Council restates its commitment to Hereford outer distributor road

Herefordshire Council has reconfirmed its commitment to the creation of a road, which will give motorists speedy access to all parts of the city, as part of a long-term strategy to address the transport problems in Hereford.

An outer distributor road would also reduce congestion in the city centre by allowing traffic to reach many parts of the city without passing through Hereford city and over the present bridge.

The distributor road was one of the main topics of discussion and debate during a seminar laid on for Herefordshire’s Councillors to update them on the developing Local Transport Plan (LTP), which took place on Thursday last week, March 30.

The LTP is the crucial transportation blueprint for the county to ensure that road and transport links meet the demands expected of them during the next five years.

Work is currently underway to prepare the new LTP – it has to be submitted to Government in July and will set out the Council’s overall strategy for improving transport in the County.

It will also become the reference document when it comes to major investment in, and maintenance of, the county’s roads and, significantly, will be used as a basis for the future allocation of Government funding for transport investment.

“We should not under-estimate the importance of the emerging Local Transport Plan,” said Cllr Mike Wilson, Cabinet Member (Highways and Transportation).

“It’s the most important document in relation to transportation in the county.

“Of course, the big issue for Hereford’s motorists is the amount of traffic jams they suffer whenever they travel through the city.”

The seminar heard that the vast majority (more than 90 per cent) of motorists driving through the heart of Hereford, are coming to or from the city itself.

“The figures speak for themselves – we need a road which will primarily give motorists a speedy route around Hereford City and its confines. The fact that this will allow the 7% of motorists passing through, on the A49, to bypass the city centre is an added bonus,” added Cllr Wilson.

“The LTP will reconfirm our long-term commitment to the creation of a distributor road which will have an immense impact on motorists in the city.

“Such a scheme is a major undertaking and during the next LTP period we would aim to develop proposals for the first part of such a road between A49 Ross Road and A465 Abergavenny Road”.

Other issues the seminar covered included

• Current Government requirements in relation to the LTP
• Results of recent public consultation and studies
• Proposals for complementary investment in facilities for pedestrians and cyclists, public transport improvements and Park and Ride.