The elected mayor of the Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Combined Authority has given his backing to closing Mill Road Bridge in Cambridge again through reinstating a bus gate there that was removed two months ago despite protests from active travel campaigners.
Dr Nik Johnson’s comments follow a meeting with transport minister Chris Heaton-Harris over the authority’s plans for active travel following the decision of the Department for Transport (DfT) to withhold funding due in part to the reopening of the bridge to all traffic at the start of August.
The bridge, just north of Cambridge station, lies on a street with dozens of shops and restaurants, most of them independents, and some traders who fought hard against the original closure have likewise said they will oppose putting it back in place.
Mill Road also has a number of residential roads running off it on either side of the railway, many in historic low traffic neighbourhoods, and the bridge had originally been closed last year as part of the response to the coronavirus pandemic.
However, Cambridgeshire County Council decided to end the trial scheme in late July, despite a survey showing that 59 per cent of people wanted the bus gate retained as it was or with additional improvements, and 55 per cent of respondents agreeing it made them feel safer.
Following his meeting with the minister and DfT staff, Dr Johnson said: “I recognise the previous controversies surrounding schemes such as the Mill Road Bridge closure and the Crescent Bridge active travel schemes.
“I support the direction of travel around restricting traffic movements in these areas, subject to a full and meaningful consultation which will deliver the improvements in air quality and lifestyle, which are so important to my ambition to placing public health at the heart of all policy.
“Understandably, the government needs guarantees that public money for active travel schemes is being well spent and delivers for the people of Cambridgeshire and Peterborough. They have given us reassurances that the money will become forthcoming if these can be met.
“I will continue to work co-operatively with the government and all local interested parties to ensure the successful delivery of future active travel funding, which will benefit all communities here in Cambridgeshire and Peterborough,” he added.
Local residents’ campaign group, Mill Road For People (MR4P), said it was “delighted” to hear the news and hailed it as a “huge victory for local people.”
“We believe a bus gate is an essential component of an improved Mill Road and also of a coherent city-wide traffic management plan,” the group said in a statement.
“In addition, the government has made it crystal clear that the current situation is not consistent with their active travel plans and failure to deliver will result in funding cuts.
“As a result of our door knocking and regular street stalls, as well as the MR4P’s large and rapidly-growing membership, we know for certain that this is what local people want.”
The group, which is currently undertaking its own survey to canvass the views of students and parents at local schools, said that other measures were needed to improve Mill Road for people, including wider pavements and an improved streetscape, with its ideas published on its website.
“In addition, we are continuing to push for a truly meaningful consultation,” the group said. “This shouldn’t be a referendum on a bus gate, but a much more ambitious process to look at all aspects of a successful street.
“It should be based on solid research and delivered in a way that gathers views from as many people as possible,” it added.
Speaking on BBC Radio Cambridgeshire, Roxanne De Beaux, executive director at cycling campaign group Camcycle, said: “We’ve heard the strong emphasis from the government for quite some time about needing to see commitment from local authorities to implementing active travel schemes.
“Mill Road is dangerous in its current situation and that’s why Camcycle is so determined to see something done there to make it safe for cycling.
“But, even more so, we believe that it’s a road that has such potential to be a wonderful place to go and spend time and money. It should feel like a place for the community, not a high traffic environment,” she added.
-1024x680.jpg "“Clear anti-cyclist bias”: Lawsuit filed against Toronto police after cop doored cyclist… before ticketing rider over incident")
9 thoughts on “Mayor backs bus gate being reinstated on bridge on Cambridge’s busy Mill Road”
I’m glad to see that this
I’m glad to see that this country is finally levelling up by **checks notes** installing, then removing and then installing schemes for active travel.
It sure sends a strong message from strong leadership.
Yeah, because it’s obviously
Yeah, because it’s obviously Boris Johnson’s fault that the Lib Dems and Labour cllrs in charge of the local authority decided to do the hokey cokey.
Perhaps you should write to the ex MEP Lib Dem Lucy Nethsingha and the Labour paediatrician to demand they get their act together?
Steady, Nigel.
Steady, Nigel.
Surely you know by now that on Road.cc, EVERYTHING is the fault of the Prime Minister? No ifs, no buts, no nuance, no grey areas, no subtleties, no dissenting opinions / views entertained. (Brighton here we come!)
Well it can sometimes be
Well it can sometimes be biased, but I do respect the way that Road.cc allows alternative opinions – otherwise we’d be long gone wouldn’t we?
Flintshire Boy wrote:
Well to be fair, the Rt Hon. Boris Johnson is an unrecontructed (and unreconstructable) arsehole, or scum, as some have accurately put it.
The DfT withholding funding
The DfT withholding funding is pointless, as all it does is stop any more funding and lets the NIMBY’s win. They should be withholding funding in a way that hurts the council directly. Potholes for example.
Secret_squirrel wrote:
Even if they withheld funds for repairing potholes, it’d still be hurting people that want to use active travel and letting NIMBYs win.
What’s really needed is some national initiatives rather than leaving it up to local councils and then decrying “we tried to get them to clean up their act, but they just like driving around too much”.
I’m not sure if this debate
I’m not sure if this debate is squirrels only, but I’ll add my two penn’orth.
The DfT (or Active Travel England when it’s set up) can reduce a local authority’s overall transport budget if the authority is failing on active travel. They need to have some kind of threat/leverage, otherwise most councils will carry on being crap.
So punish the council by
So punish the council by witholding funding to fill in potholes. I wonder which main travel source is more susceptible to pothole related serious injury and death. That will teach those councils and irresponsible car drivers.