An important commuter route to Tring Station has been rather neglected over the years. Used by hundreds of cyclists and pedestrians every day the path had been getting somewhat overgrown.
Work has been carried out not far away in Beggars Lane, where repairs, improvements to drainage and the construction of additional off-road parking has taken place. It turned out that there was a small amount of funding left over.
This is being used to do what is known as “siding out” along part of the shared footpath/cycleway. Basically this means some fairly heavy spadework to clear away the plants and shrubs that have over the years grown across part of the path.
The path is being restored to its original width. At some stage next year we need to check that there is no damage, make good where there is and see if some of the narrower stretches can be further widened by a foot or so.
Looking further ahead still, there is obvious potential for further off-road cycling along the A4251 between Berkhamsted and Tring. With more people getting electric bikes there is expected to be more demand for cycleways.