This article was published in 2006, in Newsletter 65.
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Recently in North Cambridge we’ve seen the ‘improvement’ of two snickets within half a mile of each other in very similar situations at the end of cul-de-sac streets near schools. These are the snicket used by children attending St. Luke’s School to get from Harvey Goodwin Avenue through to French’s Road, and the one used by children attending Mayfield School to get from Windsor Road through to Warwick Road.
In both cases, these snickets allow children to avoid having to use busy roads, these being Victoria Road and Histon Road.
The contrast in what has been done is interesting. The Warwick Road snicket has had access improved by removal of barriers (though sadly not the dangerous pram bars) while the French’s Road snicket has had virtually identical barriers installed. This continues the piecemeal treatment of cyclists and pedestrians that we’re used to seeing around Cambridge.
On the plus side, French’s Road has had a flush kerb fitted. The dropped kerb on Windsor Road, on the other hand, is not flush but should be made so. Flush dropped kerbs are exactly the sort of small thing which makes a big difference. In themselves an improvement ‘on the cheap.’ Removing the rather tatty looking ‘Cycling Prohibited’ signs ought to be cheap, too.
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David Hembrow