Elections
Cambridge City Council elections, May 2022: Trumpington
Summary: | Elections to Cambridge City Council, May 2022 |
Polling date: | Thursday 5th May 2022 |
Ward: |
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Candidates (by surname): |
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Questions for Trumpington ward candidates (7 questions)
Jump to question: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
# Question 1
Residents and visitors to Trumpington Ward have long been targets for cycle theft. This is a particular issue in new developments where cycle parking infrastructure has been easily breached by thieves. How do you propose cycle theft could be reduced in this ward?
Responses to this question from all wards…
Ceri GALLOWAY (Green Party) |
In Trumpington the pattern of theft is slightly different from the centre of Cambridge. In the residential developments theft is taking place from locked areas within the flats and individual housing. It seems that the systems put in by the developers for locking the storage areas were not secure enough. |
Olaf HAUK (Liberal Democrat) |
Cambridge is the cycle theft capital of the UK. Unfortunately, this is painfully felt around Trumpington where many cycle thefts appear to have been committed by organised gangs, who exploit insufficiently secured communal bike shelters. We have to hold the developers to account and push them to fix any deficiencies, and to learn from their mistakes in the future. In addition, we have actively supported CamCycle’s “Lock it & log it” campaign, regularly informing residents about the importance of registering their bikes at our street stalls or by distributing leaflets. |
Shapour MEFTAH (Conservative Party) |
The candidate has not responded to the survey. |
Carlos TORANZOS (Labour Party) |
This is a very important issue. Cambridge in general has had a big share of cycle thieving. I think we could reduce theft by implementing more CCTv cameras around the targeted areas. Also using modern technology and making it available to bicycle owners, tagging them with traceable devices, as they are using in Holland and France. |
# Question 2
There have now been two deaths of people alongside the southern Busway. What do you think should be done to make the Busway path safe for all users?
Responses to this question from all wards…
Ceri GALLOWAY (Green Party) |
Since the guided busway was built from Trumpington Park and ride to the railway stations there have been a number of injuries, near misses as well as deaths. Once built the busway access road became a cycle path immediately for its direct route into town and station and was enthusiastically enjoyed by cyclists, pedestrians and walkers. |
Olaf HAUK (Liberal Democrat) |
We should wait for the outcome of ongoing investigations into those deaths and the safety of the busway. I regularly use the cycle path along the southern Guided Busway myself. I’ve spoken to a number of residents who think a clear separation between the cycle way and the bus lane will be required (e.g. in the form of a fence or a hedge). We have to see whether a speed limit on the busway will suffice to make it as safe as other roads, without the need to take space of the cycle path. The decision will not be made at the City Council, but I will talk to residents and my colleagues at the County Council and others to contribute to the solution. With respect to reports about anti-social behaviour along the busway, as well as dangerous behaviour by e-scooters, we arranged a site visit with police officers to discuss street lighting and CCTV. We cannot promise a quick fix but we are looking into practical and affordable options. We are also campaigning to make Hobson Square the vibrant centre of the local community that it should be, which would hopefully also reduce anti-social behaviour in the area. |
Shapour MEFTAH (Conservative Party) |
The candidate has not responded to the survey. |
Carlos TORANZOS (Labour Party) |
Safety is one of the most important aspects of cycling. We have to make sure riders are visible and they do not exceed speeds in areas where it is not safe to go above 15 miles p/h. Clear sign posting around dangerous spots on the path, just before the small tunnel for example, or crossing pelican lights. Safety is a two way road, we also have to make sure that everybody is aware that cycling is not a free risk travel. We have to implement highway code for cyclists as well as making drivers more aware of bike users. |
# Question 3
Cambridgeshire & Peterborough Road Safety Partnership (now the Vision Zero Partnership) aimed to reduce the number of deaths and serious injuries to cyclists by 40% between 2015 and 2020, but it actually rose 2% during that time. Too many people are being hurt on our roads.
What do you think would most improve safety for people walking, cycling, using mobility aids and riding horses on the roads in your area? Which routes and junctions need the most urgent improvement?
Relevant links (each opens in a new window):
Responses to this question from all wards…
Ceri GALLOWAY (Green Party) |
Green Party Policy is to increase use of active transport, buses, trains, cycling and walking. While doing that our aims are to prioritise the most vulnerable users of our streets, children and older and disabled people as well as supporting more healthy adults to cycle too. |
Olaf HAUK (Liberal Democrat) |
I am a keen cyclist (and don’t own a car) and I put my life into the hands of the Cambridge cycling and walking infrastructure every day. The problems raised in this question clearly need a multi-agency approach way beyond the power of a single City Councillor. I will do whatever is in my power as a ward councillor for Trumpington to make active travel as easy, convenient and safe as possible. Our traffic infrastructure, in particular for cycling and walking, is a regular item on the agenda of local resident association and area committee meetings. |
Shapour MEFTAH (Conservative Party) |
The candidate has not responded to the survey. |
Carlos TORANZOS (Labour Party) |
We must make sure that people pedestrians and cyclists and of course horses are visible. If the majority of accidents are in daylight it means that we are not really doing enough to educate in safety driving and safety riding. Nor are we concern about the use of helmets. We have to encourage riders to wear helmets when riding on public roads. Junctions have to have a new safe design. reducing speed to 10 miles from about 300 yards of the junction. We have to treat road safety as a health issue. |
# Question 4
Cambridgeshire County Council’s draft Active Travel Strategy says that our region’s transport network must put public health at its core. It points out that almost a third of 10 and 11 year olds in Cambridgeshire are obese and rates of cycling and walking are lowest among the over 40s.
What role do you think cycling can play in improving local residents’ health and wellbeing? What specific changes are needed to help the youngest and oldest residents in your area choose active modes, including walking, for more journeys?
Responses to this question from all wards…
Ceri GALLOWAY (Green Party) |
Cycling is proven strategy for health and well-being however it must be easier for vulnerable groups to cycle safely and park easily and promote obvious strategies to encourage people to start to cycle at young age so that it becomes the norm to use of cycles throughout life time. We know that many more people cycle in Cambridge due to the culture of bike use during student years and because it is flat but there are solutions for older and less fit users such as electric bike and for others for longer journeys fin hillier areas. Most journeys are less than 2 miles and many could be taken by bike. However, many people feel that cycling is unsafe due to the poor provision of cycle ways and we need to create a comprehensive network in the towns and cities urgently. |
Olaf HAUK (Liberal Democrat) |
I notice the health benefits of cycling myself often enough – a few weeks without cycling shows up on my scales, and I notice it in my mental well-being as well. The key issue seems to be that many residents, especially the elderly and parents with young kids, don’t think it is safe to cycle or walk. We support the GCP’s investment in cycling provision, both through schemes dedicated mainly to cycling (Chisholm Trail, cross city cycling schemes, Greenways and future Cycling Plus) and through the incorporation of more generous and dedicated cycling provision in wider projects such as Milton and Histon Roads and the future radial busway projects. We are proud that much of the funding for these developments has come from the City Deal, negotiated from central government by the city council when under Lib Dem control. Contingent on local consultation, we also support many of the low traffic neighbourhood schemes across the city, which provide the calmer street environment which is more conducive to starting to cycle from home. More of these may become possible if policy is adopted across the whole city to discourage car journeys. We are actively campaigning for a 20mph speed limit in all residential areas, including Trumpington’s new developments. In planning we want to see new developments designed around low usage of motor vehicles and incorporation of domestic provision for cycles as a norm. In Trumpington, we need to improve the safety for cyclists and pedestrians along the Guided Busway – a vital route between Trumpington and other wards to the station and city centre - where we regularly receive reports of anti-social behaviour. |
Shapour MEFTAH (Conservative Party) |
The candidate has not responded to the survey. |
Carlos TORANZOS (Labour Party) |
We have already started by making sure that speed is reduces near schools. this is not enough but again we have to encourage schools to start maybe half an hour later so as to distance the rush hour from school times. This will of course demand planing but it is not impossible. maybe escalating the start of schools and the end of the day. Providing students after school activities such as team games. Making sure schools become the place where healthy eating starts. Less meat more vegetables, less sugar more water. |
# Question 5
In June 2021, the Cambridgeshire & Peterborough Combined Authority agreed to act on the Independent Commission on Climate’s recommendation to reduce car miles driven in the region by 15% by 2030.
Suggested actions needed to achieve this goal include installing safe cycle routes from new developments, working with employers to increase uptake in sustainable options for commuting, improving existing cycle infrastructure and encouraging the use of e-bikes. What changes do you think are needed to help people in your area reduce car mileage?
Responses to this question from all wards…
Ceri GALLOWAY (Green Party) |
Improving existing cycle infrastructure and encouraging the use of e-bikes and cycle better parking. |
Olaf HAUK (Liberal Democrat) |
All these suggestions are important. Traffic congestion is not just bad for our well-being and the environment – it is also bad for business if employees arrive late and stressed at work. A reduction in car traffic and an improvement of active travel infrastructure will benefit everyone, including those who don’t have a choice and will have to use their cars. |
Shapour MEFTAH (Conservative Party) |
The candidate has not responded to the survey. |
Carlos TORANZOS (Labour Party) |
Public transport has to be one answer. School buses that collect pupils from near their homes and take them safely to school. Improve conditions at work say providing changing rooms and shower facilities so people can happily use their bikes to work. e-bikes is an alternative but we have to make sure we impose speed restrictions in specific areas. 25 miles an hour is to fast. |
# Question 6
National charity Cycling UK's manifesto for English elections includes the following asks:
1: Create safe space for cycling: put the delivery of a connected network of routes at the heart of transport and development plans;
2: Improve delivery: ensure schemes meet the government’s cycle design standards laid out in LTN 1/20 and the Gear Change policy;
3: Make neighbourhoods more attractive for cycling & people: for example, by making 20mph the default for residential and shopping streets, and increasing secure cycle parking;
4: Enable rural & urban communities to cycle: integrate cycling and walking with public transport, make cycle training available for all and improve access to local green space.
Will you support this manifesto? What policies would you champion in your area to increase levels of walking and cycling?
Relevant links (each opens in a new window):
Responses to this question from all wards…
Ceri GALLOWAY (Green Party) |
.I would support this manifesto whole heartedly and work towards implementing this. |
Olaf HAUK (Liberal Democrat) |
This is full in line with my answers to your previous questions and I will use it as a good checklist for future policy development. In particular, we are actively campaigning to introduce a 20mph speed limit in all residential areas, including the new developments in Trumpington. |
Shapour MEFTAH (Conservative Party) |
The candidate has not responded to the survey. |
Carlos TORANZOS (Labour Party) |
We have to learn to live differently. walking and cycling has to be the way to integrate cities and countryside. half way events should be encourage. I think Pedestrian and cyclists days should be the norm, no cars during 2 week ends every two months. New approach to driving and breaking the dependency on cars, by regulating days of the month when only certain cars can be seen, could be organised by the numbers on the registration and limit the use on certain days. |
# Question 7
What is your personal experience of walking and cycling in your area? What barriers do you think local people face that may prevent them from choosing active travel for everyday journeys?
Responses to this question from all wards…
Ceri GALLOWAY (Green Party) |
I mainly, cycle most distances, due to my disability I find walking more troubling than cycling. In Trumpington the main problems that I encounter are times when the cycle path are too busy to navigate safely. |
Olaf HAUK (Liberal Democrat) |
I cycle across town almost every day, often multiple times, either to get to work during the week or to visit the market, friends etc. during the weekend. I don’t own a car. It is in my own interest to make Cambridge’s and Trumpington’s active travel infrastructure as convenient and safe as possible. In my role as City Councillor I will do what I can to achieve this. I don't own a car because I don't need one and Cambridge is a great place to explore by bike – in principle. I have witnessed a number of near-death experiences and experienced a fair share of them myself. The first thing cyclists and pedestrians need to be safe is to have a clear segregation of cycle and foot paths from the roads. All too often do I see cars moving into or blocking cycle lanes, which is probably one of the main reasons why less confident cyclists and parents with their children are often too afraid to cycle along busy roads. This is the case on busy road such as Trumpington Road, but also in some smaller streets in the new developments and in the north of Trumpington where drivers are often in a rush, for example during the school run. At the same time, we have to address the problem that cycle lanes and pavements are often used by e-scooters which can be perceived as threatening by cyclists and pedestrians. Clearer lane segregation would also help car drivers to predict cyclists' behaviour and pay attention to cyclists in places where it matters the most. A general reduction in car traffic and better active travel infrastructure would benefit everyone, including those who will still depend on using their cars. |
Shapour MEFTAH (Conservative Party) |
The candidate has not responded to the survey. |
Carlos TORANZOS (Labour Party) |
I do not have a car, I think that give me a better view of how difficult is to go from a to b, but I have learnt that going from a to be could be done by going to c and walking. Shopping centres should organise free buses from villages thus encouraging people to travel on public transport and not using their cars. We must make sure public transport is really environmentally friendly, good by petrol and diesel. Public transport should be all electric |
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.