Issues

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This section lists issues - problems on the street network and related matters.

Issues always relate to some geographical location, whether very local or perhaps city-wide.

You can create a new issue using the button on the right.

Listed issues, most recent first:

  • New Hinxton ford flood barrier will block road to cyclists between Duxford and Hinxton

    Created by James Gilbert // 1 thread

    New barriers will be used to prevent cars driving into the ford when the river is too high. Almost all of the time when the ford is in flood it is still passable by cyclists and pedestrians on the footbridge. On the Duxford side (pictured), cyclists will have to squeeze past on the verge next to a ditch to get round. This will be hard for cyclists with trailers, children in seats etc...

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  • cycle routes around East Anglian coastline

    Richard G // 1 thread

    Hi everyone

    I'm looking on cycling round the east anglian coastline with a group of scouts this summer.

    Has anyone done this & could give hints or suggestions to the routes?

    Sustrans maps show plenty of quiet road type routes, but I'm thinking they are not well signposted.
    the NCR01 route cuts through Norwich rather than round the coast, but I guess may well be better signposted?

    Can anyone help me out with thinking about a route please?
    Thanks
    Richard (Cambridge area)

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  • Craneford Way - Pedestrian and Cycle Access

    Created by timlennon // 1 thread

    Note from correspondent:
    At the moment there is an agreement for non-vehicle access in and out and vehicular egress for the Canons leisure club members via a controlled barrier with responsibility in the hands of The Harlequins Management. This is regularly abused by unauthorised traffic. I want to investigate the feasibility of it being made pedestrian and cycling only, in advance of any building developments which might want to bring it back into full use for vehicle entry and egress, which would have a significant negative impact on the safe use by pedestrians and cyclists.

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  • CRC Science Park Busway Junction

    Created by Robin Heydon // 1 thread

    The Guided Busway is a huge success. It carries many adults and youth to and from many destinations, a major destination being the Cambridge Regional College bus stop. Unfortunately, the volume of bicycle and pedestrian traffic along the line of the busway at this point probably wasn’t considered and is now causing problems. It will probably cause even more problems once the new Science Park Station is built at the far end of the busway.

    Current Situation

    When I started looking at this junction, I tried to ignore what was “built” and instead tried to observe how people moved through the junction. In the first diagram I’ve shown the main desire lines. Desire lines are where people actually move rather than those which engineers designed. For example, when crossing the access road to the college, from the busway, people walked in as straight a line as possible pretty much ignoring the supposed 90º toucan crossing.

    Many people on bicycles don’t bother with the toucan but instead just wait for a gap between the traffic light phases and quickly scoot across. Many people ignore what has been designed and have found new, possibly better, ways through the junction - for example, creating a path from King Hedges Road over bare ground. This informal crossing obviously works, but is it safe? Do the bus drivers expect people to cross at this point?

    There are many conflict points, some less bothersome than others. The two biggest problems are at the bus stop exit junction with the science park entrance, and between the toucan crossing and the brick surround of the gas supply for the area. When cycling there can be many people trying to cross the road, especially after the bus has stopped, or just before classes are due to start, all getting in your way. Of course, we are getting in their way too, and this isn’t helped by the poor sight lines.

    I would therefore summarise that the problems are simply:

    1. Severely limited space at the toucan crossing and busway crossing points.
    2. Informal pedestrian crossing show junction isn’t working as desired.
    3. Very narrow access to science park with poor sight lines.

    Proposed Solution

    First, we should always respect peoples desire lines. They are voting with their feet, it is obviously safe enough for them to do it day after day, and they have left plenty of evidence that it works by wearing down the grass. So we should make this a proper pedestrian route. This actually has two benefits: it moves a lot of the pedestrian traffic to the west side of the busway stop reducing the number of people at the science park entrance, and it allows a more “directed” path to the north side of that brick building.

    Second, we should separate the CRC traffic and guided busway traffic as much as possible at the CRC junction. The busway traffic should follow their natural desire line which is straight on. There are wide turning splays for buses to access the busway from the CRC, yet no buses do this. We should remove them and make a straight on toucan in line with the busway. The CRC traffic would be given their own toucan on the north side of the brick building. Some of the existing railing (cycle parking) here may need to be removed, and the car stop line pushed back a car length or so. The space between the car stop line and the new toucan could usefully become an advanced cycle box.

    Third, we should build a proper segregated footway to the north of the cycle track that links to the existing footway going to the “new” toucan. This would be built similar to the Coton path such that pedestrian traffic would be encouraged to seek the higher and safer ground.

    Forth, we should straighten the line for access from the science park to the busway. The current facility bends away from the busway crossing, is very narrow, and limits the flow. I’ve seen times when people are queuing cross the busway to travel through this gate. On the south side, the highly restrictive chicane should be removed. People happily cross the busway at multiple points without problems, as here the buses are moving very slowly as they approach the station.

    Lastly, we should alter the phasing of the traffic lights. A simple desire for people on bicycle is to wait as little time as possible, but we take very little time to cross a road. Therefore, I would suggest that bicycles are given a green light between every car phase, but only for a few seconds. They should also be given a green light whenever the busway is given a green light. The individual phases may need to be lengthened slightly, say from 25 seconds to 30 seconds to maintain the “capacity”, but the advantages it gives to bicycles would be huge. Also, the pedestrian crossing could be changed to a zebra crossing. This route would then become preferable to the slower toucan crossing further pulling people away. It would also allow for a much more pedestrian focused environment around what should be highly walkable area.

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  • A40 between Abergavenny and Crickhowell

    Created by Jack Thurston // 0 threads

    The A40 between Abergavenny and Crickhowell is a narrow, fast trunk road and totally unsuitable to cycling. This is a vital connecting route in the area, between two neighbouring towns. There are sections where it is easily wide enough for a proper, separate 2m wide cycle path, or a wider shared use path with pedestrians.

    This is a critical issue if the Usk valley is to be made accessible to people riding bikes.

    More detail on the issue on the ACG website: http://abergavennycyclegroup.org.uk/cycle-route-to-crickhowell/

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  • Planning app 14/0492/OUT: new premises for Cambridge Assessment

    Created by David Earl // 1 thread

    Demolition of Edinburgh Building, warehouse and associated buildings and erection of office development of up to 41,750 sq. m. gross external area with development generally being of between 4 and 5 storeys (with limited areas of screened rooftop plant), a single tower element with two further storeys of accommodation, up to 189 car parking spaces (+/- 10%), up to 1325 cycle parking spaces (+/- 20%), up to 26 motorcycle spaces, hard and soft landscaping and ancillary facilities including staff canteens, meeting rooms, refuse enclosures, plant rooms, social break-out spaces etc. all to serve as the new office campus headquarters for Cambridge Assessment.


    https://idox.cambridge.gov.uk/online-applications//applicationDetails.do?activeTab=summary&keyVal=N3B4T5DX3E000

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  • Link to Gilwern Velo Park

    Created by Fraser Stephens // 0 threads

    RAISED AT PUBLIC MEETING 10-04-2014

    The obvious cycle route to get to Gilwern Velo Park from Abergavenny is to join the canal towpath at Govilon. On arriving in Gilwern, the cyclist is faces with several issues: Poor surface of the canal path along Gilwern Wharf, steep access down from the canal path. No crossing point on Abergavenny road (without cycling all the way into Gilwern) and then a narrow de-restricted lane with steep sides and no verge leading to the turn into the outdoor centre. We would like to see many improvements made to allow safe access as part of the velo park scheme.

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  • The Missing Link

    Created by Fraser Stephens // 1 thread

    RAISED AT PUBLIC MEETING 10-04-2014

    The infamous missing link in the Llanfoist-Brynmawr cycle path (route 46) is a huge barrier to its safe use by children as well as those who find the steep section of the diversion route impossible to climb.

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  • Usk foot/cycle Bridge at Llanfoist

    Created by Fraser Stephens // 0 threads

    RAISED AT PUBLIC MEETING 10-04-2014

    If the authorities are serious about expanding Llanfoist with new housing and de-trunking the A40 though Abergavenny, then they have to face this problem. A foot/cycle bridge, either just upstream of the existing bridge, or down stream into castle meadows would both be a solution, as would a new road bridge that would allow the old bridge to become single lane.

    We all know that cost is the big problem here and that some of the options are not going to be possible, but we should campaign for some solution to be found.

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  • Usk Bridge traffic calming and pedestrian crossings

    Created by Fraser Stephens // 1 thread

    RAISED AT PUBLIC MEETING 10-04-2014

    If a foot/cycle bridge is not going to happen in the medium term, then how about some traffic calming measures to reduce driver's speed expectations over the bridge? Drivers who have just come of a dual carriage way at 70mph+ or have been zooming along the A40 at 60mph+ are suddenly sharing space with cyclists having had little warning that this is about to happen.

    We suggest deploying traffic calming measures, such as marked cycle ways, belisha beacon crossings (much needed anyway!) and signage making it clear that care is required. If the speed limit was clearly lower, many drivers will not be so aggressively trying to overtake cyclists.

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  • Rebuild the Usk railway bridge as a cycle/foot bridge

    Created by Fraser Stephens // 0 threads

    RAISED AT PUBLIC MEETING 10-04-2014

    Radical, and would please victorian steam enthusiasts... but how about actually re-instating the old high-level bridge? The footings are still there and, if extended, could link directly onto route 46 beside Waitrose, thereby avoiding the need to cross the busy road!

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  • A4143 Cyclepath

    Created by Fraser Stephens // 0 threads

    RAISED AT PUBLIC MEETING 10-04-2014

    The A4143 heading up towards the Hospital is plenty wide enough for a dedicated cycle path on one side or the other (we suggest the west side). This is often a busy and fast road. (Note this this would also solve the safe cycle access to the climbing wall and softplay.)

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  • Llanfoist share-use cyclepath proposal

    Created by Fraser Stephens // 0 threads

    RAISED AT PUBLIC MEETING 10-04-2014

    A key link for route 46 users, as well as people getting to/from Llanfoist village hall, is the strip of pavement on the north side of Merthyr Road. We believe there could be the width to allow this to be widened into a share-pavement allowing cyclists to avoid crossing the road twice in the space of a few hundred metres.

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  • Pavement frequently blocked by parked cars in Llanfoist

    Created by Fraser Stephens // 0 threads

    RAISED AT PUBLIC MEETING 10-04-2014

    One mainly for the pedestrians and anyone pushing a pushchair, but also impacts toddlers and young children riding on the pavement: On the corner of The Cutting and Merthyr Road, any car longer than a small hatchback blocks the narrow strip of pavement assigned to pavement users.

    This is a key route for people coming from Abergavenny to access Llanfoist and route 46.

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  • Waitrose: missed opportunities for cyclists

    Created by Fraser Stephens // 0 threads

    RAISED AT PUBLIC MEETING 10-04-2014

    1) More clear directions from Waitrose to the cyclepaths.

    2) Many missed opportunities at Waitrose to encourage cycling:

    a) Cycle stands often blocked with trolleys and equipment from the "garden" section.
    b) No easy pedestrian/cycle access direct to Route 46 (west) when it would be easy to provide one.
    c) anti-trolley bumps on main road in do have a flat path for cyclists, but they are not exactly friendly. How about actually having a cycle lane in and around the site?

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  • Remove steps on ramp down from Union Road footbridge to A4143

    Created by Fraser Stephens // 0 threads

    RAISED AT PUBLIC MEETING 10-04-2014

    There are relatively shallow paths that run from both ends of the bridge down to the A4143, but both have shallow steps that stop them being useful to cyclists. This means that people heading out of the hospital wanting to cycle down the A4143 towards Llanfoist have to cross the road with the traffic, rather than the safer alternative of crossing the bridge and coming down the ramp.

    Note that openstreetmap's map of this is incorrect. I'll submit a correction (11-04-2014)

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  • Close Lower Castle Street to cars

    Created by Fraser Stephens // 0 threads

    RAISED AT PUBLIC MEETING 10-04-2014

    A radical idea maybe, but why not close the narrow, one-way, Lower Castle Street to cars and make it two-way for bikes and pedestrians? It would

    1) solve the problem of the confusing junction at the bottom end.
    2) remove the very complex routing of routes 42&46
    3) avoid cyclists cutting though the pedestrian zone and one-way part of cross street when travelling east across town.

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