• Hereford City Centre Improvements are designed to support the local economy and enhance the retail environment. The refurbishment scheme is contributing to the delivery of the Herefordshire Streetscape Strategy to create an attractive, vibrant city centre to help support existing businesses and create new opportunities to encourage more visitors and retailers.
• The Cabinet Member decision dated 7th October 2021 set out the budget for the St Owen St Cycle Contraflow Scheme. Decision - Hereford City Centre Improvements (HCCI) - Herefordshire Council
• The Herefordshire Council Local Transport Plan 2016 – 2031 includes the HCCI as a package of works to make the city a more attractive place to visit and to provide a pedestrian and cycle friendly environment. It is intended that there will be a benefit to wide range of people and groups within the business and resident community.
• The HCCI proposals also contribute to the County plan (2020 – 2024) and to the Herefordshire Council Delivery Plan 2020-2022.
• Transport and transport infrastructure are currently significant contributors to carbon emissions in both embodied and operational carbon. The St Owen St improvements, of which the extension of the cycle contraflow on Mill St form part, provide an opportunity to support a mode shift from cars to public transport, walking and cycling through enhanced provisions for these alternative modes. This will make the access to and circulation within this area more attractive for non-car modes, whilst maintaining provision for those for whom car use is essential.
• The St Owen St cycle contraflow, of which the extension of the cycle contraflow on Mill St form part, will provide a key element of improved cycle access into the city centre from the north east quadrant, thus supporting the reduction on short journey car trips in this area.
• An increased modal shift to walking and cycling for trips to and from the city centre will also support an improvement in air quality in this area. The Mill St cycle contraflow together with the St Owen St improvements provide a direct cycle route into the city centre which will reduce cyclists exposure to air pollution on the current the high volume routes on Bath St and Blueschool St within the air quality management zone.
• The recent TRO consultation for the main St Owen St scheme TROs included comments on the benefits to connectivity of extending the contraflow on Mill St to cover the section between Green St and Cantilupe St. Following consultation with legal this was not possible to implement as a minor amendment to those orders and as a result has been brought forward as a separate TRO.
• Contraflow cycling is a well established approach to providing cycle routes within urban environments and features within the new LTN 1/20 cycle infrastructure design in line with the DfT guidance. The traffic flows in this section of Mill St are low for the majority of the day and lower than on St Owen St, and the volume of cycles, given the alternative routes from Cantilupe St and Green St, are also anticipated to be lower such that an informal contraflow provision in this section is appropriate as laid out in LTN 1/20.
• The delivery of the Mill St cycle contraflow will form part of the St Owen St project commissioned through the Balfour Beatty Living Places (BBLP) public realm contract. This procurement route was selected as it achieved the timescales associated with the LEP funding agreement and for continuity through knowledge of the scheme that BBLP already had.