Today, at the Highways and Transport Committee, councillors heard about the progress on active travel schemes around Cambridgeshire and accepted more than £4m of additional funding from the Combined Authority and Active Travel England (ATE).
In recent years, the council has delivered active travel schemes across the county through more than £2m of funding from various ATE’s Active Travel Funds.
A further £1,125,046, has been secured through Active Travel Fund 5, to progress six schemes, including:
- Alconbury Weald to Huntingdon Station – part of the Local Cycling and Walking Infrastructure Plan (LCWIP), the existing shared use path will be widened between Alconbury and Huntingdon Business Park, with design work already undertaken using funding from previous rounds. Improvements will also be made to crossings at side roads.
- Wilbraham school route – the existing footpaths are narrow, and a safety concern for those wishing to walk to school. The funding will allow for land to be bought, and the footpath widened – encouraging more active school journeys.
- A505 Granta Park – part of the LCWIP, a new shared-use path alongside the A505 slip road, including traffic signals for vehicles, will be fully designed that creates a link between the existing shared path on the A505 and Granta Science and Technology Park. Some preliminary design work was undertaken with Active Travel Fund 4 money.
- Stuntney to Ely – part of the long-term LCWIP route aiming to link Ely to Soham, the next phase is detailed design of the route from Bridge Fen allotments to Ben's Yard, to provide a cycling and walking link to this expanding retail village.
Councillors heard separately that the Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Combined Authority has agreed to allocate £175,000 to support the design of active travel schemes between Girton and Oakington, and Witchford and Lancaster Way Business Park.
All of these schemes will help provide residents with opportunities to walk, wheel or cycle.
At today’s committee meeting, an update was also heard on plans for an Ely to Witchford active travel crossing. Three options have been considered for this location, with public consultation taking place earlier this year. One of two overbridge suggestions scored particularly highly in the options assessment and was also popular with the public.
A bridge would remove the need for pedestrians and cyclists to cross the A10, significantly reducing any risk of accidents, and would also have the least impact on traffic at the A10 Witchford BP roundabout.
These proposals will next be considered by the Combined Authority’s Transport Committee, with approval required before it can be taken forward to the next planning phase. The estimated costs of the preferred overbridge option significantly exceed the existing budget that the Combined Authority has allocated for this scheme. If this option is selected, further funding will need to be secured prior to construction being approved.
Cllr Alex Beckett, chair of the Highways and Transport Committee at Cambridgeshire County Council, said: “It’s great that extra funding has been secured to deliver a further six active travel schemes across the county – in addition to the 18 schemes we have delivered through Active Travel England funding to date.
“I was also pleased to hear today the latest proposals for the Ely to Witchford active travel crossing over the A10. This urgently awaited scheme has the potential to significantly boost active travel in East Cambridgeshire – safely opening up a difficult route. We're working with the Combined Authority and I hope they will deliver a solution as quickly as possible.
“When active travel becomes the ‘go to’ option for local journeys then we all share in the benefits – safer streets, more interactive communities, cleaner air and better health.”
Cambridgeshire County Council has an Active Travel Centre of Excellence, with the Cambridgeshire and Peterborough area awarded level ‘three’ out of four for our approach to active travel by Active Travel England – the joint highest rating in the country.
The committee papers considered at today’s meeting can be found on our website and it was live streamed on our YouTube channel.
