The results of surveys carried out by the Chilterns Conservation Board show that traffic problems are high on the agenda of people living in the Chilterns. This has prompted the Conservation Board to work in partnership with County Councils and the Countryside Agency to look at ways of tackling the negative effects of traffic on Chilterns communities. You can read about the resulting projects in these pages.

In recent decades the car has meant greater mobility and convenience for millions of people. Car ownership has increased hugely and as a result the volume of car traffic in England and Wales has increased 15 times since 1950. This pressure on the road network has inevitably led to pollution and congestion becoming features of everyday life.

Roads in the Chilterns are used not just by cars and other vehicles but by walkers, horse-riders and cyclists. These more vulnerable users can often be literally forced off the road though by the speed and volume of vehicle traffic. These are just some of the issues that need to be tackled.

Deer collisions

Collisions between wild deer and vehicles is a growing national problem. With its high percentage of woodland cover and increasing deer populations the Chilterns is a hotspot for such collisions. The National Trust’s Ashridge Estate near Berkhamsted in particular suffers many deer-related traffic accidents each year. The Estate has had a number of innovative measures installed in recent years to try and reduce deer-vehicle collisions, and the results of these plus the results of measures trialled elsewhere in the country were described at a day-long seminar held in October 2007 at Ashridge.

You can find out more about the seminar and download copies of the various presentations by visiting the deer collisions website.