Two new Cambridge park and ride sites being explored
A controversial park and ride site at Chrome Lea has been ditched and two new sites are being considered.
A new park and ride facility to the west of Cambridge could be established at one of two potential sites that are being explored by the Greater Cambridge Partnership.
It’s all part of the GCP’s plans to improve commuting from the west of the city. The park and ride sites are being proposed alongside plans for a busway as part of the GCP’s most expensive project to date.
A highly contested park and ride proposal at Crome Lea, off Madingley Mulch roundabout, has been ruled out by the partnership, which is now proposing a potential park and ride site at the Waterworks site off Long Road and an alternative site at Scotland Farm, north of the A428 at Dry Drayton.
A GCP statement said: “The Cambourne to Cambridge scheme will provide faster, more frequent and reliable bus journeys to the city, along with new cycling and walking facilities. It will help deliver some 8,800 new homes and 15,000 new jobs along the route over the next 15 years.
“Without any action, congestion on the A428 could more than double - with peak-time queue lengths along the A1303 as far back as Madingley Mulch Roundabout from the M11 junction 13 for inbound traffic.”
The GCP carried out detailed assessments of five potential sites on and around the A428. Of these, two are recommended for consultation:
Scotland Farm – a site north of the A428 at Scotland Farm
Waterworks – a site off Long Road at Madingley Mulch
Fast and reliable bus services are identified by the GCP as a short to medium term transport solution, with a recent survey of the St Ives to Cambridge Guided Busway showing more than a third (37 per cent) would have travelled by car as an alternative.
The Partnership is currently undertaking a study to explore the potential for greater use of electric buses.
Future rapid mass transit solutions for the Greater Cambridge area are currently being explored looking at both over-ground and underground transport systems. Options being explored include light rail and a new form of public transport ‘Affordable Very Rapid Transport’ (AVRT). A feasibility report is due to report to the Greater Cambridge Partnership in November.
If the GCP board executive board decides to move forward with the scheme at a meeting on September 20 public consultation would take place during November and December.
Phase 1 of the Cambourne to Cambridge project, a new Park & Ride site and bus route into Cambridge, has a budget of £59m to 2019. The GCP says the route is being assessed as a whole to ‘ensure that the whole picture on its future potential is understood’.
