St Albans in Hertfordshire is one of a growing number of towns and cities that have partnered with British Cycling to help realise their civic cycling goals.
St Alban City and District council has a well developed Green Travel plan, central to this is St Albans’ Cycling Strategy, which aims to review and expand the range of cycling routes in the town, work with Sustrans and neighbouring councils to better integrate the town’s routes with the national cycle network; and increase the availability of cycle parking. The town's Travelwise survey showed a marked increase in cycling across a number of monitoring sites between 2004 and 2011.
Cycle route provision
St Albans sits at the junction of two National Cycle Network routes – NCN6 heads north-south through the town and, when complete, will reach from London to Threlkeld in Cumbria. More locally however, NCN6 enters St Albans from the north on Harpenden Road, passing through the town centre avoiding the busiest streets before heading south across the M25 and on towards Watford and north-west London.
South of the town, the route is referred to as Route 6/61. However branching east of the town centre, following the former St Albans – Hatfield Garden City railway line, is NCN61, known as the Alban Way.
The 6.5 mile former railway line provides an idyllic, traffic-free way for cyclists and walkers to travel from Hatfield into the heart of St Albans and is a product of joint-working between civil engineering and sustainable transport charity Sustrans, the Countryside Commission and other local, regional and national bodies.
In the town itself, St Albans City and District Council’s detailed cycle map provides details of suggested on-road routes as well as tarmac and un-surfaced traffic-free cycle routes.
Cycle parking
St Albans main shopping street St Peter’s Street has 12 on-street parking locations and the City and District council identifies further improvements to cycle parking as a key part of its ongoing Cycling Strategy.
Cycling and trains
St Albans City Railway Station has sheltered cycle storage within the station building to help enable commuters to combine rail and cycle travel. Thanks to increased funding from the government's Local Sustainable Transport Fund, 348 extra covered cycle parking spaces will be installed at the station during 2012.
In terms of taking bikes on train, commuters are advised to check on the individual policies of their train operators, details of which can be found here.
Bike Shops
St Albans has four bike shops; Rock and Road Bikes and Addiktion Cycles on Victoria Street, Triathlon Zone on Hatfield Road and St Albans Cycles in Jersey Farm. For a searchable database of bike shops check out the shop finder.
Don’t leave home without...
St Alban’s City and District Council’s cycle map for routes, parking locations and more.
Essential Links
St Albans City and District Council cycling pages
St Albans City and District Council’s Cycling Strategy
Hertfordshire County Council's Cycling Pages
St Albans Cycling Campaign - passionate about cycling in the city
MORE SUPPORT FOR YOUR COMMUTE: Ride Membership offers bike commuters legal protection, insurance and discounts on essential commuting kit. Click here for more details
