Comment

North East Cambridge Area Action Plan Issues and Options 2019

Representation ID: 32579

Received: 08/03/2019

Respondent: Mr Dan Mace

Representation Summary:

4. Green space and green corridors.
One of the things that makes Cambridge special is its green corridors and spaces, and green space should be given high priority on this site. It is also important that the barrier formed by the A14 is minimised, so green corridors should link with the Jane Costen Bridge and new crossings for e.g. a green corridor to Waterbeach.

Full text:

1. Junction of Milton Road and Cowley Road.
This junction needs major improvement. I cycle through here 10x per week. It is hard for cyclists to safely negotiate from/to Milton Road to/from Cowley Road. Sending traffic from Cambridge North Station up Cowley Road where it has to compete with traffic from the Innovation Centre also leads to significant, and unnecessary congestion and delays particularly between 4pm and 6pm in the evening. We need a 4-way crossing or roundabout here combined with the proposed green bridge to provide a safe route for cyclists.

The proposed Green Bridge should give good access to the Innovation Centre, Jane Costen Bridge and the housing and businesses proposed for the NE corner of the site. I believe most cyclists and pedestrians would access these rather than Cambridge North Station.

2. Proposed enhanced cycle and pedestrian way through the Science Park.
The proposed enhanced pedestrian and cycling corridor between Cambridge North and CRC is mis-named. The busway cycle route works well for this and the crossing of Milton Road isn't too bad. See later comment on this. I believe most cyclists and pedestrians going from CRC to Cambridge North would continue to use the busway path which is of high quality. There is a need for an enhanced pedestrian and cycling corridor between CRC and the Innovation & Business Parks and the proposed housing and businesses, and the
proposed route makes sense. But it must be of as high quality as the busway route, with as few junctions to negotiate as possible.

3. Busway - Milton Road crossing.
As stated above, this crossing isn't too bad. My wife uses it about 8x per week and is happy. The wait for cyclists to cross Milton Road is a little long, but other than that this isn't too bad. This is a good route from CRC to Cambridge North.

4. Green space and green corridors.
One of the things that makes Cambridge special is its green corridors and spaces, and green space should be given high priority on this site. It is also important that the barrier formed by the A14 is minimised, so green corridors should link with the Jane Costen Bridge and new crossings for e.g. a green corridor to Waterbeach.

5. Light industrial space.
I was really disappointed that the light industrial units shown on the original Orchard Park plans were never built. All that was built were 2 hotels and I suspect the remaining space will become houses. I'm really keen to see this included, not least because I work for a small business that is looking for industrial space within 3 miles of Cambridge. This is not easy to find. Places like St John's Innovation Centre are fully occupied by small, thriving companies, and more space near the centre of Cambridge is needed. I'm also very keen to see developments where people can work close to where they live.

6. Station area.
This works well. It would be useful to have a few more very short stay spaces (15 minutes). The development should strive to avoid creating bottle necks between Milton Road the Station Area and in particular avoiding the poor design of the approach to Cambridge Central Station.