Elections

It is rare to see a cyclist daring to venture round Mitcham's Corner. It is currently far too intimidating and dangerous. I have twice been hit from behind when leaving Milton Road to enter Mitcham's Corner, once on a bike, once in a car.

This is what would help:-

20 mph speed limit - or slower.

Block the cut-through from Mitcham's Corner to Chesterton Road, by Lloyds, so that the pavement is continuous and so that pedestrians are not intimidated by trying to cross this unnecessary bit of road, where you cannot tell if a car is going to turn into it as no one signals.

Zebra crossings, not pelican crossings.

Where there are pelican crossings, make the timings friendly to pedestrians, not to vehicles. Don't make us wait for up to a minute in the wind and rain, as dry drivers sail past in their cosy warm cars.

Improve the crossroads of Chesterton Road, Ferry Lane, and Herbert Street, outside the Co-op, so that it is safe for cyclists and pedestrians to cross. It is heavily used by pedestrians and by cyclists who cross Chesterton Road here, but there is no provision for them and no safety.

Narrow the road as you enter Mitcham's Corner from Milton Road, and put a clear STOP sign on the road, so that we are safe cycling onto and round Mitcham's Corner here.

Address the problem of motor vehicles accelerating fast away from Mitcham's Corner, round the corner into Chesterton Road, and along Chesterton Road outside Barclay's.

Remove visually intrusive and ugly advertising clutter - the garishly illuminated boards on the pavement outside Barclay's (which block the pavement), the advertising signs as you enter Mitcham's Corner from Milton Road, which distract motorists and block their view of oncoming cyclists.

Repair the damaged stone wall around the pleasant raised grassy green near Lloyds.

Install a zebra crossing from the island at the bottom of Victoria Road across to the other side, outside the old Staples building.

Slow traffic down as it whizzes round the corner by the Portland Arms, ready to hit cyclists and people crossing Milton Road from right to left just round the (blind) corner, before the zebra crossing. It is a heavily used "path of desire".

Benches. Noticeboards for local events.

Better control of new shop fronts and new buildings so that they fit in with the pleasing existing Victorian/early twentieth century shopfronts.

Encouragement to dawdle, to idle, to pause, rather than the current intimidating Hyde Park Corner effect.

Changes to road surface/colour to make clear that it is somewhere which prioritises people, not motor vehicles.

It always seems to me that the stretch of Chesterton Road from Mitcham's Corner to the roundabout could easily, with a bit of paint, be transformed. No heavy engineering, just a decent wide legally enforceable cycle lane (current one is much better than before), double yellow lines, enforce no parking on pavements, and especially not on the dual use pedestrian/cyclist pavement on the north side.

See also suggestions in question 1 re Mitcham's Corner.

A proper crossing, and dropped kerbs for pushchairs, etc, across Chesterton Road at the end of Chesterton Hall Crescent.

It looks to me as if this stretch of road between Mitcham's Corner and the roundabout would be wide enough to have a strip of trees along the middle - a boulevard! Surely do-able if there were narrower vehicle lanes, such as in Hills Road.

Junction of Ferry Lane and Chesterton Road - this is currently dangerous for the many cyclists and pedestrians emerging onto Chesterton Road and going to the pelican crossing, as drivers swing fast into Ferry Lane, and often use it to do unexpected U-turns. The pavement could be built out at the corner to prevent this.

Remove the obstructive clutter of large signs, etc outside the Spar shop.

Buses. We need benches/somewhere decent to sit that is not a hard cold plastic perch, and shelter from rain and wind, at bus stops.

Decent up-to-date information at bus stops. Where there is an electronic display, it needs to be clarified whether this is the bus timetable or real-time what is actually happening.

Current £2 limit on bus fares is good - press central government to extend.

Residents' parking schemes. These currently hugely favour car-owning households over non-car-owning households. It costs only £1 a week to park a car whereas a visitor's permit costs £2.50 for each visit - £15 a week. Unfair on those who cannot, or choose not to, have a car. And no incentive not to have a car.

Why not make visitor's permits less expensive? And when they run out - they are valid only for a year or less - make them exchangeable or refundable, as they used to be.

Why not increase the charge for a resident's permit to a more realistic level, as in other towns? Why not have a sliding scale for a second or third car? It seems strange to encourage one house to have three cars, and to store all three on the public highway.

Walking. Too often walking is complicated and difficult - obstructing vegetation, permanent puddles, uneven, dangerous surfaces.

Stop pavement parking.

One very simple measure - where a street is marked as a cul-de-sac, with no exit, add an "Except cycles" sign underneath. Knowing that you can cut through somewhere on foot or on a bike and have a short cut or avoid a nasty main road can make such a difference.

Electric cars are not the magic solution they are advertised as being. They are still cars, with all the problems cars pose of danger to other people, noise, taking up space on the public highway, clutter, decreasing any sense of community and communality.

I would be strongly in favour of a Workplace Parking Levy. It seems strange to encourage people working in Cambridge to drive because they have free parking.

Why not go the full Luxembourg and explore having free public transport throughout the city (and the neighbouring area?), just as Luxembourg - and other places elsewhere in Europe - have done?

I've cycled all my life, including in the 1980s and 1990s in London. It is my main method of transport in Cambridge. I go to Bedford often and always use the bus.

Sadly, cycling still feels intimidating and frightening. I avoid main roads, as I have had too many frightening experiences. I avoid being anywhere near buses, as I have seen too often how some bus drivers drive around cyclists (why not give them training to experience what is like on a bike). I use quiet roads, the commons, the towpath etc. and ride very defensively and sedately. Yet I still encounter far too much aggressive, intimidating driving.

Cycling as a way of getting around is glorious - fresh air, the sun on your face, the ability to stop off without thinking about where to dump a large metal object, being able to bump into someone you know and stop and chat, the serendipity, the freedom. It is just such a pity that it can be so daunting.

The disagreeableness of being surrounded by speedy motor traffic - the noise, the sense of danger, the alienation - all discourage active travel.

Far too many friends and people I know have been killed or injured by drivers.