Cycling investment in Cambridge shifting up a gear

Efforts to justify increased investment into cycling uptake and infrastructure are being made.

The county council and Greater Cambridge Partnership are working with sustainable transport charity Sustrans.

It’s part of the Bike Life initiative. The partners will produce reports capturing data on infrastructure, travel habits, public attitudes and the impact of cycling.

The reports, due to be published in 2020 and 2022, will aim to build the case for a better cycling framework and inform planning at a local level ‘whilst shaping the funding landscape for active travel across the UK’.

Cllr Ian Bates, Cambridgeshire County Council’s chair of the Economy and Environment Committee and GCP board member, said: “I’m delighted that Greater Cambridge has been successful in joining the Sustrans Bike Life project.

“This means that much more data can be collected to gauge the progress that is being made in getting more people cycling more safely and more often across the area.

“Gathering more information will help build the case for further investment in walking and cycling, which is so important in helping to tackle traffic congestion, improve air quality and produce a network which allows a broader spread of people to feel safe and confident cycling.”

Almost £16 per resident has been spent on cycling improvements in Greater Cambridge over the last three years, on projects ranging from traffic signals that give priority to cyclists to new links between villages.

The cycling network across Greater Cambridge is set to expand further in 2018. The GCP is delivering five ‘cross-city cycling’ schemes and is developing 12 ‘Greenway’ routes linking nearby villages and employment sites to Cambridge.

The Chisholm Trail is also in development, which would provide a north-south cycle path through the centre of Cambridge.

The UK’s first Dutch-style roundabout is also planned at Fendon Road.