Micro asphalt works delayed by cold weather
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by admin on 11 January, 2017
The second phase of the Hills Road cycleway is scheduled to start in February.
It is being managed by the Greater Cambridge City Deal. They are putting on two public events to show the route maps; project officers will be there to talk to people about the road layout near their homes.
Here are the dates:
Tuesday 17th January 12.00 – 14.00 Addenbrooke’s Concourse
Thursday 26th January 17.30 – 19.30 St John the Evangelist Church, Hills Road.
The project is likely to last for several months and have a major impact on travel patterns, so do go along to see what is in store for us. We hope that Phase II will be better managed than Phase 1, which has taken over two years and still has unfinished elements. That scheme is to be reviewed this year and findings will be fed into the management of this and other future projects.
1 Comment
Phase II, whilst well meaning, does little to improve cycle safety over the current design. Here we’re getting ASLs replaced by slightly larger and red ASLs – but they’re still ASLs – which encourage cyclists to weave through queuing traffic to get to their designated are (which may put them in dangerous or otherwise awkward positions if the lights go green before the ASLs are reached). ASLs only work if you get there in time.
A far better alternative would be segregation right up to the stop line, followed by an all directions green signal phase for cyclists (and potentially pedestrians, if there’s space).
I tried to tell them about this at the consultation – they wouldn’t listen.
Then, you’ve got the irresponsibly designed Adenbrookes “lead-in lane” on the wrong side of the road, and on the pavement (which is to my knowledge) only accessable to cyclists already on the pavement. In order to get on the pavement in the first place, a cyclist first has to move diagonally across the junction, and then mount the pavement right at the pedestrian waiting area, continue to ride along the pavement, and then reach the “lead-in lane”.
The obvious answer to this is, of course, a bidirectional cycleway up to the new cycle access to the Adenbrookes site. That would eliminate the need for a shared use path, and would make the junction far simpler.
But what would you expect from “professionals” who plan everything with a long-term “vision”?