Elections
Local elections (City/SouthCambs), May 2008: Queen Edith's
Summary: | Elections to Cambridge City Council (and South Cambs District Council) in May 2008. |
Polling date: | Thursday 1st May 2008 |
Ward: |
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Candidates (by surname): |
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Questions for Queen Edith's ward candidates (7 questions)
Jump to question: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
# Question 1
Cycling offers a huge opportunity to reduce motor traffic and free up road space. Do you have any suggestions for additional cycling promotion activities that the Council could do?
Responses to this question from all wards…
Donald Fisher DOUGLAS (Conservative Party) |
Please note that I have been a member of the Campaign for about 10 years and fully support its objectives. I am also a regular cyclist, seldom using a car in the City. |
Jonathan Hugh GOODACRE (Labour Party) |
The candidate has not responded to the survey. |
Martin Ian LAWSON (Green Party) |
The candidate has not responded to the survey. |
Amanda Joan TAYLOR (Liberal Democrat) |
The Liberal Democrat group has put in a bid for Cambridge to be a Cycle Demonstration City. |
# Question 2
Do you support our view that traffic policing (including fining of cyclists without lights or using pedestrian-only pavements) should become a greater police priority?
Relevant links (each opens in a new window):
Responses to this question from all wards…
Donald Fisher DOUGLAS (Conservative Party) |
Yes - definitely. People used to laugh at me when, as a Councillor, I proposed "cycle calming" - there are too many irresponsible cyclists which give all cyclists a bad reputation and who threaten the safety of pedestrians and other cyclists.. |
Jonathan Hugh GOODACRE (Labour Party) |
The candidate has not responded to the survey. |
Martin Ian LAWSON (Green Party) |
The candidate has not responded to the survey. |
Amanda Joan TAYLOR (Liberal Democrat) |
We ask police at local area committees to crack down on cyclists without |
# Question 3
Cambridge Cycling Campaign is promoting a new route for pedestrians and cyclists called the 'Chisholm Trail', alongside the railway, joining up many journey destinations between Addenbrooke's to the south and the Science Park to the north. This would make many journeys much quicker. Do you support this in principle?
Relevant links (each opens in a new window):
Responses to this question from all wards…
Donald Fisher DOUGLAS (Conservative Party) |
Yes - see above. |
Jonathan Hugh GOODACRE (Labour Party) |
The candidate has not responded to the survey. |
Martin Ian LAWSON (Green Party) |
The candidate has not responded to the survey. |
Amanda Joan TAYLOR (Liberal Democrat) |
I think this is an excellent idea, and certainly support anything that enables non-car travel to and from Addenbrooke's. |
# Question 4
We are seeking a trial of a new type of cycle provision in the city - 'hybrid cycle lanes', as used in Holland and Germany. These are 2-3m wide, on-road but with a degree of separation from other vehicles. They combine the best aspects of both off-road and on-road cycle lanes but without the downsides of both. The picture on our website illustrates the concept. What do you feel about this idea, and is there anywhere in your ward where you think these could be tried?
Relevant links (each opens in a new window):
Responses to this question from all wards…
Donald Fisher DOUGLAS (Conservative Party) |
Yes - I think it has merit. Hills Road is the obvious place in the Ward to trial it with its on and off road cycle lanes - although it may be better done after the Bridge work is complete. Please note that I would not want the green verge to be lost so the hybrid lane would need to be roadside. |
Jonathan Hugh GOODACRE (Labour Party) |
The candidate has not responded to the survey. |
Martin Ian LAWSON (Green Party) |
The candidate has not responded to the survey. |
Amanda Joan TAYLOR (Liberal Democrat) |
I support hybrid cycle lanes and better provision is needed, eg on the Hills Rd bridge just outside my ward, and on Queen Edith's Way. |
# Question 5
If the County Council's proposed Congestion Charge goes ahead, it is likely that the free, up-front money that would be received from the government to support prior improvements to public transport and cycling would be of the order of some £100m a year for four years. This is roughly ten times the amount the County currently receives for transport. If the scheme goes ahead, what would be your priorities for use of this up-front money?
Relevant links (each opens in a new window):
Responses to this question from all wards…
Donald Fisher DOUGLAS (Conservative Party) |
The charge is blackmail by the Labour Government - no money unless you agree to the charge. I think we should spend the money first and then decide if further deterrents are needed and what form they should take. The County Council has already outlined what it wants to spend the money on: new P&R. a station at Chesterton, better bus facilities and so on and I support it. |
Jonathan Hugh GOODACRE (Labour Party) |
The candidate has not responded to the survey. |
Martin Ian LAWSON (Green Party) |
The candidate has not responded to the survey. |
Amanda Joan TAYLOR (Liberal Democrat) |
We are advocating NO spend on road building and widening from any surplus I would like to see better cycle lanes and parking, and subsidy of bus fares. |
# Question 6
Some 47,500 new dwellings are to be built around Cambridge in the next ten years, increasing the population by perhaps 125,000 people. Although a Congestion Charge with half-a-billion pounds of up-front government money is proposed as a key means to deal with this, what would your suggestions be for reducing car usage and encouraging cycling in the new developments?
Relevant links (each opens in a new window):
Responses to this question from all wards…
Donald Fisher DOUGLAS (Conservative Party) |
I bang on about this endlessly. New developments must be built as communities with fast public transport ,links to the centre and to major places of work (addenbrookes, the Science Park etc). We already have some of these like the railway (although we must put more pressure on the rail people), the Guided bus, the plans for the new station at Chesterton. But the city Council still doesn't "get it" and insists on building monocultures - dormitories with roundabouts or commuter flats beside the station. If you build a housing desert and an office desert and a retail desert you will automatically generate a lot of traffic. Look at Accordia or the design for Clay Farm - why isn't the school the centrepiece of the community - why is there a road running through the middle of the development (it should go round the side), why are the shops so far away? We should be building communities that feel more like Mill Road than the housing estates of the sixties - is that really so silly? We would barely need cars if we did and we would have better and more interesting lives. We don't live like we did in the sixties, we don't work in factories or even in huge offices: many of us work partly or wholly from home - we should be building "workshops" into our new communities along with shops, restaurants, schools, health centres and so on. |
Jonathan Hugh GOODACRE (Labour Party) |
The candidate has not responded to the survey. |
Martin Ian LAWSON (Green Party) |
The candidate has not responded to the survey. |
Amanda Joan TAYLOR (Liberal Democrat) |
limiting the car parking spaces in new developments |
# Question 7
Do you have any other general cycling-related comments or points?
Responses to this question from all wards…
Donald Fisher DOUGLAS (Conservative Party) |
A renewed campaign to educate people to cycle more safely and considerately. |
Jonathan Hugh GOODACRE (Labour Party) |
The candidate has not responded to the survey. |
Martin Ian LAWSON (Green Party) |
The candidate has not responded to the survey. |
Amanda Joan TAYLOR (Liberal Democrat) |
I am proud to be a member of the Cycling Campaign and think its campaigning is excellent. Your newsletter and its photographs are extremely impressive! Thank you for all that you do to promote and encourage cycling in Cambridge. |
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.