Elections

Yes. The target of having half of all journeys in urban areas being on foot or on bike is very ambitious, but not unachievable. This is exactly the sort of urgent and ambitious target that will help re-prioritise our actions in a way that helps get us towards zero carbon.

This will only be achieved if we fundamentally shift the balance in favour of cycling and walking (and public transport) so that these modes are more attractive than driving a car in the majority of situations.

This needs changes in a wide range of areas, including; much better standards for cycling and walking infrastructure, with segregation between modes, especially at junctions, being the norm; more secure cycle parking; support for electric bikes; financial disincentives to car driving; reallocation of road space, and exclusion of most cars from city and town centres; changes to road design to slow motor vehicles down; better enforcement of driving laws.

For the last 8 years, I have been involved in the A10 Corridor Cycling Campaign, which focusses on the A10 from Cambridge to Royston. It has been a long, slow effort, but we did get some decent quality paths alongside or near the A10. These are now very well used and appreciated. The case for investment in infrastructure like this elsewhere is now very clear. The appetite for cycling in rural areas is only going to grow, especially as electric bikes become more common. But demand will always be held back by the unattractiveness of sharing country roads with fast motor vehicles.

As Mayor, I would develop a robust plan to create a network of good quality and attractive routes for walking and cycling, so that investments from various sources can be prioritised and coordinated. Tackling well-used areas where safety is a particular concern, like the A10 near Waterbeach, is very urgent. I would work to get speed limits down and then get them enforced. I would increase the amount of capital investment from the Combined Authority into walking and cycling.

As we have found with some of the temporary and experimental schemes put in place last year, lack of engagement can mean that communities are not as supportive as they could be and that designs can fail to take all factors into account. So talking to communities and to campaign groups early and often helps to getting the most successful and transformative schemes put in place. The doesn’t need to mean formal consultation (which would slow things down and void the benefits of using temporary and experimental orders), but open and visible dialogue is essential.

No, I do not plan to continue with the CAM in it's current form (insofar as we understand what it's current form is). CAM is conceived around two very uncertain ideas: long and complex tunnels under Cambridge and entirely autonomous vehicles. The tunnels would mean that the system delivers no benefits for well over a decade. Autonomous vehicles that can cope with narrow urban streets or country roads are many years away. In addition, one of the selling points of CAM is the absurdly ambitious plans for continuous segregated routes for very long distances through the countryside.

We do need high quality public transport, especially in the urban areas, which is reliable and attractive enough to be a viable alternative to the car for the vast majority. Some form of mass rapid transit, the largely stays on the surface, could be delivered quickly and in stages as part of a longer-term vision. It would be enabled by rethinking how space is allocated in the more congested urban areas.

All new transport investment needs to consider from the start how it can enhance active travel, something which the Combined Authority fails to do currently, just in the same way that Highways England and East West Rail fail to do. Active travel shouldn't be some nice add-on to have if it doesn't add cost or complexity.

I would quickly change transport policy and assessment approaches so that active travel benefits are given greater weight than other benefits, and then ensure that projects do actually follow policy.

The Sustrans manifesto is excellent.

I will significantly increase the investment in walking and cycling schemes and I will report the amounts invested into each transport mode.

The 20-minute neighbourhood is an excellent approach to planning new developments and to considering how to improve existing places. The new SCDC/Cambridge City Local Plan is already starting to consider how to use this concept, though it won’t work in all situations. As this ask suggests, 20-minute neighbourhoods support a range of public policy objectives, so I will work with all relevant bodies to build in the concept to our planning.

The recent BikeLife survey showed that, even in Cambridge, cycling rates are are not equal across income levels. We need to consider more carefully opportunities to address inequalities when making investments, and look at how the needs of disadvantaged and marginalised communities and individuals might differ.