Cambridge’s Chisholm Trail opens – a triumph of persistent campaigning

Nearly a quarter of a century after he came up with the idea, Jim Chisholm yesterday cut the ribbon on a cycle route running across Cambridge that bears his name – The Chisholm Trail.

The veteran campaigner conceived the route back in 1998 – a year in which the Tour de France started in Dublin, the Blair government was still in its honeymoon period, and Arsenal won the World Cup – and the final section, the new Abbey-Chesterton pedestrian and cycling bridge across the River Cam is now open.

Chisholm – pictured below with his wife, Jane – was joined at the opening by Councillors Dave Baigent and Neil Gough from the Greater Cambridge Partnership Executive Board and Councillor Peter McDonald, Chair of Cambridgeshire County Council’s Highways and Transport Committee.

Besides the new bridge connecting East Chesterton to Barnwell, the route also includes an underpass crossing beneath Newmarket Road, and new paths have also been built connecting Cambridge North station with Coldham’s Lane.

Roxanne De Beaux, executive director of Camcycle, the cycling campaign group for Cambridge and the wider region, said: “This is a fantastic Christmas present for local communities who have waited so long for this route to be finished. It will be the perfect place for children who have received a cycle from Santa to test out their new wheels and a vital new link from residential areas to local schools, shops, jobs and activities.

“Thousands more people now have new options for their everyday journeys that involve cycling or walking away from busy roads,

Chisholm said: “My professional background in transport modelling helped me realise that providing high-quality active travel routes in and around Cambridge would enable many more people to leave their car at home.

“It’s predicted that around four thousand walking and cycling trips will be made on this new route each day, bringing health and wellbeing benefits to individuals and reducing congestion and air pollution for everyone in the city.

“I have always envisaged this route as a ‘linear park’, suitable for everyone, and look forward to seeing a wide range of people walking, cycling and wheeling along the route in the coming months,” he added.