We are being informed of the plans to close off the main roads into Cambridge City centre between peak times 7am-10am and 4pm - 6.30pm to ALL traffic apart from Buses and Taxis from next year.

Please sign the petition and have your voice heard, share and share as we need to be a collective throughout Cambridge and say NO to such an enforced scheme that has not gone to public vote.

The Government has given the three Councils in South Cambridgeshire £100 m over the next 5 years to sort out traffic in the City.   Through this The Greater Cambridge City Deal has been formed.

The GCCD have an eight point plan in which they hope to tackle the growing problem of traffic in Cambridge.  Part of this plan is to close the inner ring road at peak times to clear it for bus travel. The proposed times are 7.00am to 10.00am and again in the evening between 4.00pm and 6.30pm!

Many neighborhoods will be affected, in Petersfield the impact will be the closure of Hills Road and Mill Road during peak times to all traffic except buses, taxis and emergency vehicles.

This is scheduled for September next year. This is not up for consultation ….it has been decided and will happen.

The City Deal is now consulting on the details….where exactly the closures will be and what times.  We are not being asked if we approve of such a scheme. We do not actually know where the final points will be, but we are being asked for our opinion anyway! 

The facts are:

•  Huge increase of traffic in Petersfield Neighbourhood – over 50%
• The current proposals map shows Hills Road closed between Bateman Street and the Station Road junctions.
• Mill Road closed on the bridge.
•  This will cause massive rat running our area as drivers avoid the blockage.
• This does not seem to have been considered, or perhaps our interests are dismissed.
• The only figures given are a projected increase of more than 50% in Tenison Road with no mention of any other streets – which are also likely to see a huge increase.
• Our residential streets will become more dangerous and polluted.
• Barton Road, Madingley Road and Newmarket Road are also likely to get significantly worse for traffic.
•  Carers, Health care workers, have also not been considered in this scheme and will not be exempt. 
  
  Although new buses will be added (but no straight away apparently) there will be no new bus routes, so the problem of not being to able to get to certain locations around Cambridge and the outskirts has not been solved. 
  
  Closing the center is not answer, one official has informed some members of the public that "we need to vary our working times".
  
  School traffic has not been considered, if we had more school buses to take the children that come into the centre from the surrounding villages to school then we would see a dramatic decrease in the peak time traffic.
  
  We are also getting 2 new train stations North Cambridge opening in 2017 and Addenbrookes in 2018.  With the opening of these stations we would hope to see a decrease in traffic, so will the enforced peak time closures be actually necessary?! 
  
  Perhaps if this money was used to subsidize public transport making travel more affordable, perhaps if more bus routes are created then maybe that would go someway to solving the problem!
  
  I believe The GCCD is just creating a new peak time and moving the problem from big busy commercial roads on to our residential streets.  We need to say NO!