These pages detail design proposals for the Emmanuel Street and Drummer Street area (not including the bus station). The proposals are part of the Stage 4 of the Cambridge Core Traffic Scheme, which the public were consulted on last summer (May / June 2005).

Why are the changes necessary?
In 1999, to reduce congestion, the County Council set a target of a 70% increase in the number of people using buses in the city centre by 2011. In order to achieve this we expect 40% more buses to be using the city centre by 2011.

This means conditions for buses have to be improved. Currently the busiest bus stops (Drummer Street - Emmanuel Street - St. Andrew's Street) are located in an area frequently affected by traffic congestion, causing significant problems with the punctuality of bus services. Everyone, particularly pedestrians, whether they are waiting for buses or passing through the area, experiences the resulting poor environment.

Many people choose to access the Historic City Centre by cycle. Improving the safety and ease of access for cyclists is necessary to encourage more people to cycle.

The Grand Arcade and Bradwell's Court shopping developments are expected to be completed by 2008. It is expected that both these developments will increase demand for access in the area and improvements need to be made to ensure easy access to cambridge's newest shopping developments.

Where have these proposals come from?
The Cambridge Core Traffic Scheme covers the area within the inner ring road. Better management of bus operations in the city centre is a key part of the proposals. Emmanuel Street is being made one-way towards St. Andrew's Street to reduce congestion and delays to services. Therefore, bus stops will only be located on the south east side. Redesigning Emmanuel Street to provide a high quality environment for bus passengers is also a key element of the overall proposals.

In addition all bus operators using bus stops in the area would be required to sign up to a Quality Bus Partnership (QBP) which amongst other things would deliver the following objectives:

• Improve bus stop use, with buses occupying stops for no longer than necessary and increase the chance of buses being able to pull into their correct stop.
• Improve ticketing facilities to speed up boarding
• Introduce on-street support staff based at a new management office in the bus station
• Improve arrangements for letting bus users know about changes to services
• Reduce bus emissions to improve air quality.

The proposals have been designed to improve the environment in the area and have been developed following discussions with a group made up of people who own premises in the area (including colleges and retailers), bus and taxi operators, representatives from cycle groups, and disabled badge holders along with city and county staff and councillors. Initial design principles were included in the Core Scheme Stage 4 Consultation leaflet distributed in May / June 2005. Feedback from this consultation showed support for the initial design principles to be developed in more details. We have no developed these proposals in more detail and we would like your comments - Do you think we have go it right?