Issue - meetings

Start time 20:00

 

James Palmer, Mayor of Cambridgeshire and Peterborough to outline the Combined Authority’s vision for transport in the south of Cambridge City, including bus services.

 

Councillor Lewis Herbert, Leader of Cambridge City Council will attend to represent the City’s transport vision.

 

Questions and answers (30 minutes).

The Committee received presentations from James Palmer (Mayor for Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Combined Authority) and Lewis Herbert (Leader of Cambridge City Council) regarding transport vision for Cambridge focusing on South Area issues and opportunities.

 

Mayor Palmer outlined:

i.             There was pressure on housing in the south of the County.

ii.            It was important that the next generation were able to afford to live in Cambridge.

iii.           An Independent Economic Review due to be published on Friday set out the need for a Metro system in Cambridge. A high quality bus service would be required to move people around and get people to the Metro system. He wanted to move people from cars to use the Metro system.

iv.          He believed in a congestion charge for Cambridge but not before the Metro system was in place.

v.           The Metro system for South Cambridgeshire (and not just Cambridge) was estimated to cost £2.5 - 3 billion. To raise the finance to build the Metro system it was proposed to buy agricultural land and develop garden villages. Finance from these developments would be used to fund the Metro.

vi.          He commented that there needed to be links in areas of potential growth.

vii.         Most of the growth had been in the south of Cambridge. And problems arose when you tried to get around the city.

viii.       The timescale for delivering the Metro system was 2023-2029. 

ix.          He was working with the GCP to accelerate bus ways.

x.           His view of park and rides was that this moved travel issues to particular areas.

 

The Leader for Cambridge City Council outlined:

             i.          Cambridge was a transport destination.

            ii.          In the future the City Council and South Cambridgeshire District Council would approve their Local Plans with some changes, one of which was more jobs at the Biomedical Campus.

          iii.          There were some imbalances in transport but the City Council was working with the GCP to address this.

          iv.          Expect will need transformational public transport offer.

           v.          The work on the Metro tunnelling was due in December and would clarify technical detail. He questioned how the project would be funded and where the Metro stations would be situated.

          vi.          He was a defender of bus services and cycling.

        vii.          The public report on the South East Cambridge route may make a major difference for people getting into and out of Cambridge.

       viii.          Commented that Stagecoach was not offering good bus services and people needed to be dissuaded from driving into Cambridge.

          ix.          He did not share Mayor Palmer’s view about park and rides. He also commented that there needed to be a shuttle bus between Babraham and Trumpington park and ride sites.

 

The Committee discussed the following issues:

             i.          Asked Mayor Palmer whether it was within his powers to encourage competition for bus operators.

            ii.          Had written to Mayor Palmer on behalf of South Area Committee to plea for local bus services.However when pushed for one route to be saved, this was to the detriment of another route.

          iii.          Wanted Stagecoach to stop deleting bus services without consultation.

          iv.          Commented that it was often the less privileged, elderly and women who were disadvantaged when bus services were cut.

           v.          Asked when the start time was for A1307 Cambridge South East Approach

 

Mayor Palmer made the following comments in response to Members’ questions:

             i.          A bus review was being undertaken, he had the power to franchise but he wanted to see the outcome of the bus review before making any decisions. A meeting with the Chairman of Stagecoach had been arranged.

            ii.          Commented that it wasn’t just Cambridge that suffered from poor bus service provision the rest of the county were also affected.

          iii.          The bus service review would look at all options, if voluntary charges were introduced this could make a substantial difference.

          iv.          If buses were more comfortable then more people may be likely to use them. People could not rely on buses to get them to and from work therefore a better system needed to be created.

 

Councillor Herbert made the following comments:

i.             Asked why bus tickets were not transferable and also commented that there needed to be a solution to raise significantly more money to improve bus services, air quality and reduce car journeys.

ii.             The main public transport into Cambridge was buses other than the train through Ely.

iii.             Confirmed that dates would be provided to South Area Committee for the quick wins under Phase 1 of the A1307 Cambridge South East Approach.

 

Following the meeting in response to the question regarding dates for quick win projects, the Project Manager at the GCP confirmed the following:

·        Safety improvements at Dalehead Foods were anticipated to be completed by the end of November.

·        Eastbound bus lane at Linton, completion by the end of January 2019.

·        Additional cycle storage and lockers at Babraham Park and Ride by the end of January 2019.

·        Upgraded signal controller at Linton Village College by the end of February 2019.

·        The remainder of Phase 1 will be completed by the end of the 2020/21 financial year.

 

Members of the public asked a number of questions, as set out below.

 

1.      Asked if there were any firm quantifications of the cost of sinking per mile for the Metro system and asked where would stations be sited, for example every mile?

 

Mayor Palmer confirmed that stations would be sited around 5 miles, £50 million for light rail, £120 million for stations and £10 million for stations outside of Cambridge.  

 

2.        Lived in Cherry Hinton was generally supportive of the Metro but expressed concerns around the financing of the system. He would like to see bus services delivered by communities. He believed that low cost fares were a strong encouragement for people to use buses.

 

3.        Believed in park and rides and saw the practical benefit. He had sent a letter to Mayor Palmer on 29 July but hadn’t received a response. Expressed disappointment regarding the Biomedical Campus.

 

Mayor Palmer commented that he opposed park and rides as they seemed to transfer vehicle movement issues to outside of the city. The road network could not cope with the number of vehicles; this was why he was proposing a Metro system.

 

Councillor Herbert commented that the Biomedical Campus had had faster growth than projected, the whole site needed to be looked at. The Addenbrooks site could be reconfigured. He believed in park and rides or else there would be no travel solutions for a decade. The Access Study was due to report in November 2018. He commented that people outside Cambridge needed to be encouraged to use bus services.

 

4.              Asked whether a review of bus services would make sure that less polluting buses were provided.

 

Mayor Palmer commented that he was in favour of low emission options and would do everything that he was able to do in the franchising option.

 

5.              Commented that discussions had focused on putting in housing and transport but there had been no discussions about providing facilities close to homes so that people could walk and cycle to them.  The local plan was due to allocate housing on Worts Causeway but no community facilities were being provided, these types of facilities could help bring people together to reinvigorate local communities.

 

Councillor Herbert commented that once the Local Plan was approved this would provide clarity.  Commented that this issue needed to be considered for the land north of Cherry Hinton.