Fendon Road and Queen Edith's Way Roundabout

Queen Edith's Way and the Fendon Road / Queen Edith's Way / Mowbray Road roundabout form an important commuter route for cyclists from Cherry Hinton to:

• Addenbrookes Hospital
• Cambridge Biomedical Campus
• Long Road Sixth Form
• Cambridge Academy for Science and Technology
• Schools, colleges and nurseries in the Hills Road area
• The expanding ARM site on Fulbourn Road

Many children use Queen Edith's Way to walk or cycle to school in the Queen Edith's area. There is a GP surgery near the junction with Wulfstan Way. Local shops and three churches are well used by community groups on Wulfstan Way.

The Fendon Road / Queen Edith's Way / Mowbray Road roundabout was a barrier to all these users because:

• The roundabout only had central islands on each arm for pedestrians and cyclists to use
• The wide road allowed high vehicle speeds on and in the arms of the roundabout
• Motorists had no need to slow down when using the roundabout during off-peak times

Redesigning the roundabout gives pedestrians and cyclists priority over motorists. We hope by enhancing safety at the roundabout, more people will walk and cycle in the area.

A consultation took place in summer 2015 to seek views about travel issues with Queen Edith's Way. We received over 1,100 responses. 67% of respondents felt Queen Edith's way needed improvements for walking and cycling. Safety at the roundabout was a major concern.

A second consultation in summer 2016 proposed a Dutch-style roundabout. We received 647 responses and 155 of these were from residents of Queen Edith's Way. 433 people supported the proposal for the Dutch-style roundabout. 115 people opposed the idea.

On 10 November 2016, the Economy and Environment Committee gave approval for the Dutch-style roundabout. They also approved further engagement with residents and stakeholders for new cycleways on Queen Edith's Way. The agenda and minutes from the meeting can be found on our Cambridgeshire CMIS website.

A Dutch-style roundabout has parallel crossings (cycle and pedestrian zebra crossings) on each arm which enables pedestrians and cyclists to have priority over motorists. The entry and exit arms are perpendicular, rather than tangential, to the roundabout and have minimal flare. Also, by reducing the width of the arms and circulatory carriageway, vehicle speeds reduce. A central over-run area will allow larger vehicles to manoeuvre round the roundabout.

The initial design of the Fendon Road / Queen Edith's Way / Mowbray Road roundabout was developed with the help of Dutch consultancy firm, Royal Haskoning. It adheres to the roundabout design standards advocated by SWOV, the Dutch Institute for Road Safety Research.

The roundabout design builds on that of the Perne Road / Radegund Road roundabout, which was implemented in 2013 and has seen a large drop in recorded injury accidents.

Local members and the South Area Committee secured S106 Southern Corridor Area Transport Plan (SCATP) funding. This money is to improve walking and cycling on:

• Queen Edith's Way
• Fendon Road / Queen Edith's Way / Mowbray Road roundabout
• Cherry Hinton Road
• Robin Hood junction

The funding amounted to £3 million, of which £900,000 is for the replacement of signals at Robin Hood junction. The remaining £2.1 million will go towards work on:

• Queen Edith's Way and the roundabout
• Cherry Hinton Road (between Hills Road and Mowbray Road)

Another successful funding bid contributed £550,000 for the roundabout work. For more information, please read our Cycle City Ambition Safety Fund page.