Cambridge Cycling Campaign

As part of its City Access project, the Greater Cambridge Partnership (GCP) is looking at a variety of ways to make walking, cycling and public transport more attractive to people living in the Greater Cambridge area.

In November 2021, the GCP consulted on options for raising money to pay for improvements to the transport network and ways to improve buses in its Making Connections consultation. Now it is looking at ways to reallocate roadspace to walking, cycling and public transport by refreshing the Road Classification for Cambridge for the first time since the 1980s. This opens up the opportunity to make a major change to the way the cities streets work: cars, vans and lorries could be required to use main roads for as much of their journey as possible and local roads and streets would be freed up for more frequent and reliable public transport, walking, cycling and a more attractive environment.

Camcycle staff and volunteers are currently working on a consultation guide to help you shape your response. We will be discussing the plans at our in-person social meeting at 7pm on 7 June in the Garden Room, The Alex, Gwydir Street – all are welcome to join us. We’re also holding an online Zoom meeting on Tuesday 31 May at 7.30pm. Please contact us if you would like a link for this meeting.

How can I find out more about the new road classification proposals?

Head to the GCP’s consultation website, where you will find a pdf of the consultation brochure, a large-scale plan of the key road categories, some frequently asked questions and a list of key dates and public meetings.

The city council’s Making Space For People Supplementary Planning Document which relates to plans for the city centre and surrounding areas is also attached as a reference.

What are the key questions to answer?

None of the questions in the online survey are obligatory.

One of the key questions is Question 3: To what extent do you agree or disagree with the idea of motor vehicles being required to use main roads as much as possible to reduce through trips on local roads and streets by the use of point closures (modal filters)? We suggest that you answer STRONGLY AGREE.

Question 8 is also important: once you have read through the suggested categorisations and looked at the proposed plan, are there any changes or additions you would suggest to the way the categories are applied to the roads on the map? If you are a member, please get in touch and share your views, either by email or via Cyclescape thread 6086. This will help us shape our response and consultation guide.

What else should I think about?

It can be hard to consider each street individually and work out how the plans will fit into a cohesive whole, especially as bus and cycle routes are not explicitly marked. We recommend watching our monthly meeting with Deputy Mayor of Ghent Filip Watteeuw to find out more about how a ‘Circulation Zone’ approach (removing car traffic from the city centre and restricting through-movements to main roads) can transform cycling levels, congestion and safety. You can view maps of Ghent’s Circulation Zone on the city’s website.