Election campaign 2024
It is important that we engage with the candidates at each election, scrutinise their views, and press for commitments to active travel and sustainable transport.
Issues
This section lists issues - problems on the street network and related matters.
Issues always relate to some geographical location, whether very local or perhaps city-wide.
You can create a new issue using the button on the right.
Listed issues, most recent first, limited to the area of Histon and Impington Active Travel:
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Social Media Hostility
I have noticed that especially since the congestion charge there has been a lot of aggression towards Camcycle in social media comments. Notably on Facebook, Nextdoor, etc. I am aware that angry aggressive people have always been on the internet but I do feel the level has increased since congestion charge notoriety, with many people's opinions degenerating into conspiracy theories about Camcycle and the council.
I do worry about the effect this can have on increasing "us vs them" mentality and increasing aggressive behaviour towards cyclists on the road.
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Election campaign 2023
It is important that we engage with the candidates at each election, scrutinise their views, and press for their commitments to cycling.
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Route for Festive Lights Ride 2022
We need to finalise the route for the Winter Lights ride on 10th Dec
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Long wait to cross Busway / Station Road, Histon
Pedestrians and cyclists at the toucan crossing where the busway meets Station Road, Histon have to wait a long time for the lights to change even if there is zero bus or road traffic.
This seems inconsistent with Highway Code rule H1 about the hierarchy of road users. Pedestrians should have priority over non-existent buses!
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Removing exclusionary barriers across Cambridgeshire
Camcycle's time and energy is consistently taken up removing exclusionary barriers (e.g. Biomedical Campus, A14 active travel bridges, Warren Road). We need to consider long-term ways to prevent new barriers going in and remove existing ones which prevent people of all ages and abilities cycling.
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Tagalongs, FollowMes and child-adult tandems/triplets
I'm writing an article for the next Camcycle magazine on family cycling options with pedalling kids (so FollowMe, Tagalong and tandems/triplets). Could anyone share their experiences of using these?
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Delivery robots
A pilot of delivery robots may be coming to Cambridgeshire.
What are our views/policies about delivery robots?
What do we know about other places they have been trialled?
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Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Combined Authority
A new thread for discussions related to the Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Combined Authority, the strategic transport authority for our region.
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Guided busway hazard
Sunday 26th of September 10.15pm I was cycling from Cambridge North to Histon. I collided with a fence immediately after exiting the A14 tunnel and sustained a dislocated shoulder along with other injuries.
There is definitely a hazard here because
1) the busway and tunnel from Cambridge North are brightly lit. The busway after the tunnel towards Histon is unlit.
2) about 30m after the tunnel the width of the busway tarmac surface suddenly reduces due to the introduction of the gravel strip (approx 1m wide). There is also a fence near the start of the gravel strip (I assume for the small animal tunnel)..
I cycled through the tunnel and noticed a cyclist coming in the opposite direction (without lights), so I took avoiding action by moving to the left. I may have then glanced at my mobile phone on my handlebars. When I looked up I saw the fence in my headlight. I then hit or clipped the fence.
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Planning application : 21/03991/FUL: 2 no. 2bed flats, land adj. King's Hedges R
Construction of 2 no. 2 bed flats with associated bin and cycle stores
Land Adjacent King Hedges Road Cambridge Cambridgeshire
Cambridge
Application reference : 21/03991/FUL
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Gunns lane link from Histon
Barton and District Bridleways group are campaigning to get a popular route for cycling, walking and horseriding recognised as an official Right Of Way.
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Open space S106 funding
Residents in particular parts of Cambridge are being asked to put forward proposals for improving open spaces and play areas via Cambridge City Council’s 2021 S106 funding round.
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Impington Village College Cycle Access
Access to Impington Village College has not been looked at in any detail since the college opened in 1939. What issues are there for cycling to the college? What opportunities are there to make improvements?
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Cambridge Science Park North
https://www.cambridgesciencepark.co.uk/cambridge-science-park-north/
Trinity College has begun to consult on a proposal to transform a parcel of adjacent agricultural land to the east of Histon and Impington into Cambridge Science Park North. The proposal is at early stages with a submission having been made into the Call for Sites process which forms part of the Greater Cambridge local plan
Science Park North will be created on land which is currently used for farming, but is located close to the Park and Ride and the waste transfer site which are both accessed from the A10.
It is located close to the Area Action Plan land to the east and the Project Team is working closely with AAP Members on a number of areas which are of mutual interest. It is anticipated that the timescale for the AAP process will match the development timescale for the Greater Cambridge Local Plan and the CSP North timetable is planned to complement this.
CSP North is also located close to Cambridge Regional College, which sits between the existing science park and the proposed expansion land. Discussions are underway with CRC with the ambition of providing facilities for greater collaboration in the future which could be in the form of expansion but also education and work apprenticeship schemes for future students of the CRC.
The transport strategy for Cambridge Science Park North is targeted at complementing the improvement plans for the existing science park. The initial aim is to ensure that there is no increase in car use across the two sites, with a medium and long-term target of reducing car usage across the two sites completely.
The early ideas are to provide a consolidated space for parking which will serve both Science Park sites, which will be linked to a mobility hub providing pedestrian, cycling, autonomous vehicle and sustainable mass transit facilities for onward travel. These will utilise existing infrastructure such as Mereway Cycle Route and the Guided Busway as well as proposed infrastructure such as The CAM.
These proposals will improve access to the whole of Cambridge, reducing current traffic on the Milton Road by providing a hub serving the wider AAP area including access to Cambridge North Station.
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Zero Carbon Streets
Cambridgeshire communities must work together for a green recovery from Covid-19 and to play our part in reducing carbon emissions. Zero Carbon Streets is the campaign that brings local groups together to do this.
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Map of planned projects
It's hard to know where (and when) all the future cycling-related developments are, so a map showing them could be very useful. This issue is to discuss this idea, if it is useful, or already exists somewhere, and how it might be done.
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Government transport strategies (not specific to cycling)
Issue to collect various government strategies related to transport that might impact cycling but are not specifically related to cycling.
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Living Streets Cambridge
There is a new Living Streets group in Cambridge.
To find out more visit: https://www.livingstreets.org.uk/get-involved/local-groups/cambridge
What can we do to help promote the group and support campaigns for more, better and safer walking?
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Greater Cambridge Local Plan
The Local Plan is being replaced to a new version.
This is a multi-year process, involving several stages of consultation, research, and review.
This will replace the 2018 Local Plan. Discussion on that was at:
https://camcycle.cyclescape.org/issues/72-local-plan-2018-creation-and-review -
Strategic city-wide traffic reduction to facilitate LTNs and better main roads
There is increasing concern about growing traffic levels in the City (and indeed around the UK), and growing calls for Low-Traffic Neighbourhoods and closing rat-runs and roads suffering unduly heavy traffic.
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20/03742/FUL Kendal Court flats, Impington.
Demolition of existing buildings comprising Anglia House, Kendal House inc. flats above, Regency House and Marble Store to rear and 1 Cambridge Road inc. flats above; redevelopment of the site comprising 28 new-build Class C3 residential units, and associated parking, 2no. A1 use class commercial units at ground floor level, inc. 2no. commercial parking parking spaces; proposed new landscaping and public realm improvements to Cambridge Road.
Land Comprising, Kendal Court, Anglia House, Kendal House, Regency House And 1 Cambridge Raod Cambridge Road Impington Cambridge CB24 9YS
Cambridge
Application reference : 20/03742/FUL
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20/03802/FUL Orchard Park - 75 dwellings
Residential development of 75 dwellings along with access, car parking, landscaping and all associated infrastructure
Development Parcel L2 Topper Street Orchard Park Cambridge Cambridgeshire
Cambridge
Application reference : 20/03802/FUL
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Retirement Homes on Barrell Feild, Histon
Redevelopment of land off Home Close and within the boundary of the Hain Daniels Group factory, in Histon, Cambridge, CB24 9NR. McCarthy & Stone’s initial plans propose to redevelop the site with Retirement Plus (Extra Care) accommodation with 65 apartments, 36 bungalows and seven cottages, all set within attractive landscaped gardens and with 45 on-site car parking bays.
A virtual consultation is available at https://mccarthyandstoneconsultation.co.uk/histon/proposals/ between Wednesday 16th September – Wednesday 23rd September 2020, looking for community feedback ahead of formal planning application. -
Review of the Highway Code
Goverment Review of HWC
This map shows all issues, whether points, routes, or areas:
The most popular issues, based on the number of votes:
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Safer Walking and Cycling between NW Cambridge and Girton
Our campaign for safer walking and cycling to/from NWCambridge now has a petition and a first video (of five) summarising our position.
See our new video summarising our petition:
https://youtu.be/hIlQAzsU0js?t=1sI’d be delighted if you could promote this to your networks. Time is of the essence because a Senate House discussion is coming up [3 Nov 2015], and I will report the number of signatures on our petition there. (But signatures after the date will still be useful.)
More information:
http://tinyurl.com/EddingtonSafetyThe petition:
http://www.ipetitions.com/petition/EddingtonSafetyAnyone is welcome to sign the petition; we ask people to use the Comment field to let us know if they are University Member / University employee / City resident / SouthCambs resident / etc.
For twitter purposes the recommended hashtag is #EddingtonSafety and there is an @EddingtonSafety account too.
Thanks very much
David
David J C MacKay FRS
djcm1@cam.ac.ukRegius Professor of Engineering,
Cambridge University Engineering DepartmentAuthor of “Sustainable Energy - without the hot air” www.withouthotair.com
and “Information Theory, Inference, and Learning Algorithms” www.inference.eng.cam.ac.uk/mackay/Girton resident and parent.
Cambridge Cycling Campaign Member -
A14 very hostile for cycling
The A14 is a very hostile, dangerous road for cycling.
Improvements to it, as well as broader changes to the national framework for cyclist crossings of major roads, are needed.
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Should Cambridge 'Go Dutch' (or Danish)
London Cycling Campaign has reorientated its policy towards a 'Go Dutch' approach.
This aims to learn from best practice abroad rather than continuing with the 'hierarchy of provision' that, in 20 years in the UK, has arguably failed to deliver meaningful change.
This is an overarching issue for conceptual discussion of this issue.
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Cottenham to Histon Cycleway
The Cottenham to Histon cycleway needs improvement.
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Public rights-of-way mapping
On 1 January 2026, historic routes in England that aren’t properly recorded will be lost to the public forever. We are looking for people to volunteer their time to help us identify and register these routes before it is too late.
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Landbeach to Cambridge Cycleway
The Landbeach Parish Council would like the bridgeway from Landbeach to Cambridge to be upgraded to a cycleway.
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Cambridge Cycling Campaign's "Project Orange"
Project Orange is an attempt develop our general strategy during the year 2013.
It involves
1) Should Cambridge Go Dutch (or Copenhagenize)
2) A more assertive stance in our interactions with agencies: Demanding of them to make feasible what seems infeasible
3) focus on a regional area 10 miles (15 km) around Cambridge and a dartboard network structure to connect villages,
4) the development of a Bicycle Infrastructure Assessment Tool (BIAC) which will allow us to grade and praise provision
5) Priority over sideroads as part of a Dutch-style approach
5) Development of Visualisation Tools for major projects (Chisholm Trail, Newnham to Newmarket Rd, Mitcham's Corner)
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Evil posts on busway cycleway
There are some evil short grey posts on the busway cycleway that are really hard to see in the dark. I have heard of a number of people hitting them with disastrous consequences
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Parking policy review
The County appointed an officer back in June to review parking policy across the County, starting with the City.
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Rumble strips instead of paint
Complete separation of cyclists and cars can't always be achieved. To make sharing of the road safer I would like to propose using rumble strips instead of flat paint to separate the bike lane from the rest of the road. It would act as a physical reminder for car-drivers that they are encroaching the bike lane. This happens particularly near pinch points like road bends or crossroads. So even just a selective application of rumble strips could have a very positive effect, I believe. What's the view of the cycling community? Has it been tested?
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E-scooters and micromobility
The government has announced it will hold a consultation on the introduction of the battery-powered scooters to British roads.
What are the implications for people cycling, walking and scooting?
What is Camcycle's position/policy about e-scooters?
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Mere Way ( ancient path )
This ancient right of way is used by cyclists ,horse riders and walkers and is becoming un approachable with no drop kerbs and
with new roads being built that ignore the existence of this route and lack of clear signage , we are in danger of losing this
important route .
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Removing exclusionary barriers across Cambridgeshire
Camcycle's time and energy is consistently taken up removing exclusionary barriers (e.g. Biomedical Campus, A14 active travel bridges, Warren Road). We need to consider long-term ways to prevent new barriers going in and remove existing ones which prevent people of all ages and abilities cycling.
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Long wait to cross Busway / Station Road, Histon
Pedestrians and cyclists at the toucan crossing where the busway meets Station Road, Histon have to wait a long time for the lights to change even if there is zero bus or road traffic.
This seems inconsistent with Highway Code rule H1 about the hierarchy of road users. Pedestrians should have priority over non-existent buses!
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A14 Histon Interchange is Hostile to Bikes
The A14 Histon Interchange is hostile to bikes as their is no way to safely cross the entrance slip roads onto the A14.
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Ring Fort Path
There is a need for a link between the A14 Histon interchange with Ring Fort Path in Orchard Park.
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DfT consultation - HGV speed limit rise to 50mph on single carriageways?
http://www.dft.gov.uk/news/press-releases/dft-press-20121109a
A DfT consultation to see whether speed limits on single carriageways should be introduced for HGV's. This will clearly have implications for cycle safety.
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Greater Cambridge Partnership (City Deal)
"The Greater Cambridge City Deal was signed by Central Government, Council leaders, businesses and the University of Cambridge and aims to secure hundreds of millions of pounds for the areas of Cambridge City and South Cambridgeshire.
The Greater Cambridge City Deal aims to ensure that the success of the area continues by investing in the transport infrastructure, housing and skills needed to see future economic growth.
The first £100m of funding will be made available for transport improvements in the five years from April 2015."
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Regional Campaigning
How can we support the growth of local initiatives ?
How can we overcome the division urban and rural cycling?
Would it be useful to establish a network of regional groups?
Could such a network become an interesting partner for the county planners?
Would politicians be able to hear us better if we speak from a position of regional awareness, a a group of groups?
Would it help the elected to understand that things are changing on our roads?
Could such a network support constituent groups, facilitate exchange between these groups, become a more important player in the national context?
Could such a network attract its own funding?
What would be a good name for such a grouping (NAMES ARE IMPORTANT)
We have CTC, Ely, A10 Corridor, Martin T thinking about something in Bury St Edmunds, "Routes around Chatteris", Wisbech forum (set up by the County), - anything else ?
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Orchard Park audit
Gallagher Estate, master planners of Orchard Park will soon hand over the highways for adoption by the County Council.
We won't be able to fix this car centric development, but within it there are many pavement cycleways, "cyclists dismount" signs, cul-de-sac signs and others which are wrong or don't apply. There are also issues with dropped kerbs etc.
I am looking for volunteers to audit Orchard Park, making a list of corrections we require before Gallaghers hands this project over.
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Histon Road (City Deal scheme, and Gilbert Rd to Victoria Rd)
Outline of issues affecting Histon Rd between Gilbert Rd and Victoria Rd. This stretch is without bike lane. Car parking on one side only, from Victoria Rd to pedestrian access to Recreation Ground.
The fuller length to the north is also part of a City Deal scheme.
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Injustices for the peace.
What to do about disgraceful decisions like this:
http://www.cambridge-news.co.uk/Driver-ran-Cambridge-cyclist-mistakenly-thinking/story-24555273-detail/story.html ?Clearly, the magistrate erred seriously in matters of both fact and law - all the prosecution had to prove was that the way he drives falls below what would be expected of a competent and careful driver.
Equally clearly, it did - nobody who could possibly be described as "competent and careful" would run over something the size of a cyclist without even being aware of it. He even admitted that he was talking on the phone at the time.
It staggers the mind to think what on earth the magistrates were thinking - or what with. Maybe they slept through the case, so didn't hear the prosecution, but were woken up for the defence (how there can be any defence for that is beyond me). Maybe they are dangerous drivers themselves, so sympathise with others of the same ilk instead of adequately discharging the responsibilities they are charged with? Mark Tyler also deserves complete contempt for not pleading guilty, and so preventing this gross miscarriage of justice. He should have been thanking his lucky stars that the police and CPS are so incompetent as not to pursue Dangerous driving, which it equally clearly was.How can we get rid of incompetent idiots like Phil King (the lead magistrate in this case) who asserted that "there were “significant gaps” in the evidence". It is obvious to me that this dangerous idiot is perverting the course of justice by remaining in his position.
Presumably his colleagues on the bench conspired with him in this perversion - they could (and should) have over-ruled him unless they were parties to the conspiracy, surely?The evidence was all there - there was a cyclist in front of him - whether the cyclist was upright or on the ground is irrelevant. Mark Tyler drove over him. Neither of those facts were in dispute. That is not the action of a competent and careful driver, and it should be beyond question that a person being in front of the vehicle is something which the driver should be expected to be aware of, which means the test in s3ZA of the Road Traffic Act is satisfied, and the accused is guilty.
The evidence also meets the test in s2A (Meaning of dangerous driving) so there is no excuse whatsoever for clearing him of even the lesser offence of careless driving. With driving like that, it is clear, beyond reasonable doubt, that he should not be in possession of a driving license, and the magistrates failed in their duty to relieve him of it.As long as dangerous criminals like Phil King are allowed on the bench, the roads will never be safe for anyone.
As a footnote, from the report is appears that this dangerous character commutes from Whitchurch, Hampshire to Clifton Way, Cambridge. What length does that make his effective working day?
It's about 120 miles each way, so at least 4 hours driving (considerably more if in the "rush hour") on top of a full workday. It's utterly moronic to make a commute like that - when I worked anywhere near that far away, I commuted weekly. But this happened on a Wednesday.