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Many people living around the site – including members of our project team – have told us repeatedly how busy the Huntingdon and Madingley Roads already are, particularly during the peak hours. People are naturally worried that our development and others planned for the areas will make this even worse. Minimising the impact of our development on the surrounding roads has become one of the key issues for our team. Getting this right is hugely important for us, both to be good neighbours and to ensure the long-term success of our development

As part of any transport strategy there are a number of elements needed to mitigate the impacts on the highway network. Therefore, we have developed a wide range of elements to our transport plan which together should minimise impacts on the highway network whilst maximising the opportunities for alternative modes of transport to car journeys.

The first element is to support and embrace the wider strategic transport strategy devised by the Highways Agency and Cambridgeshire County Council, which aims to reduce car use travelling into Cambridge, whilst catering for some additional growth in traffic on the highway network.

In the North West of Cambridge these authorities have plans which include improving public transport, for example through the new guided bus-way; creating a new Park and Ride to the north along the A14 corridor and enhancing the A14 to minimise traffic congestion.

Next, our emerging Green Transport Plan looks to minimise local car use, particularly at busy commuter times. Many of the people living in our new development will be working at the research establishments on site or at West Cambridge or will be studying/ working at various University sites. They will not need to drive off-site to work. Similarly, building the community hub, particularly with a primary school and nurseries, will reduce the need for car use. We believe that by making alternative transport much more attractive people will walk, cycle and use the new bus services that we will be supporting. Using a car at commuter time will not be the first choice for most residents. Our aim is that fewer than 40% of residents will travel to work by car.

To facilitate the traffic generated by our development we have developed an access strategy to intercept traffic from M11 and A14 before it gets to the residential areas along either Huntingdon or Madingley Road. This is facilitated by main access junctions located to the north west corner of the site on Huntingdon Road and the south west corner of the site on Madingley Road, adjacent to the existing Park and Ride. We will then be contributing to improvements on these local roads to manage the small amount of net extra traffic created by both our developments.

Cambridge County Council’s own studies show that, with our transport plans, the amount of additional traffic generated from the site at peak periods will not be more than 1% of the existing volume. We know how important this is for local people so we are also undertaking our own detailed studies to test the impact.

For cyclists, the creation of a dedicated cycle path through the scheme, the Ridgeway, will make it safer and more pleasant for those currently having to cycle down Huntingdon Road, particularly at commuter time.

Outside commuter hours there is not such a problem. But even then, strategies such as including a supermarket for local use will reduce car journeys outside the local area, as reported in the recent County Council Retail Transport Study (June 2010). People have told us that they support a local supermarket, but not a huge one that would attract more traffic. We agree with this.

This is an area on which we are still working and listening to local people and it is vitally important, not least for the success of our new community, that we get this right. The planning authorities will not allow us to proceed unless we can clearly demonstrate that there is sufficient capacity to deal with any extra traffic.

Local people have told us that they are concerned about the cumulative effect of the new developments on the highways system and want us to work closely to minimise any impact.

We have dealt with this issue in two ways. First, we are talking with both the developers of the NIAB site and with the management of West Cambridge to ensure a co-ordinated approach. We are not working in a vacuum but are creating a co-ordinated approach to the traffic management throughout this area.

In addition, we and the other developers are in constant discussion with the Highways Agency, Cambridgeshire County Council, Cambridge City Council and South Cambridgeshire District Council. Their role is to take a strategic view of all the developments in this area. We are working with them to ensure that our transport plans are incorporated into the wider proposals for the area.

We know that if this is a concern for local people it will also be a concern for our future residents and this will not be good for our community’s long term success. So we have to get it right.

People have told us that they do not think that the existing public transport will be sufficient to support our new community. We agree with that. Encouraging people to use public transport is central to our green transport plan to reduce congestion. With many residents working on site, and with the proximity to the City Centre we believe that, in many cases, car use will not be people’s preferred option. But we need to ensure that there are good public transport alternatives.

We have started discussions with local bus operators and the County Council to plan for improved services as the development starts to take place. Having heard what people have said about the existing services we are discussing proposals which include improving the frequency of services to cut down on waiting time and overcrowding; diverting and extending services so that they incorporate wider areas; and extending services so that they link to other important destinations. Many people told us that there needs to be a better link from this area to the railway station and that has become an important part of our discussions.

Because we believe that these services are important we will potentially be providing finance to subsidise some routes to ensure that they operate.

During our workshops and public exhibitions, many people questioned our ability to minimise car use and this has made us look very hard again at our plans to ensure that they are robust. At first sight they do look ambitious. Encouraging over 60% of commuters to use means other than their car to get to work is not going to be easy. But we do think it is possible with good planning. And it is essential if this development is to be a success and contribute positively to the University’s future.

The main factor is the mix of uses on this site and the allocations policy that we have for the majority of residential accommodation. Many people will live and work on site and will not need to use a car to get to work. The supermarket, primary school and nurseries on site will further reduce car use, especially if we agree novel ways of delivery with the supermarket operator (for example some people have suggested that the supermarket could provide wheeled baskets to fit onto the back of bikes, which is well worth looking at).

For those that travel locally off the site we will provide better public transport and a good network of footpaths and cycle ways to encourage non-car travel. Students have asked us to ensure that these feel safe, particularly at night, so we are making safety features part of the design.

For those that do need to use cars we are examining reduction schemes such as car sharing and car clubs.

Taken together we believe that these measures will help us meet our targets, but we are still keen to hear other ideas to incorporate into our green travel plan.

The potential impact of our development on the local road network has been a major issue during our consultations. Some people have suggested that we might need to improve access to the A14 and M11.

We support improvement of these major roads but this is outside our area of responsibility. The Highways Agency is responsible for these roads. Our task is to ensure that the local roads have sufficient capacity to deal with any traffic created.

The University’s West Cambridge Development already has a commitment to widen the Madingley Road to improve the connections to the M11 so this will need to be factored into the detailed assessment of the development.

The main entrance to the development from the Huntingdon Road will be from the dual carriageway section and this will minimise the impact on the A14.

The Government has been reconsidering all major transport schemes as part of its review of public expenditure. It has now announced that it will not be proceeding with the proposed scheme for the A14 upgrade. Whilst the A14 project was not included in the list of those that have been cancelled, the Government has said that it wishes to examine alternative methods for managing traffic volumes on this stretch of the A14.

The University is discussing this issue with the Highways Agency and the highways authority and will keep stakeholders informed as soon as it is clearer about the implications of this decision.

Local people have told us that Storey’s Way is used by many drivers as a rat run between the Huntingdon and Madingley Roads. We are proposing to create a new road through our site which will link these two roads. Inevitably some people will use this as a rat-run but we will be designing it to discourage this type of use.

There will be a 20mph speed limit designed into the roads (for example with speed bumps and road narrowing) and the part of the road that will run through the local centre and community facilities will be restricted to public transport. This means that private car drivers will have to take a longer, more circuitous route which will not be so attractive.

Some people have suggested that a new junction to enable cars to join the Madingley Road from the M11 might reduce these rat-runs. However, this is not seen by the Highways Agency or Cambridgeshire County Council as a practical nor deliverable solution.

During the consultations some people said that they did not like the idea of large areas of car parking, like on West Cambridge. We have worked hard to develop a car parking plan which meets these concerns and is most appropriate for the type of community we want to create.

It will be different from West Cambridge. Parking will be at ground level or below ground with different types of parking for different users. We believe that a majority of people living on the site will not use cars to get to work and so there will be reduced car parking standards for the University housing and at the research facilities. As is the University’s practice, those living in the post-graduate student accommodation will not be allowed to have cars. Parking for residential use will mainly be off street and related to individual homes and blocks and will meet the Area Action Plan standards.

We do not want parking to dominate the scheme and have worked hard to ensure that it will be provided in the most unobtrusive ways making good use of the natural contours of the site by constructing below ground car parking shared between major buildings.

Improved public access through and beyond the site has been raised as a potentially important benefit for local people. We agree with this and have looked at how best to maximise public access.

At present the majority of the land is not open to the public and there are only a few, although important, opportunities for public access, including bridleways. We want to change this.

Over one third of the site will be public open space, some used for formal recreation but much for informal use such as walking, picnicking and playing. This will be a major addition to local amenities and we see it as a vital part of creating a sustainable and thriving community.

The Highways Agency has proposed an upgraded bridleway as part of the A14 enhancement and we support this. It would include a crossing of the Huntingdon Road.

In addition, we have made it clear to the highway authorities that we are keen to work with them to improve bridleways on the site particularly if they can deliver connections across Madingley Road and other areas that are outside our control.

Unsurprisingly, our proposals for walking and particularly for cycling have generated a great deal of discussion throughout our consultations, We are grateful for the many very practical and considered suggestions which have helped to ensure that ours will be one of the country’s most pedestrian and cycle friendly communities.

At such an early stage we are able to design features which will give cyclists and pedestrians safer and more pleasant journeys both within the site and beyond. The Ridgeway will be a dedicated cycle route through the site but there will also be a network of cycle and walking routes throughout the development.

We will design-out potential conflict points for example through providing junctions that will prioritise walking and cycling over other transport, such as cars and buses. We also aim to provide state of the art cycling facilities, including covered racks and high quality changing and showering facilities in buildings.

Security at night has been raised many times and we will ensure that walking and cycling routes are well lit and designed to make people feel safe at night.

We have also been looking at softer initiatives such as cycle training and the Walking Bus for local school journeys.

Safe and secure parking for bikes has been raised many times and we have responded to this by designing into the scheme over 10,000 bike parking spaces. These will be located throughout the site, both at residential and commercial developments as well as near bus stops.

The parking spaces will be covered, well lit and conveniently located near to entrances.