New Mill Road bridge consultation set to be approved

By Hannah Brown, Local Democracy Reporter

Published: 12:55, 28 October 2021

| Updated: 12:56, 28 October 2021

A new consultation on the future of Mill Road traffic restrictions is set for approval and could take place next year.

Bus Lane cameras and signage on Mill Road bridge . Picture: Keith Heppell. (52729256)

Cambridgeshire County Council’s highways and transport committee has been recommended to approve a new Mill Road consultation and for it to be carried out by the Greater Cambridge Partnership (GCP).

Mill Road bridge was closed to all vehicles, except buses, bicycles and pedestrians, in June 2020 as part of a trial and reopened earlier this year.

The county council said the restrictions were intended to help people social distance and “encourage” people to travel by bike or on foot.

The closure divided opinion, and at a meeting of the county council’s highways and transport committee in July this year, a narrow vote saw approval given for the bridge to be fully reopened.

A report published ahead of a highways and transport committee meeting due to take place next week (November 4), reveals that councillors will be asked to approve for a further consultation on the Mill Road ‘Experimental Traffic Regulation Orders’ (ETROs).

If approved, the GCP will be asked to carry out the consultation, “within the context” of the partnership’s City Access strategy.

Councillor Dave Baigent opposes the protestors at the Mill Road protest trying to keep the bridge open. Picture: Keith Heppell. (52729281)

The City Access strategy aims to address some of the “major pressures” on the local economy by reducing congestion and pollution, and by giving people “better, healthier, more sustainable options for their journeys”.

The report said: “Considering the Mill Road ETRO as part of the GCP’s City Access agenda would ensure a holistic approach to a future review of the traffic management on Mill Road is taken.

“The committee is therefore requested to support a further consultation on the Mill Road ETRO and asks GCP to carry it out within the context of its City Access proposals in 2022, a new consultation, building on earlier work.”

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Cambridge Environment Planning - Other Traffic and Travel Hannah Brown, Local Democracy Reporter