A RECENT study found that commuters who travel more than an hour and a half to work each day are more likely to support their local community and join things.

Because they appreciate and value the place where they live, they’re prepared to travel for so long and not move closer to their work.

If this is so, it helps explain why St Albans Civic Society finds it so hard to get new members from among the thousands of St Albans commuters.

That journey into London probably takes, on average, about an hour door-to-door.

As residents fork out for ever-increasing season ticket fares, and pay mortgages on expensive properties, one wonders what they value about St Albans to do all this.

While they commute away, the society beavers away, trying to keep alive the spirit and character of the city which attracted them here initially.

Could it be that basically, they’re just using the place to sleep in, with their social as well as their business activities focused mainly on the capital? This makes St Albans a dormitory city indeed.

Because it’s so close, it’s inevitable that many will commute into London. The electrification of the St Pancras-Bedford line and the later introduction of the cross-city Thameslink services only sparked this even more.

St Albans still has considerable heritage and individuality. And we’re talking about more than those obvious bits around the cathedral. But these assets do need watching out for and shouldn’t be taken for granted. Would-be developers are constantly on the prowl.

The civic society, with its railfreight campaign posters at City Station, tried to engage with commuters by alerting them to the environmental threat to St Albans, and the adverse impact on their train services. Very few responded. We wonder why.

So, commuters, with your various talents, you could make a considerable contribution to what happens to the city, as well as to how the Civic Society functions.

We’d like to see and hear from you more. Your thoughts, ideas and concerns would be welcomed. Come on, now, the platform is all yours.

n For more information about St Albans Civic Society, phone 01727 851734 or visit the website www.stalbanscivicsociety.net