Elections

2015 City Council election: Coleridge

Summary: 2015 elections to Cambridge City Council
Polling date: Thursday 7th May 2015
Ward:
Candidates
(by surname):
  • Sam BARKER  (Conservative Party)
  • Jeremy BENSTEAD  (Labour Party)
  • Simon COOPER  (Liberal Democrat)
  • Shaun Peter ESGATE  (Green Party)
  • Bill KAMINSKI  (UK Independence Party)

Questions for Coleridge ward candidates (7 questions)

Jump to question:  1   2   3   4   5   6   7 

# Question 1

Cambridge Cycling Campaign has created a guide to cycling best-practice called Making Space For Cycling, endorsed by all national cycling organisations. Do you fully support this guide, and if so, what one principle in it do you think could most effectively be applied in your ward?

Sam BARKER
(Conservative Party)

I fully support the guide and hope to see more of the infrastructure it talks about used in Cambridge, not least via the City Deal funding and cycle city ambition grant.

Jeremy BENSTEAD
(Labour Party)
The candidate has not responded to the survey.
Simon COOPER
(Liberal Democrat)

I do. The most important principle that I think will improve cycling in Coleridge is greater separation of cyclists and pedestrians. So many cycle paths in Coleridge are simple shared-use pavements, for example along Cherry Hinton Road and the Perne Road roundabout. At the very least, these should have separate areas for cyclists and pedestrians, and ideally greater separation as laid out in the guide.

Shaun Peter ESGATE
(Green Party)
The candidate has not responded to the survey.
Bill KAMINSKI
(UK Independence Party)
The candidate has not responded to the survey.

# Question 2

What measures would you like to see to improve the safety of children getting to school?

Sam BARKER
(Conservative Party)

Good cycle training and support for parents and carers to help children cycle. Good cycle access to, and parking at, schools.

Jeremy BENSTEAD
(Labour Party)
The candidate has not responded to the survey.
Simon COOPER
(Liberal Democrat)

Firstly, improving the roads around the schools. Often, there are no dedicated cycle lanes on the roads outside schools, or the cycle lanes that are there are ineffective. There are also issues with on-road parking at drop off and pick up times, making the roads very dangerous difficult to navigate for cyclists and drivers alike. Secondly, schools should have a greater focus on cycle training and inform proper use of lights and helmets.

Shaun Peter ESGATE
(Green Party)
The candidate has not responded to the survey.
Bill KAMINSKI
(UK Independence Party)
The candidate has not responded to the survey.

# Question 3

What experience do you and your family have of cycling? Do you have any different concerns about younger or older family members cycling than you do yourself?

Sam BARKER
(Conservative Party)

We all cycle, both normal bicycles and we have a dutch style bike - the baby goes in the car seat in the bucket (but will go on a crossbar seat shortly) and the toddler goes behind on a seat - the toddler is at push-bike stage and first pedal bike comeing soon no doubt. We have seen children benefit from early intorduction to cycling, cycling safety and danger from roads. I'm pleased that Cambridge has quieter routes if you want to keep of the arterial roads.

Jeremy BENSTEAD
(Labour Party)
The candidate has not responded to the survey.
Simon COOPER
(Liberal Democrat)

I cycle across the south-west of Cambridge to get to work every day, and my wife often cycles around Cambridge. We both cycled around Cambridge as students.

We do not have children ourselves, so have no personal concerns in that regard, although there are always improvements that could be done to make cycling around Cambridge easier and safer.

Shaun Peter ESGATE
(Green Party)
The candidate has not responded to the survey.
Bill KAMINSKI
(UK Independence Party)
The candidate has not responded to the survey.

# Question 4

What would you do to improve cycle parking in the city centre?

Sam BARKER
(Conservative Party)

This is hard to do when money is tight. I would work with college bursars to provide more visitor parking in colleges. I would work to ensure cycles are not abandoned or parked permanently. I would continue to keep cycle parking a crucial part of any development, and would look at intensification options (e.g racking) where possible.

Jeremy BENSTEAD
(Labour Party)
The candidate has not responded to the survey.
Simon COOPER
(Liberal Democrat)

With the recent new cycle spaces in the centre, there is now a good level of cycle parking in the city centre, although of course there could always be more. I would be in favour of adding more cycle parking to the approaches to the city centre - around Parkers Piece, King Street, around Bridge Street, and along Trumpington Street.

Shaun Peter ESGATE
(Green Party)
The candidate has not responded to the survey.
Bill KAMINSKI
(UK Independence Party)
The candidate has not responded to the survey.

# Question 5

Recent construction in the city, such as on Abbey Street, Milton Road and at the University Arms have closed routes or removed cycle space. What would you do to ensure that cycle routes remain open and safe as construction grows the city?

Sam BARKER
(Conservative Party)

Use section 106 to create replacement (and better) routes.

Jeremy BENSTEAD
(Labour Party)
The candidate has not responded to the survey.
Simon COOPER
(Liberal Democrat)

There needs to be the same consideration given to redirecting cycle routes as there is to road diversions. Contractors shouldn’t just build across cycle routes, they need to consider proper diversions and traffic flows, just as with cars.

Shaun Peter ESGATE
(Green Party)
The candidate has not responded to the survey.
Bill KAMINSKI
(UK Independence Party)
The candidate has not responded to the survey.

# Question 6

Cycle routes which are narrow and involves sharp turns and chicanes make routes difficult or impossible for users of tricycles, handcycles and cargo bikes, impairing accessibility for the most vulnerable. Can you think of anywhere in your ward that is difficult to use on a non-standard cycle and what will you do to improve it?

Sam BARKER
(Conservative Party)

I would be keen to hear - Coleridge has big arterial and quieter non-arterial routes. Parking can interfere in some places, but this would mean working with local residents on a case by case basis.

Jeremy BENSTEAD
(Labour Party)
The candidate has not responded to the survey.
Simon COOPER
(Liberal Democrat)

Several areas come to mind. The first is the cycle path between Corrie and Rustat Roads. The junction with the Carter Bridge is OK, but the Corrie Road end is very tight and narrow, and is tricky to navigate. Corrie Road itself also needs to be resurfaced. Unfortunately, houses on either side of the path prevent it being widened, but the entrance and approaches on Corrie Road could certainly be smoother.

Other areas are the paths between Lichfield and Perne Roads, and between Coleridge and Marmora Roads. On both paths, there is a set of barriers across the paths, which force cyclists to make a really tight turn. These could be removed to improve access for larger bicycles and tricycles.

Shaun Peter ESGATE
(Green Party)
The candidate has not responded to the survey.
Bill KAMINSKI
(UK Independence Party)
The candidate has not responded to the survey.

# Question 7

How would you improve conditions for people on bikes along Perne Road?

Sam BARKER
(Conservative Party)

The cycle paths are good along Perne road, but there is clearly underconfidence about using them which pushes people onto pavements - I would want a programme of awareness raising, training and ultimately sanctions to chift this behaviour. The Dutch-Style roundabout has been a good experiment in importing cycling infrastructure, but usage and confidence needs to be monitored and acted upon.

Jeremy BENSTEAD
(Labour Party)
The candidate has not responded to the survey.
Simon COOPER
(Liberal Democrat)

Perne Road itself is relatively good; although the cycle paths are on the road, the paths are wide, and there are few junctions where conflicts can occur. The roundabouts are a different matter. The roundabout with Birdwood Road has badly designed cycle routes; the easiest way to fix it at this stage is to convert the current shared use paths into segregated pedestrian and cycle paths, giving priority at the junctions, and more explicit markings on approaches to guide cyclists onto the cycle paths.

The roundabout with Cherry Hinton Road is harder to improve, as there is much less space available. Potentially some of the green space next to the roundabout could be used to make the roundabout wider, but it does require some further analysis and planning.

Shaun Peter ESGATE
(Green Party)
The candidate has not responded to the survey.
Bill KAMINSKI
(UK Independence Party)
The candidate has not responded to the survey.

Camcycle is a non-partisan body. All candidates are given an equal opportunity to submit their views. Information published by Camcycle (Cambridge Cycling Campaign), The Bike Depot, 140 Cowley Road, Cambridge, CB4 0DL.