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Supporters ‘relieved’ by decision to introduce bus gate on Mill Road bridge in Cambridge




Supporters of the Mill Road bridge bus gate were quick to react after councillors voted to approve the modal filter.

Councillors backed the proposal at a special meeting on Friday (4 October) after considering the responses received to a recent statutory notice period on the Traffic Regulation Order (TRO).

Mill Road bridge GV. Picture: Keith Heppell
Mill Road bridge GV. Picture: Keith Heppell

Members of Cambridgeshire County Council’s highways and transport committee voted nine to five to approve the scheme.

Following the decision, Anna Williams, head of campaigns and engagement at Camcycle, said: “Camcycle welcomes the decision councillors have made today and thank those who spoke in favour of the Mill Road bus gate and the many more who sent messages of support in response to the TRO.

“The community has been calling for restrictions on Mill Road bridge for over 50 years and waiting for a new bus gate for over three years now: it’s essential that the county council moves quickly to implement the scheme.

“It must also work with the community on the accompanying public realm improvements such as pavement widening, additional cycle parking, delivery bays and new planting, so that all those who love this street can enjoy maximum benefits to their walking, wheeling and cycling journeys and their time spent living, working, shopping and socialising on the street.”

Elisabeth Whitebread, of Cambridgeshire Families for Sustainable Travel, added: “Speaking today, our group was really glad to be able to bring some of the voices of young people into the meeting today. We hope to see the bus gate implemented quickly now so that families in and around Mill Road can start to benefit from cleaner air and safer streets.”

The county council says work will start in November to install the bus gate, which it expects will be completed by December.

Once complete, the bridge will be closed to all motor vehicles, except buses, pedestrians, cyclists, emergency services, taxis and blue badge holders’ registered vehicles. The bus gate will be enforced by Automatic Number Plate Recognition cameras (ANPR).

A statement from the Mill Road 4 People group following the vote said they are delighted by today’s decision, adding that they see it as the starting point for positive change.

The statement says: “After three consultations, all showing majority support for traffic restrictions on the bridge, it is a great relief that work is now scheduled to begin in November.

“As objectors were reminded in the committee meeting, Mill Road does not fulfil the criteria of an arterial road: it is a largely residential C road, which has suffered from being a long straight route towards the city centre.

“Newspaper articles describing calls to limit Mill Road traffic go back more than 50 years, and we thank the members of today’s committee for putting in motion action that should have begun many years ago.

“Given the weight of evidence presented to councillors on the committee about the benefits of the modal filter, it was difficult to see that the vote could have gone a different way.

“As well as compelling testimony from local speakers, the committee was given evidence such as traffic counts from previous periods of closure as well as reports from a large number of similar schemes already operating around the country.

“All the evidence points to the fact that Mill Road residents and business owners will benefit from lower levels of traffic.”

The group says there are “so many ways” that Mill Road can be removed once a large volume of traffic has been removed from the street.

The statement continues: “We look forward to working with local politicians and other groups to make these changes happen.

“The last couple of years have been difficult for our local community. Some people have disagreed with our aims, and this has sometimes caused friction. However, we know that everyone who has campaigned on the bus gate and Mill Road more generally has done so through a genuine desire to do their best for our area.

“We hope everyone will now accept today’s democratic decision and that we can all work together to create the vibrant, successful Mill Road we all want to see.”

The Friends of Mill Road Bridge, which has fought against the closure, has yet to give its reaction.



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