FOUR.. Barriers to cycling

Case study

Mitcham’s Corner

Mitcham’s Corner is a classic example of a barrier to cycling. It is effectively a break in a cyclist’s journey forcing them to stop, give way, cross roads and negotiate with traffic. Others will choose simply not to cycle because of difficult sections of their route such as this.

On-road cyclists face a long diversion from their preferred route and have to change lanes and ride in the middle of the road on a fast, multi-lane gyratory. The off-road provision, while an improvement on what was there in the past, is still awkward and inconvenient.

Mitcham’s Corner needs to be extensively remodelled by 2020 to make it more friendly for cyclists and other road users in general. The whole area is not a people-friendly environment. There have been several proposals over the years for the Staples site but Cambridge City Council urgently needs to put together a planning brief for the area and to get developers involved in a full scale redevelopment.