New bike parking facilities installed at stations in Hertfordshire

Train operator First Capital Connect has announced that has teamed up with Hertfordshire County Council to invest more than £200,000 in new cycle parking facilities at 14 stations throughout the county.

Since last autumn, new cycle racks have been installed Hitchin, Hatfield, Knebworth, Welham Green, and Brookmans Park stations, and the programme is due for completion by Easter 2011, as part of the Quality Rail Partnership that the train operator and county council signed last November.

Larry Heyman, FCC’s Integration and Partnership Manager, commented: “More and more people are choosing to cycle rather than drive and, since our franchise started, we have continuously improved our cycle parking facilities to meet demand.

“Cycling is a sustainable, healthy and low cost way of travelling to and from the station. I would like to thank Hertfordshire County Council for their support in funding this major project.”

Councillor Stuart Pile. Hertfordshire County Council’s Executive Member for Highways and Transport, added: "With large volumes of traffic on the roads and pressure on parking facilities across the county, Hertfordshire County Council is keen to see improvements to cycle parking in order to encourage residents to use alternative travel options to get to the stations.

“We are grateful to First Capital Connect for managing the design and implementation of the new cycle parking facilities at so many of their stations across Hertfordshire and hope that it encourages more people to leave their cars at home and cycle."