Camcycle guide to the Mill Road consultation – Spring 2022
Camcycle is pleased to see the Greater Cambridge Partnership has released a new consultation about the future of Mill Road. This includes an online survey (also available in a printed format), stakeholder workshops beginning next week and four public meetings in March. While there are still some issues with the survey and the overall consultation approach, we urge local residents to respond and share their views.
The consultation closes at midday on 21 March 2022.
Camcycle’s position is that motor traffic on Mill Road needs to be substantially reduced and that this is best achieved through a modal filter to prevent through motor-traffic while allowing cycling and walking journeys the full length of the road. It should be possible to exempt some motor vehicles such as those required for time-critical deliveries or to transport disabled people.
Our vision for Mill Road sets out how we think Mill Road could be improved, following the reduction of traffic, to create a vibrant place for people where community and local business can thrive. We welcomed the experimental bus gate that was in place from summer 2020 to summer 2021, but had called from the beginning of the trial for changes in the implementation. Read our response to the first Mill Road consultation here.
If you support our vision and ideas, we recommend supporting Theme 2 (Improve the quality of the place) and Theme 3 (Changes to traffic and access in the medium and longer term) in the survey and making it clear in the comments that both themes should be implemented (not one or the other).
We recommend reading the consultation leaflet for more information about what each of the themes proposes.
On 8 February, Camcycle joined Mill Road Traders Association and local group Mill Road for People in calling for an improved approach to consultation on the future of Mill Road. Our joint letter set out our concerns about the two five-hour long webinars for a limited number of people. We believe this approach to be inaccessible for many people whose views must be heard. While we hope the survey will reach more people, we believe there are still issues of accessibility and inclusivity for the Mill Road consultation which we urge the GCP to address. We also asked that the key groups each be given the opportunity to present their vision in a more holistic form.