used, prompting questions on social media about whether it was ever really necessary. One of the main problems appears to be motorists leaving their vehicles blocking the lane – meaning cyclists have to swerve into the path of oncoming traffic to avoid them – but also the lack of publicity.
Rona Wightman, chair of St Albans Cycle Campaign, said: “Normally when cyclists avoid a cycle lane it is because it is poorly designed, not helpful or even downright dangerous.
“That is not the case with the Marlborough Road southbound cycle lane, which is well designed as part of a scheme that provides a connected route between Hatfield Road and Cottonmill. The design meets modern standards and has been reviewed by Active Travel England.
“The cycle lane is installed and functional, however, the project is not yet complete, and so has not been formally opened or publicised.
“The ‘Except Cycles’ plates have not yet been added to the No Entry and No Right / Left Turn signs on Victoria Street. Nor has the green phase on the traffic lights on Upper Marlborough Road been modified to show that cycles can go straight ahead. Hence people may not have realised that the contraflow cycle lane is available.
“Once the scheme has been more heavily publicised – and it is great that the St Albans Times is keen to do this – then usage will increase.
“We would point out that cycle lanes always look empty, as cycling is a very space efficient mode of travel. Ten cars on Marlborough Road will fill the street, ten people on cycles will be barely noticeable. This last point illustrates why cycling infrastructure benefits drivers – if more people choose walking or cycling for short trips then congestion is reduced and we all benefit.”
County councillor Chris White revealed the next steps for the route: “Monitoring of the cycle lane is ongoing, with the first post-project assessment scheduled for this summer.
“Some works are also still outstanding, including the No Entry plates at the junction with Victoria Street, which currently lack a cycling exemption. These could not be replaced while scaffolding was in place on the corner building, but updates to the signals at this junction are scheduled for early April.
“The Traffic Regulation Order (TRO) designates sections of the road as Limited Waiting Bays, with restrictions in place from Monday to Sunday, 8.30am to 10pm, allowing parking for up to one hour with no return within two hours.
“These bays are also available for permit holders (residents). Loading and unloading is permitted where allowed by the TRO, meaning delivery drivers and tradespeople may legally stop for this purpose, but not for general parking. In terms of enforcement, this is managed by SADC and the police.
“As everywhere in the country, roads are ever more congested in St Albans. We need people to switch to other means of transport such as walking or cycling. For this reason there is still increasing investment in cycle lanes. But obviously it’s important that cyclists use them otherwise there are questions about whether this is a good investment!”
