SIX.. Area-wide solutions: Primary cycle routes

Primary cycle routes... ... provide cyclists with quick and effective routes between major destinations, such as the main residential areas, the City Centre, the railway station and big employers including the Science Park and Addenbrooke’s Hospital. Although in some cases this will mean the network of off-road cycle paths, the primary cycle routes through Cambridge are, and should always remain, the existing road network.

Sadly, although Cambridge is rightly famed within the UK as a cycling city, the overall inconsistent quality of these primary cycle routes means that the city is often far below the standard of some European centres.

Many good cycle routes which are well used, such as Addenbrooke’s Hospital to the city centre and Milton to the city centre, are compromised by dangerous and/or unpleasant locations at various points along them.

These locations, such as Hills Road Bridge and Mitcham’s Corner, break up an otherwise potentially integrated and useful cycling network and do little to encourage increased cycle usage. They are off-putting for cyclists and hazardous for those who continue to use them.

We need a cohesive, joined-up cycle network for the city.

• The need for continuity
• The Chisholm Trail: a cycling super-highway [Case study]
• Newmarket Road/East Road roundabout: a major barrier within an important route [Case study]
• Bar Hill: a case-study for improving connections between areas [Case study]
• Conclusion