Mayor backs bus gate being reinstated on bridge on Cambridge’s busy Mill Road

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.