A new bus lane in this area could produce a time saving of nearly two minutes, reducing the bus journey time by 75% over this congested section during peak periods.

As well as this scheme at Hinchingbrooke Park junction and the contra-flow bus lane on Walden Road, other bus and cycle priority improvements are planned for the Huntingdon area, which are Old Houghton Road, A1123 Houghton Road approaching St Ives and Hartford Road in Huntingdon.

When all of these improvements are completed they will provide a consistent and attractive route for current and future bus users in the area.

The project so far

A public consultation took place in the Spring 2005 on a package of proposed bus priority measures in and around Huntingdon. The majority of respondents to this initial public consultation favoured a bus lane at Hinchingbrooke Park Junction, which was part of these proposals, with 352 respondents in favour of the bus lane and 182 against.

At its meeting on June 15, 2005 the Huntingdonshire Traffic Management Area Joint Committee, made up of County and District Councillors, gave the go ahead for the detailed design of the various schemes to proceed, including the eastbound bus lane at the junction of Hinchingbrooke Park Road and Brampton Road.

At it's meeting on 13 June 2006, Cambridgeshire County Council’s Cabinet approved construction of this bus lane, subject to public consultation on the detailed design and the availability of sufficient funds.

A consultation on the detailed design has recently taken place, and as a repsonse to requests made as part of the consultation, the Scholar's Avenue pedestrian island will remain.

On 22 January 2008 Cabinet approved the scheme for construction.

The scheme features

The bus lane will start on Hinchingbrooke Park Road close to the entrance of Cambridgeshire Constabulary Headquarters and run in an eastbound direction onto Brampton Road. The bus lane will end about 100 metres short of the railway bridge.

In addition to the new bus lane, a new Toucan crossing, which is a controlled crossing that can be used by both cyclists and pedestrians, is proposed to cross Brampton Road. A new drop-off point for cars is to be created on Hinchingbrooke Park Road adjacent to the school, to the north of its underpass with Brampton Road.

The normal vehicle exit eastbound onto Brampton Road is to be realigned to give drivers better visibility when exiting the junction.

There will be a new controlled pedestrian crossing installed further up on the Brampton Road, but many people also requested that the Scholars Avenue pedestrian island was retained. We have listened to your views and will be keeping the pedestrian crossing in place.

How much will the scheme cost?

The cost of this scheme is to be met by funding from the Local Transport Plan and developers working in the area. It is estimated to cost in the region of £850,000.

What is the programme?

The programme for the project is outlined below:

 
Please note, these timescales are indicative and may be subject to change.

Further information

If you would like further information about the project or the construction works, please contact the Project Team using the contact details on the right hand side.