Elections

Local elections (City), May 2019: Arbury

Summary: Elections to Cambridge City Council in May 2019
Polling date: Thursday 2nd May 2019
Ward:
Candidates
(by surname):
  • Harry CLYNCH  (Conservative Party)
  • Stephen Roger LAWRENCE  (Green Party)
  • Carina Aileen O’REILLY  (Labour Party)
  • Tim WARD  (Liberal Democrat)

Questions for Arbury ward candidates (7 questions)

Jump to question:  1   2   3   4   5   6   7 

# Question 1

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 for yourself?

Harry CLYNCH
(Conservative Party)
The candidate has not responded to the survey.
Stephen Roger LAWRENCE
(Green Party)

Lifelong cyclist.

Yes - those with either a more cautious approach or a lower level of energy need to be catered for specifically

Carina Aileen O’REILLY
(Labour Party)

I have two bikes, one for daily cycling and one for touring - I go on regular cycling holidays with my father and sister, and so have experienced cycling culture in continental Europe as well as here in the UK.

Tim WARD
(Liberal Democrat)

I and my family routinely cycle both within Cambridge and beyond, including daily commuting. There are various hazards, with, as last year, the worst at the moment being the proliferation of potholes which distract attention that should be spent on situational awareness, along with the perennial illegally and antisocially parked taxis, and completely oblivious pedestrians stepping out in front of cyclists without looking in the city centre.

# Question 2

Camcycle believes that more people cycling has positive benefits for individuals' health and the city by reducing congestion and air-pollution. What is your vision to encourage more people of all ages and all abilities to cycle as a preferred mode of transport?

Harry CLYNCH
(Conservative Party)
The candidate has not responded to the survey.
Stephen Roger LAWRENCE
(Green Party)

Sort out the dozens of "dodgy locations" that subconsciously say "cyclists are not form of transport worthy of consideration".

Carina Aileen O’REILLY
(Labour Party)

I think the priority for encouraging cycling is to provide safe and segregated cycling facilities. Cycling among traffic is very intimidating for new riders.

Tim WARD
(Liberal Democrat)

Factors that encourage cycling, particularly for commuting when congestion is at its worst, include designing cycle facilities so that the cycling journey is fast, convenient and reliable, including the provision of cycle parking and storage. My next project, after I provided hundreds of additional cycle parking spaces in the city centre, had I remained a councillor, would have been to identify suburban and residential areas of the city that could benefit from more cycle parking, such as parts of Romsey Town.

Another factor that helps encourage cycling is improved perceived safety, which was a major reason why I introduced the 20mph scheme as the default speed limit for residential and shopping streets in the city.

# Question 3

Our volunteers spend a lot of time scrutinising planning applications for failures such as lack of secure cycle parking, poor access, failure to fund nearby improvements to make the roads safer, and so on. Many of these things get let through by officers and councillors in clear contravention of the Local Plan. The lack of a full-time cycling officer makes this situation even worse. What are your main concerns about the planning system, and how would you seek to make improvements?

Harry CLYNCH
(Conservative Party)
The candidate has not responded to the survey.
Stephen Roger LAWRENCE
(Green Party)

I wonder whether the level of development is now so high that having everything scrutinised b a single body is workable?

Carina Aileen O’REILLY
(Labour Party)

The planning system as a whole is under-funded and planning decisions are very restricted by law. There is very little systemic change that is possible at City Council level; we are limited by the law and by losing 40% of our budget in the last few years. Unfortunately, until there's a change in government, we are more reliant on good work done by citizens and volunteers than anyone would ideally want.

Tim WARD
(Liberal Democrat)

I would undertake a review of the treatment of cycling issues by the planning service to see where existing policies and procedures are not delivering the expected and desired results, and would make any changes that were indicated, subject of course to budget constraints and priorities.

# Question 4

Cycle theft is a city-wide problem, and the greatest frustration is focussed on the Cyclepoint parking facility at the main Cambridge rail station. Official response to cycle theft at Cyclepoint has been subject to a breakdown of relationship between those in authority. When somebody tries to report their bike has been stolen they get a run-around between the railway company, the British Transport Police and the local police. What can the city council do to encourage the necessary co-operation between Greater Anglia and Cambridgeshire Constabulary?

Harry CLYNCH
(Conservative Party)
The candidate has not responded to the survey.
Stephen Roger LAWRENCE
(Green Party)

They've all got to sit down together in one room

Carina Aileen O’REILLY
(Labour Party)

The city council has no formal powers in this area at all, but we've built good relationships with the local police in areas we do have powers. I think this is an area in which we could take the lead to find a clear reporting mechanism and, importantly, a responsive one.

Tim WARD
(Liberal Democrat)

It is from time to time necessary to collect people together from different agencies, get them all to agree on the objectives (none of these agencies is in favour of bicycles being stolen), work out where the bottlenecks are in the system, and come up with a joint plan to address the issue. Although the city council has limited direct responsibility for, or powers over, Cyclepoint, it is nonetheless well positioned to facilitate such a joint working exercise.

# Question 5

How will you work with the GCP to improve walking and cycling proposals in their Histon Road scheme, in particular with regard to children cycling to school at the Mayfield Primary School, crossing Histon Road near Carisbrooke Road, and within the narrow section of road from Aldi south to the junction with Victoria Road?

Harry CLYNCH
(Conservative Party)
The candidate has not responded to the survey.
Stephen Roger LAWRENCE
(Green Party)

Not sure. Would involve a lot of groundwork, in real time.

Carina Aileen O’REILLY
(Labour Party)

We have already submitted proposals for a crossing in this area and are hoping to make progress on this this year. I use this area regularly for cycling and I am keenly aware of the difficulties and dangers for all cyclists here.

Tim WARD
(Liberal Democrat)

Whilst the most recent plans for Histon Road are far from ideal in a number of respects they are nonetheless an improvement for cyclists over the original proposals, following representations that I made, particularly with respect to the original plan to ban a right turn by cyclists into Warwick Road.

Children also have the option of using existing and planned light controlled crossings if they are not comfortable cycling across Histon Road through the rush hour traffic.

My experience of the narrow section of the road, which I cycle several times most weeks, is that motor traffic us usually well behaved, particularly if you take the lane to make it clear when it’s not safe to overtake and pull in when you think it might be.

# Question 6

How would you improve cycling on Carlton Way?

Harry CLYNCH
(Conservative Party)
The candidate has not responded to the survey.
Stephen Roger LAWRENCE
(Green Party)

See ans to Q2. But I would need to do more work at peakk times, since I don't normally use the road at these times.

Carina Aileen O’REILLY
(Labour Party)

Carlton Way like many main routes could usefully have dedicated, segregated cycling lanes; the road is generally wide enough to allow this. However, it would have to be carefully designed so that encouraging cycling can be done without leading to increases in traffic speeds, as we've (anecdotally) seen in Gilbert Road, and that local residents are supportive of any such scheme.

Tim WARD
(Liberal Democrat)

I don’t find any serious problems cycling on Carlton Way. The stretch south of the junction with Perse Way can get a bit congested during the morning rush hour, but it’s not obvious to me that any major improvements would come high enough up the priority list to be funded. I do remain puzzled as to why the County Council introduced, a number of years ago now, parking spaces apparently designed to encourage children to be driven to the school, in contravention of the County Council’s own polices. Potholes are an issue here, of course, as elsewhere.

# Question 7

Protected junctions where walking and cycling traffic are fully separated from motorised traffic have been proposed by Camcycle for junctions being rebuilt by the Milton and Histon Road GCP projects. Which junctions do you think would benefit from similar safety improvements within the Arbury Ward?

Harry CLYNCH
(Conservative Party)
The candidate has not responded to the survey.
Stephen Roger LAWRENCE
(Green Party)

Sorry, not qualified enough to answer. I live in south of ward, and normally exit towards city centre across Jesus Green Bridge, so most of my suggestions/bugbears would be in that area and across town

Carina Aileen O’REILLY
(Labour Party)

My priority on a city-wide basis actually wouldn't be in Arbury, which has a limited number of main roads and junctions other than Histon Road. Rather, I'd like to see a focus on Mitcham's Corner and the crossing of Chesterton Road at the bottom of Carlyle Road. The latter is part of a cycling route that runs through the whole of Arbury and into the city centre; but at this point, the existence of cyclists seems entirely forgotten and there is the constant risk of clashes between pedestrians, cyclists and motor traffic. Mitcham's Corner is a horrible mess for all users and the sooner it can be addressed the better.

Tim WARD
(Liberal Democrat)

Arbury doesn’t have many large junctions involving major roads, the Histon Road / Victoria Road / Huntingdon Road one being the main one that comes to mind. Just to the north of Arbury, however, the Arbury Road / Kings Hedges Road junction and the Histon Road / Kings Hedges Road junction are particularly hostile to cyclists. For southbound cyclists from the A14 junction to the Kings Hedges Road junction when intending to continue down Histon Road there aren’t really any attractive options.

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.