Adams Road

Bikes and buses – we need them both. When planning for the sustainable transport system of the future in Greater Cambridge, we must ensure that public transport and cycling networks are separate but complementary to each other. There should be no conflicts between those using the bus and those cycling because we need more people to do both of those things. Therefore we object to the Greater Cambridge Partnership (GCP) proposal to send 30 buses an hour along Adams Road, one of the busiest cycling routes in Cambridge, as there is not enough room for safe, separate infrastructure. 

  • Adams Road currently has over 800 people cycling per hour at peak times and is expected to get even busier.
  • The GCP Cambourne to Cambridge busway project team has recently proposed sending at least 30 buses per hour along Adams Road.
  • We support all forms of sustainable transport; however, we are gravely concerned about the safety risks of putting that many buses on a road that already has very large numbers of people cycling. Public transport and cycling should complement each other, not be crowded into the same space.
  • We have learned from Dutch guidance and case studies that such a high volume of bus traffic cannot safely coexist with the strong existing and expected cycling flows on Adams Road, even after the parking is removed. We are also very worried these proposals would sharply increase dangers at the junction with Grange Road, where buses will be turning across heavily-used cycle routes.
  • Adams Road is not wide enough for separate cycling infrastructure and the proposed alternative cycling routes are indirect and unlit in sections.

Proposals for the Cambourne to Cambridge busway will be presented at the GCP Joint Assembly meeting on 30 January 2020. It is vital that we let the Joint Assembly members know that turning Adams Road into a bus route is a bad idea. Read our press release in response to these proposals on our blog.

Cambridge MP Daniel Zeichner recently joined Camcycle and local campaigners on Adams Road to show support for the petition and campaign to save Cambridge’s busiest cycle route. He said “I warned a decade ago that building Cambourne without building proper transport infrastructure was a mistake and today we are still paying the price. We must improve public transport to, and around, Cambridge, but this must not be done to the detriment of the many people who are already doing their bit for our city by cycling and walking. The status quo on Adams Road is not perfect, with so many parked cars down both sides of the road and we should make the best use of available road space so cyclists get safe, segregated routes.”

We’ve written a detailed briefing paper outlining our concerns with the GCP’s proposals for the Cambourne to Cambridge busway project. Adams Road Briefing Paper (pdf)

Take action!

Email your local councillors and the GCP Joint Assembly and Board members

You can find the contact details for your local representatives at www.writetothem.com and the contact details for the members of the GCP Joint Assembly and Board at www.greatercambridge.org.uk/about-city-deal/governance and also listed below.

Sign the Adams Road petition

Local residents and cyclists of Adams Road will be submitting a petition to the Greater Cambridge Partnership calling for them to “Stop Cambridge’s busiest cycle route becoming a busway”. There are over 2,500 signatories. You can find the Adams Road campaign on Facebook and Twitter.

Adams Road campaigning leaflets

Print and distribute our leaflets

Spread the word and get more people signing the petition and writing to object to the Busway route along Adams Road. You can download an A5 copy of our leaflet here or an A4 page with two leaflets on it.

Contribute to the discussion and volunteer

We’d welcome your input. Campaign members can join the discussion on our forum, Cyclescape. Let us know where you think we should be focusing our efforts and how you can help us achieve our aims.

Camcycle volunteers working at laptops

Contact us about this campaign

If you’d like to know more about this campaign, can help as a volunteer, are a member of an organisation who’d like to work in collaboration with us or are from a publication who would like a statement or press release about this campaign, please get in touch.

Join Camcycle

Become a member and help us campaign for more, better and safer cycling, for all ages and abilities, in and around Cambridge. 

Donate to the campaign

We’re a charity, and promotion and materials are part of our campaigning costs. With your help, we can spread the word about this campaign.

 

Email members of the Joint Assembly and let them know your concerns.
timothy.wotherspoon@cambridgeshire.gov.uk
timbick01@gmail.com
nicky.massey@cambridge.gov.uk
mike.davey@cambridge.gov.uk
cllr.wilson@scambs.gov.uk
cllr.sollom@scambs.gov.uk
cllr.williamsh@scambs.gov.uk
noel.kavanagh@cambridgeshire.gov.uk
john.williams@cambridgeshire.gov.uk

Use contactus@greatercambridge.org.uk for the attention of:

Jo Sainsbury – iMET / Cambridge Regional College
Christopher Walkinshaw – Marshall of Cambridge Ltd.
Helen Valentine – Anglia Ruskin University
Dr Jonathan Wells – Cancer Research Cambridge
Andy Williams – AstraZeneca
Heather Richards – Verint (VP Product Strategy)