Have your say in cycle parking consultation in Cambridge

Consultation is under way on proposals to improve cycle parking and storage at Queen Anne Terrace car park in Cambridge, including replacing existing Sheffield stands with ‘toast rack’-style stands that make life harder for thieves.

The number of cycle parking spaces could be increased from 67 to 104 in the area undercover and from 16 to 52 outside. Six bays are also proposed in the undercover area for cargo bikes and freestanding cycles to park, replacing the existing three bays. Each bay will include two ground anchors for securing cycles.

And 10 CCTV cameras could be installed at the site – one outside and nine inside – covering all entry and exit routes. Sixteen similar cameras installed in the city centre in June 2023 captured over 300 incidents and led to more than 35 arrests by November.

The consultation has been launched by Cambridge City Council with support from the Greater Cambridge Partnership (GCP).

The feedback received will inform the designs, which will be considered by the city council later this year.

Cllr Elisa Meschini, chair of the GCP’s executive board, said: “By increasing security and providing additional cycle parking at this key location in the centre of Cambridge, we hope to give people more options to get to work, college or to enjoy the fantastic shops and leisure facilities in the city.

“We understand that safety is key to many people which is why these new designs look to incorporate not just improved facilities but also CCTV cameras.”

The toast rack-style racks proposed are intended to provide a more robust fixing method for the cycle stands. These racks feature two or more stands welded to horizontal bars secured through the deck or floor. The external cycle stands proposed along the front of the car park building will be root fixed into concrete foundations.

Other proposals developed with partners through the Cambridge Community Safety Partnership’s (CCSP) cycle crime prevention task and finish group and include:

- A redesign of the cycle parking area located at the front of the car park
- Improved signage
- An extension of the undercover cycle parking area and floor-to-ceiling fencing to improve security
- Installing restricted access control to a gated section of cycle parking.

Josh Grantham, Camcycle’s infrastructure campaigner, told the Cambridge Independent: “Queen Anne Terrace was one of the first places in Cambridge to feature dedicated cargo bike parking and it’s great to see the council expanding the capacity of spaces here for non-standard cycles, including trailers. The redesign to include an increase in cycle parking and an improvement in the security of the stands will help encourage more people to access this area by bike.

“We would encourage the council to install the suggested CCTV: from our work with the Cycle Crime Partnership, we know that a comprehensive approach is needed to prevent cycle theft and ensure that people are able to continue to enjoy the sustainable and affordable freedoms of travel that cycling brings.”

The consultations comes after a study of crimerate.co.uk data by online cycling coaching programme Thighs Club declared Cambridge to be the worst place to park a bike in the county, with 1,151 reported bike thefts in 2022 and a theft rate of 7.73 per 1000 residents.

Visit greatercambridge.org.uk/qat to complete the consultation by Friday, 1 March. Comments can be emailed to consultations@ greatercambridge.org.uk.