Changes to the Sunday Busway timetable will see buses run every 15 minutes from Impington to Cambridge City Centre, but there will be cuts to services to Cambridge North station.
Currently, three buses an hour leave St Ives Park & Ride after 9am on Sundays, routed via Histon to Cambridge City. Two of these are on ‘B’ routes past Cambridge North station.
From Sunday 20 April, the frequency and capacity from St Ives will be increased, with four buses per hour into the city. Three of these will be on ‘A’ routes via Orchard Park, but the number of buses on the ‘B’ route will be reduced to one per hour.
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The new timetable will apply to Sunday buses during the day, but not early mornings or evenings. A Stagecoach East spokesperson told HI HUB: “…when coming out of Cambridge New Square the extra services will start at 10.36am and finish at 6.31pm.”
As the changes will take place over the Easter weekend, when Sunday services apply on the public holidays, the current timetable will run on Good Friday, but the new timetable will be in place on both Easter Sunday and Monday.
Congestion changes
Other Busway changes coming into service from 20 April are being made to give more time to allow for traffic congestion in Cambridge.
Service B will see minor timetable updates at peak times and Service A will travel to St Ives via Park Terrace instead of Gonville Place.
Ross Barton, Operations Director at Stagecoach East, is calling for more action to tackle congestion. He said: “We only ever make changes to our timetables after considering every option, but the fact is that congestion in and out of Cambridge means that our buses just cannot meet the times set on existing timetables.
“We know what an important artery the Busway is for people needing to travel into Cambridge, so I would call on everyone concerned with our local roads to continue to work together to avoid delays.
“We live and operate in a dynamic, forward-looking city, and the Busway is an essential part of that, so we need to make sure that buses are able to get through.”
The theft of a hand cycle from Cambridge North railway station will have a major impact on the independence of HI resident, wheelchair user Marko Velić.
The hand cycle enabled Marko to travel independently, avoiding the need to use, very often full, buses and making local journeys, including the school, run easier.
Marko’s bike was locked there on Thursday 13 February at 6.30am, but the lock was cut through and the bike was gone when he returned to the station around 8pm that same evening.
His wife Jenny told HI HUB: “Marko had already had a challenging journey home, having had to get a taxi home from Cambridge station due to faulty lifts at Cambridge North rendering the platform inaccessible.
“On discovering that his bike had been stolen he reported it directly to the police but there was no one on duty at Cambridge North for him to talk to.”
Marko has been using a hand cycle to help him get around for over 15 years and has left it locked in many locations including Cambridge North on numerous occasions, without incident.
The one that was stolen is a hybrid model that he bought around two years ago. It enables him to use his arm power, aided with a boost from the battery when needed, such as for longer journeys or when the gradient or wind is against him.
An expensive piece of kit, it was custom built to fit Marko’s particular wheelchair. It is unwieldy and heavy to move, and will have little value to a thief.
An appeal to readers
Talking to HI HUB, Jenny explained: “Unfortunately the hand cycle model stolen looks like it is no longer made for the UK market and we will have a difficult time finding a similar replacement.
“This latest one took 10 months to be custom built and with the current shortages of various components it will likely take a year for a new one to be ready from order. So, all in all, a massive blow that will have a major impact on Marko’s day to day life for quite some time to come.
“It would be very helpful if any of your readers have seen anything that might help locate the hand cycle. We had not realised the extent to which cycle theft was a problem at Cambridge North – we really hope that there is more action taken to make this a safe location to commute from.”
Greater Anglia, operator for Cambridge North station, was approached for comment.
The crime number for this incident is 35/10779/25. If anybody knows of the item’s whereabouts, or has any information surrounding this theft, please contact Cambs Police. Alternatively you can email the HI HUB news team on news@hihub.info
Local residents are stepping up their challenge to Cambridgeshire County Council to resolve “worsening” parking problems on streets around Park Primary school. The school has now reached full capacity and traffic to the site has increased since these issues were first raised in 2021, heightening local concerns about the safety of active travel in the area.
Longstanding concerns
The absence of an adequate vehicle drop-off area at the school is at the heart of the problem, leading to motorists using nearby streets to park and walk their children to the school.
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Private grass verges are being damaged, say residents, as motorists try to avoid blocking the routes of cyclists and pedestrians. “This is becoming urgent”, one told the Council, “with buggies forced into the road and cyclists having to avoid reversing traffic.”
The Council is being asked to first acknowledge how the situation has arisen and then to make progress on resolving it.
As a result, Narrow Close sees 20 to 30 vehicles turning around and parking there on each school day.
Call for action
Residents say that neither the school nor the Council has made a formal traffic and/or safety assessment of the present situation, and the Council is not contemplating any changes to the facilities provided to the school.
They suggested that Council officers make a site visit to see for themselves the conflict between walking and cycling, and motor vehicle flows.
In a letter on behalf of a group of residents, Dr. Alan Jones is now escalating resident concerns, asking the Leader of the Council, Cllr Lucy Nethsingha, for her views on “whether the Council should be held accountable for its stated intention to provide on-site drop-off to all parents (120+ vehicles).”
He told HI HUB that these concerns were first raised when the plans for the site were drawn up: “Many in our community raised objections in writing that the bays around the turning circle did not seem adequate for when the school reached full capacity, but the County Council did not change its plans.
“We are now trying to get the County Councillors and the appropriate Officers to agree whether the facility provided by the County Council is indeed fit for purpose. If it is, then we would ask them to help us and the school to bring it into full use as originally envisaged.
“If it is not fit for purpose, then we would like them to work with us to redesign the on-site facilities to accommodate what was promised in the planning documentation.”
Action promised
Apologising for delays in addressing the issues, Jeremy Smith, Head of Sustainable Transport and Strategy is now proposing to meet residents in person at the site to see the situation for himself.
He has replied to Dr Jones saying: “Given the time that has passed and how things have moved on it might be best for us to meet on site as you suggested in your letter, and with a member of the Council’s road safety team, to discuss the matters raised further.”
Proposals for a new busway and active travel route connecting Waterbeach and Cambridge include two potential route options, both of which would pass through Histon & Impington to join up with the existing Guided Busway.
This would be one of four new busways around the city linking Cambridge with the surrounding areas, all aiming to take buses off the road network to avoid congestion. The need for this is particularly pressing around Waterbeach New Town, where planned employment and housing growth will see around 9000 new homes in the coming years.
The Greater Cambridge Partnership (GCP) is running a consultation on their busway proposals, including an in-person event in Histon on 21 February, for residents to learn more about the proposals and ask questions of the project team.
The two route options for the busway both start at a relocated Waterbeach Railway Station, which will serve Waterbeach New Town as well as the existing village. They would then head across the A10, potentially to a new Park & Ride site.
The ‘Western Option’ busway would then run south west, significantly to the west of the Mere Way boundary that marks the border between Histon & Impington and Milton.
The route would cross fields to the west of Landbeach to reach a signalled crossing at Milton Road, Impington. After that it would pass behind the residential properties around St Andrew’s Way, and cross fields again to connect with the existing Guided Busway. A new junction would be created on the Busway to the east of the Impington bus stops on Station Road.
Buses could then continue on into Cambridge via Histon Road or Milton Road.
Busway option – Revised central route. Image: Greater Cambridge Partnership
The ‘Revised Central Option’ would start on the same route from Waterbeach, but continue to the east of the Mere Way boundary and east of Landbeach, until it reaches the Milton Park & Ride site.
At that point some buses heading south towards Cambridge would turn onto Butt Lane and continue towards Impington on Milton Road.
Before reaching the residential edge of the village, the route would turn off south towards Cambridge, across fields, to meet the existing Guided Busway.
Common characteristics
For both options the route would be mainly off road, only interacting with other traffic at junctions and a short section along Butt Lane/ Milton Road. These roads would be widened and improved to make space for the buses and become more suitable for active travel.
Junctions with Butt Lane/Milton Road – Revised central route. Image: Greater Cambridge Partnership
Junctions between existing roads and the new Busway would be controlled by traffic lights, with bus priority built in.
New bus stops bus could be provided around Landbeach and on Butt Lane.
GCP envisages that both routes would be integrated with existing bus services to provide good connections, including through the Darwin Green development.
Duplication
Both of the proposed busway routes would run very close to Mere Way, where controversial improvements to this Public Right of Way were due to begin last year.
Safety concerns about the plans for Mere Way – especially the absence of lighting – were raised by County Councillor Ros Hathorn, but no resolution was found. So given that new infrastructure for walking and cycling would be developed alongside both busway options being considered, is there still a need to convert this rural route to be used for active travel rather than leisure?
Mere Way. Photo: Brian Whitehead
HI HUB asked GCP about plans for lighting the active travel route. A spokeperson said: “We are in discussions with Cambridgeshire County Council’s Street Lighting Team to confirm the lighting strategy for the busway.
“The current assumptions are the busway will be lit at junctions and that the active travel route may have some form of lighting, such as solar studs, along its length. The nature of the lighting is to be confirmed at the next stage of the study.”
As for plans for a joined-up approach to the use of Mere Way and the Busway, they said: “This is not a GCP scheme, but we have had regular engagement with Urban and Civic as they have developed their plans for Mere Way. We see the two projects as both compatible and complementary to each other.”
Have your say
The consultation is now live and will run to midday on Friday 24 March. The findings from this will go back to GCP’s Executive Board in June, together with recommendation for a preferred route option.
Histon & Impington residents are being encouraged to take part in the consultation by reading the consultation proposals, attending an event – either online or in person – and completing an online survey.
The Histon & Impington event will take place at the St Andrew’s Centre on Tuesday 21 February from 4.30pm – 7.30pm.
Other related documents, including detailed technical drawings of the proposed routes through Histon & Impington, can be found here . (See the Revised central corridor and Western corridors sections 1 and 2)
Anyone wanting to complete a hard copy of the survey, rather than the online version, should call 01223 699906.
Improvements to the walking and cycling routes joining Histon and Impington with Cambridge and Milton have not been identified as top priorities, but the public now has the chance to influence investment decisions.
A £20m budget for boosting ‘active travel’ around Cambridge and South Cambridgeshire now looks unlikely to benefit Histon and Impington, despite two routes out of the village having been shortlisted for investment.
The Greater Cambridge Partnership (GCP) has earmarked the money for key travel ‘corridors’ around and into the city, where improving cycling and walking infrastructure could encourage people to stop using their cars or other motorised forms of transport.
Among the 13 busy ‘corridors’ identified were Histon to Histon Road, Cambridge, and from Impington to Milton. These are among 5 rural corridors where daily cycle trips number over 1,000 a day. A further 8 ‘City Corridors’ were identified within Cambridge itself.
However, the limited budget means the GCP will only be able to fund schemes on two or three of the 13 identified corridors and a review of the evidence has found that routes in the City of Cambridge itself generally offer better value for money due to the number of people who use them.
The review recommends implementing two schemes connecting to the controversial £2.3m Dutch-style roundabout on the A1134 near Addenbrookes in Cambridge, which together will take all of the allocated £20m budget. It suggests that improvements to the 11 other busy travel corridors, including the £1.5m Impington to Milton proposals, and the £2.9m Histon scheme, are “used as an ongoing reference and be reflected on should additional funding opportunities present themselves”.
Histon & Impington proposals
Despite having been improved in recent years, the cycle route from the New Road/Bridge Road junction in Impington to the Butt Lane/ Park & Ride junction presents challenges to cyclists including the speed of traffic, the layout of junctions, narrow vehicle lanes in some places and poor road surfaces.
The route from Histon along Water Lane to join the Histon Road cycle path –currently being upgraded – is equally problematic in places, especially at the Bridge Road/Cambridge road junction and the roundabout over the A14.
creating a shared walking/cycling path on Bridge Road, from the A14 roundabout to New Road, to enable 2‐way cycling to Impington Village College
formalising a cut through used by IVC students from the busway to New Rd via Histon FC car park to provide direct route for those coming from Orchard Park
reviewing street car parking on Station Road
replacing the pedestrian bridge across the A10 into Milton with a wider bridge
The LCWIP consultation closes first. It was due to close on 16th July but will now run through to 23.59pm on 27 July following requests for additional time to review the proposals from several stakeholders and members of the public. Take part in the online survey here or email transport.delivery@cambridgeshire.gov.uk with any questions.
A litany of road safety and parking issues have arisen around the new Histon & Impington Park Primary School since it moved to its new building on Glebe Way, the main B1049 road to Cottenham.
Major concerns have arisen about the speed of traffic passing the entrance to the school and the adequacy of safety measures.
The problems have led head teacher Jonathan Newman to survey parents and carers about their concerns and write to neighbours about the measures being taken by the school to address the problems, with a list of suggested improvements.
He said: “I am sure that you will understand that currently a significant amount of my time is taken up with dealing with issues around traffic and parking and many of these are completely out of my control. We do however want to work, wherever possible, with local residents and we will endeavour to keep you informed of any developments moving forward.”
Local councillors are in discussion with the school about the problems and a public meeting will be arranged with County Councillor Ros Hathorn.
Safety issues
Speedwatch volunteers have been monitoring traffic approaching the school crossing and found that between 5 and 10% of vehicles passing the school entrance are speeding, mostly between 35 and 40mph, though one was clocked at 53mph.
A Speedwatch coordinator commented: “People just don’t seem to realise that they are over the limit, and of course you will always get those who are in a rush.
“Our aim is to be overt as a reminder to people that they should be at the correct speed limit in our village to ensure safety of all our residents. The police will also attend and carry out sessions where they can issue fines, if there is a particular problem area.”
The school is encouraging parents and carers to raise their concerns with the Highways department at Road.Safety@cambridgeshire.gov.uk and to lobby the local authority. It would favour a 20mph speed limit and is awaiting written feedback from a formal Road Safety Audit that has taken place. In the meanwhile, the speed warning signs, which were initially placed too close to the crossing and also currently have the wrong form of display, will be replaced further away from the crossing.
As a result of earlier lobbying, the length of crossing time at the traffic light outside the school was increased by 40% in February, and the school is hopeful that its request for double yellow lines on Cottenham Road will also be successful.
At the crossing itself, the width of the path is thought to be too narrow, and the school is hoping that an adjacent verge will be either tarmacked or slabbed to address this.
Parents and carers believe the pedestrian barriers at the crossing are too short, but the Highways authority is adamant that such barriers cause more problems than they solve, due to the risk of pedestrians becoming trapped against the railings as they cross the road. They have been progressively been removing similar pedestrian railings elsewhere in the interest of safety.
The introduction of speed bumps has also been suggested, but neighbours are concerned that these would create a wider problem due to the noise levels from large commercial vehicles.
Parking
In the school survey, some parents complained of a lack of sympathy for people who have to drive to school.
Local residents have been raising concerns about the need for parking in the area and Parish Councillor Yvonne Murray and Edd Stonham of Greenleas Estate Management Ltd have been working with the headteacher and the children in the School Eco Group to create signs for the Greenleas Estate about where not to park.
The school is also drawing up a 5 minute/10-minute walking map to identify more places for parents/carers to park safely.
The Parish Council is encouraging the community to a look at the suggestions and issues raised in the head teacher’s letter and responses have been received to a post on its website. Several of these also relate to parking.
One comment raises problems caused by “a staff car park with inadequate capacity” and notes that “these potential problems were brought up time and time again by residents during the planning consultation for the new school. It rather makes a mockery of planning consultation when important issues like these apparently fall on deaf ears!”
Another points out that some parents have no option but to drop their children at the school by car: “I was able to cycle whilst we were in lockdown but now must work at the office in Cambridge, starting at 9.30. To arrive on time, I have to drive. I am left with no option but to park on nearby residential roads which understandably frustrates those that live there, despite my attempts to be as considerate as possible… the location was a poor choice.”
South Cambridgeshire District Council will be supporting the principle of a ‘southern’ route for the Bedford to Cambridge section of the proposed East West Rail line, but is calling for more detail.
The preferred option for the scheme would see the railway, if it goes ahead, approach Cambridge through parts of South Cambridgeshire including Cambourne, Caldecote, the Eversdens, Haslingfield, Hauxton and the Shelfords, rather than a ‘northern’ route that would pass close to Histon.
Campaigners living along the southern route have raised questions about the level of scrutiny given to the plan. Councillors agree that further details are needed on a range of technical issues related to noise and landscape, and say the local impacts need to be better explored and addressed.
Cllr Neil Gough, Lead Member on the project, said: “Back in 2018 we said that we supported the principle of the Bedford to Cambridge section of East West Rail, but at this stage significant further work is still needed to allow us to fully assess and provide further comment on the local impacts of the scheme.”
The Council will be responding to the ongoing East West Rail consultation raising its concerns. It will also be questioning the environmental sustainability of opening a new line with diesel trains. East West Rail make a number of general commitments to delivering a net zero carbon railway, but the Council has pointed to contradictions in the consultation documents. They claim “the use of diesel-powered trains is not a project objective” but at the same time state “the railway shall not at this point in time be electrified”.
Overall SCDC believes the new railway has the potential to bring significant opportunity to South Cambridgeshire, but said: “It is vital that the East-West Railway Company continue to work closely with local councillors, officers and residents so that everyone’s views are heard as part of the process.”
SCDC’s draft response to the consultation can be found here.
East West Rail’s consultation runs from 31 March, until 9 June. Members of the public can view the consultation and submit their own comments here.
Although work on Histon Road improvements continues to divert southbound traffic, Stagecoach has deemed buses from the Milton Park & Ride site into Cambridge to be non-essential and is suspending the service and diverting buses to other routes.
Histon & Impington residents who depend on the Milton Park & Ride bus into Cambridge are being left high and dry by the decision by Stagecoach to prioritise other routes while pandemic restrictions apply.
Buses from the site are being suspended from 10 May to allow for extra services elsewhere, initially on Route 13 from Cambridge to Haverhill, and then on other routes with greater demand.
Covid restrictions mean the number of people who can travel on each bus is currently limited and Stagecoach, which runs the Park & Ride service, is facing a shortage of buses as lockdown restrictions are eased and more people use them to get to work and education.
Passengers who use the Milton Park & Ride service are being advised to use Newmarket Road or Madingley Road Park & Ride services until the limit on passenger numbers is increased.
Buses are being suspended from Milton Park & Ride from May 10. Photo: Bridget Davidson
Stagecoach has apologised for the inconvenience, saying the shortage of vehicles is“being experienced on a national scale and each local operation must do everything they can to ensure the resources they have are used to ensure essential local bus services are maintained.”
Roadworks continue
Meanwhile, efforts to make Histon Road into Cambridge safer for cyclists and quicker for buses continue to hamper attempts to reach Cambridge by car from the village.
The next stage of the Greater Cambridge Partnership (GCP) Histon Road improvement scheme is about to begin. Roadworks to construct a new junction layout that will prioritise cyclist safety at the Gilbert Road junction are due to start mid-May. The work will include digging out the existing kerbs and footpaths, laying new services, including drainage and cables, and widening the road.
Plans for the Gilbert Road junction improvement
Improvements continue to the north of the Gilbert Road Junction through to Carisbrooke Road. The trees in this area are being preserved and works are planned around them.
Floating bus stops are being prepared on the southbound side of Histon Road
Footpaths have been laid from opposite Hazelwood Close alongside the new fencing up to Kings Hedges Road and both sides of the road are open for pedestrians use. Floating bus stops are being installed to provide a cycleway behind the passenger boarding area on the southbound side.
At the Blackhall Road junction, a new ‘tabletop junction’ will allow pedestrians to cross the road on the flat, promoting access for wheelchair users and cyclists. It will also slow traffic entering and exiting Histon Road, making the junctions safe for all users.
Outside the Esso garage the pedestrian pavement is being dug up to make room for the widened cycle lane in this area and the bus stop shelter has been relocated to its new permanent position outside the Co-op. Work is beginning on a new pedestrian crossing near Akeman Street, providing safer access to shops. When this and the work on the Gilbert Road junction is complete, the road from Murketts garage to the junction will be resurfaced.
Full details of this project can be found at the GCP website here.
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