Cambridge needs to keep moving to function
Sponsored feature | By Ian Sandison, CEO of Cambridge BID
This week’s record low unemployment figures of 3.4 per cent confirm the stretch in the labour market that every employer is feeling. The overwhelming objective of all our local authorities needs to be ‘Can workers get to work, can deliveries be received?’ If this is not achievable, then the already critical hiring problems will worsen, our city centre will continue to function below its potential and workers will work elsewhere.
This is highlighted as follows – I’m lucky to live in the city and I am able to cycle or walk most places. I attended an event at the Fitzwilliam Museum at 6.30pm. As I picked up my phone, the diary invitation stated heavy traffic and gave a travel time of 40 minutes – my cycle along Mill, Lensfield and Trumpington roads was less than 10.
However, the main issue I encountered and the reason for the delay to traffic was at the Lensfield/Trumpington roads roundabout. Before the changes there used to be two lanes exiting Lensfield Road, and to turn right as a cyclist I would be safely in the wide right-hand lane. Now there is just one lane so I have to jostle with the majority of cars going left and this felt quite dangerous and the queues are adding to poor air quality.
I notice the Greater Cambridge Partnership has restarted consultation on more residents’ parking schemes in the city. This free parking is currently used by workers who have to drive because they can’t live in the city and there is no appropriate bus provision. Stagecoach is cancelling 18 or so mainly eastern and northern bus routes so this provision will worsen and the result will be more workers driving.
Most city centre retail, hospitality and leisure workers are paid around £10-11 per hour - less than 50 per cent of a striking train driver. As a consequence they need to park for free, otherwise they face paying £25 a day in a city centre car park. They will simply work in another place where there is cheaper parking, or get a bus or maybe even walk to work.
Read more from Ian Sandison and Cambridge BID
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