Cathedral Transport

The Environmental Strategy Group has recently been working on the Cathedral’s application for a Silver Eco Church award. Some of the criteria are how we and our visitors reach the Cathedral, and we are asked whether we promote low carbon transport. So how do we reach the Cathedral? In Summer I conducted a survey to find out just how people do travel here. The people who responded were around 50:50 men and women, of most age groups. Most of the responses were from worshippers (30%), followed by Cathedral employees (29%) and visitors (21%). The most frequently reported means of transport was walking (41%), followed by single-occupancy car driving (37%) and car sharing added a further (11%). Public transport (bus and train) only totalled 4%, and bicycle only 2%. The cathedral’s own car parks were the most frequent destination of those arriving by car (53%) followed by local public car parks (24%).

Those using a private car were asked what might encourage them to change this. The most commonly chosen option was ‘more reliable public transport’ (40%) (‘more affordable public transport’ was chosen by 16%). Some people were interested in the establishment of an organised car share scheme (9%) but fewer in the provision of electric vehicle charging facilities (4%). All respondents were asked whether they ever used any of the other means of travel. Car sharing was most often frequently cited (22%), followed by walking (21%), bicycle (11%), bus (10%) and train (5%).

Overall, it did seem from the survey that people travelling to the Cathedral do think about how they get here, and a good number are walking. There is a clear need for transport planners in St Albans to improve the reliability of public transport modes on city streets which are frequently brought to a standstill by the current weight of traffic. There are ambitious proposals for a tram or other mass rapid transit system to be built in the St Albans area, and 20% of respondents thought it a potentially viable option for their journey to the Cathedral.