Road 'improvements' in Cambridge

[Cab]

Regent Street/St. Andrews Street/Hills Road, in Cambridge, is a long route connecting the city centre with Castle Hill (out on one side of the city) with the railway station, Addenbrokes hospital and other facilities on the other.

And its not great. The road is badly surfaced and the cycle lane on one side is farcical. So, nothing unusual there

But its due to be 'improved'. See:

http://www.cambridge-news.co.uk/cn_news_home/DisplayArticle.asp?ID=452393

(I see from the picture there that the railway station is quiet, hardly any bikes the day they took that picture).

Now, part of this news story worries me. This bit:

Glen Richardson, head of the urban design team at the city council, which has proposed the scheme with the county council, said: "It is widely recognised that the link between the rail station, Hills Road and the city centre is sub-standard.

"The experience is dominated by all forms of vehicular traffic and is less than friendly to pedestrians and cyclists.

(my bold)

Am I over-reacting or does that give you a sinking feeling? Another traffic scheme that treats cyclists as an inconvenient kind of pedestrian rather than a moving vehicle?

 

[snorri]

I read it as good news for cyclists and pedestrians. He says it is presently dominated by (motorised)vehicular traffic making it unpleasant for other users. It would appear the aim is to balance things out and improve the lot of cyclists and pedestrians.
It is still only a proposal, so why not get along to your council office and ask to see the plans, or speak with councillors involved. Are you a member of a a local cycle campaigning group? Have they commented?

 

[Origamist]

I read it as good news for cyclists and pedestrians. He says it is presently dominated by (motorised)vehicular traffic making it unpleasant for other users. It would appear the aim is to balance things out and improve the lot of cyclists and pedestrians.

That's how I read it too.

 

[Cab]

I read it as good news for cyclists and pedestrians. He says it is presently dominated by (motorised)vehicular traffic making it unpleasant for other users.

Its this 'dominated' thing that bothers me. At present, most of the way along the road, on one side there is a shared use bus/cycle lane which makes for a really good ride. On the other side there is a dreadful, narrow cycle lane which has been dug up so many times its falling to pieces in places, besides which its a definite 'pedestrian step out zone' (thats when it isn't full of delivery vans). So theres an easy option, don't use it, stay in the main lane of traffic.

The only way you could make it better for cycling would be to reduce the number of motorised vehicles. Reducing the road width won't make that easier, and heavens forbid we get a shared use pedestrian/cyclist or off road cycle facility in a space thats too narrow to support such a thing.

It would appear the aim is to balance things out and improve the lot of cyclists and pedestrians.
It is still only a proposal, so why not get along to your council office and ask to see the plans, or speak with councillors involved. Are you a member of a a local cycle campaigning group? Have they commented?

I accept thats probably the aim. But thats often the aim, doesn't mean that its a good idea.

I don't support Cambridge Cycling campaign because I have, in the past, found their implicit support quoted by the County council for some bad facilities far more of a hindrance than a help ("but we consult with Cambridge Cycling Campaign", great, I don't care, you still can't fit a bus and a bike in that space, do the ******* maths).

The proposal is new, haven't considered my options for finding out more or influencing this yet. Its just these first impressions, which from the council officers comments are bad.

 

[Davidc]

I've just read thiis and another web site's take on it. Looked more as if the idea is to improve the route for cyclists and pedestrians and reduce its availability to motor transport.

Or have I got that wrong?

 

[Cab]

I've just read thiis and another web site's take on it. Looked more as if the idea is to improve the route for cyclists and pedestrians and reduce its availability to motor transport.

Or have I got that wrong?

Its a major artery in the city. Close it to motor transport and its difficult to see how vehicles coming from Cherry Hinton and the South of Cambridge get there, not to mention how vehicles will get back and forth from Addenbrokes. Then there are the many businesses (shops, cafes, etc.) that this scheme is meant to encourage on the road; the major issue I face on that road is delivery vehicles. They'll still be there, they'll still be crossing any future cycle facility.

The idea is clearly to improve the route for cyclists and pedestrians. I just didn't get from the newspaper article that this will really be an improvement; I could well be over-reacting of course!

Which other site did you read about this on?

 

[Davidc]

Which other site did you read about this on?

This came up when I googled it

Alongside the CB1 scheme, improvements will be made to the 'Cambridge Gateway'. This will feature a new bus-only road, with cycle and footways alongside, to provide a more direct link from Hills Road bridge to Cambridge Railway Station. There will also be major changes to the Hills Road/Brooklands Avenue junction. Buses, cyclists and pedestrians will have easier access to Cambridge Station.
Funding for the Cambridge Gateway improvements has slotted into place with the Government's announcement in late March 2009 of £3 million for the scheme from its Community Infrastructure Fund. Click here for details of the successful business case that was submitted by the County Council. The Cambridgeshire Horizons Board has also allocated £1.5 million of Housing Growth Fund money for the improvements.

Its from here

http://www.cambridge.gov.uk/ccm/con...rowth-will-happen/around-cambridge-station.en

and if you follow the link in there it says

The introduction of a new safety scheme including segregated on-road cycle lanes is an innovative approach to improving road safety in the area

I was interested to see this, as some years ago. in the 1990s, I often had to go to Hills Road, and always went to Cambridge by train, then walked.

At that time walking could be a bit difficult, there were far more people wanting to use the pavements than space for them. It may not be true of Cambridge but that was often the case in cities then, after the 1980s fashion for widening town and city centre roads by reducing pavement widths. It sounds from these reports as if it hasn't improved any!

 

[Cab]

Ahh, now the gateway scheme (linking the Hills Road bridge with the station) is not the same as the new proposal, which does incorporate those ideas but extends the idea of improving the lot of cyclists and pedestrians up to the big church (Lensfield Road). Or, in other words, this scheme kicks off at the station, the other 'gateway' scheme links the bridge over the railway (hence the new hotel and cinema, and effectively Hills Road college) with the railway station.

Theres a finite amount of space on the road from station in to town, and nowhere really to put an off-road cycle facility on it (or a wide on-road segregated facility). Any other route will be way less direct; it wouldn't be used.

The bridge, incidentally, recently got a whole lot better for cyclists with the provision of wide cycle lanes on the upward slopes on both sides, in place of one of the lanes for motorised traffic (merging with traffic at the crest). Big mprovement.

 

[Origamist]

Bit more on the Hills Road:
pp. 6-9

http://www.camcycle.org.uk/newsletters/86/nl86.pdf