Cambridgeshire County Council has a new Active Travel Centre of Excellence. It aims to provide ambitious standards of infrastructure across the county. Helping to meet carbon emission targets, improve health and quality of life. Shifting vehicle journeys to more active methods.
The team will
- Secure funding for active travel projects.
- Develop pipelines of new infrastructure projects.
- Input into pre planning advice.
- Input into transport action plans and strategies.
- Input into national guidance and consultation.
- Audit highways projects.
- Provide support and training to ensure compliance with national standards.
- Work in partnership with key local and national organisations.
- Steer the development and implementation of the Active Travel Strategy.
- Lead on the sharing of knowledge and best practice.
What is Active Travel?
Cambridgeshire’s Active Travel Strategy defines ‘active travel’ as walking and cycling. It also includes other modes of travel and use of mobility aids that support the aim of the Strategy. To enable and encourage a shift away from journeys by private car. This aligns with the national government definition.
Cambridgeshire's Active Travel Strategy
The Highways and Transport Committee adopted Cambridgeshire’s Active Travel Strategy on 7 March 2023. The link to the document is below.
The strategy provides a set of policies. They will enable quality provision of active travel infrastructure. These new routes will contribute to the County Council’s target to achieve net zero carbon by 2045. It will enable and encourage more people to travel by active travel modes. Making it a natural first choice, resulting in a reduction in the number of journeys made by car.
The overarching vision for the Cambridgeshire Active Travel Strategy is that:
“Active travel will be embraced in all transport policies, projects, investment, and development in Cambridgeshire, prioritising cycling and walking and associated travel modes. We plan to create a well-connected, safe, and inclusive active travel network that will become the ‘go-to’ travel option for local journeys.”
The following objectives are set out within the Active Travel Strategy:
- Embrace a clear, deliverable vision for a connected active travel network across Cambridgeshire. This will enable and encourage more journeys made by car shift to walking or cycling.
- Develop the active travel network by identifying improvements to local journeys. Linking to connections to public transport for onward travel.
- Deliver significant step change in active travel provision across the county. Improving internal processes and collaborative working with key partners, stakeholders, and communities.
- Ensure existing and future active travel networks are fit for purpose by:
- Identifying improvements to the active travel network. Filling gaps in connectivity and providing supporting infrastructure. Making routes safer and more pleasant to use.
- Ensure active travel provision is part of all transport schemes and developments at the outset.
- Review and improve maintenance of existing infrastructure.
- Embedding a whole life cycle approach to scheme development. Ensuring all new schemes meet the highest design standards.
- Encourage new initiatives to create behavioural change and modal shift.
The strategy includes 30 active travel policies. All focused around the four key themes Embrace, Enhance, Expand and Encourage. Shifting away from private cars and increasing active modes for everyday journeys.
Cambridgeshire's Local Cycling and Walking Infrastructure Plan (LCWIP)
Cambridgeshire’s Active Travel Strategy informs the decisions and priorities of future work. The
The current adopted LCWIP document is available below.
There is a further tier of priority routes. Identified through the Transport Infrastructure Plan process. Including consultation on the Active Travel Strategy and LCWIP. These routes will form part of an expanded LCWIP in the future.
Cambridgeshire's Active Travel Design Guide
The Highways and Transport Committee adopted Cambridgeshire’s Active Travel Design Guide on 7 March 2023. The Design Guide:
- Provides information for the planning and design of rural active travel routes.
- Defines what is and is not acceptable when designing for active travel.
- Supports maintenance of existing public rights of way for ‘non-motorised users’ (NMUs).
The Design Guide is available below.
Documents
All the documents mentioned below are live working documents. They will continue to improve. Including new action plans, techniques, materials, and applications when available.
Cambridgeshire’s Active Travel Strategy (opens as a .pdf)
Cambridgeshire’s Local Cycling and Walking Infrastructure Plan (opens as a pdf)
Cambridgeshire’s Active Travel Design Guide (opens as a .pdf)
Active Travel Funding
Active Travel England’s (ATE’s) active travel fund supports our ambition plans to reach Net Zero by 2045. Projects improve and reallocate road space to dedicated, safe cycling and walking schemes.
Since 2020 Cambridgeshire County Council (CCC) have secured over £3 million of funding. This includes extra funds from
- Greater Cambridge Partnership (GCP),
- Highways England Designated Fund,
- Horizon 2020 EU,
- Local Highway Improvement Fund,
- Developing Transport Strategy Aims,
- Integrated Transport Block,
- S106,
- Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Combined Authority (CPCA),
- CCC Funding,
- Community Infrastructure Levy (CIL),
- Public Health.
Some of the active travel schemes delivered include:
- Modal filters in Cambridge
- Fendon Road and Queen Edith's Way Roundabout
- Chisholm Trail Phase 1
- Abbey/Chesterton Bridge
- School streets set up at 7 primary schools across the County
- Papworth Everard to Cambourne Cycleway
- Fenstanton Footpath to Bridleway Upgrade - linking village to Busway
- Longstanton Bridleway 10 Upgrade
- Lancaster Way Roundabout crossings
- Dry Drayton to NMU (non-motorised users) link
- A14/Histon junction with Cambridge Road junction - preliminary design
Active Travel Schemes
CCC received £910,000 from the Active Travel Fund Tranche 4. This is for the development and construction of five schemes across the county.
Construction of two schemes by end of March 2024:
- Girton to Eddington scheme
- Buckden to Brampton scheme
Detailed design work on three schemes by the end of March 2024.
- Alconbury - Huntingdon Business Park and Station
- Godmanchester - Huntingdon Centre
- Granta Park - A505 roundabout
Programme of Works
|
Scheme Name |
Description of Work |
Anticipated Start Date |
Anticipated Completion Date |
Status |
|
Girton to Eddington scheme |
Proposed parallel crossing and shared use link with a toucan crossing. Linking Eddington via Bunkers Hill segregated pedestrian/cycle path with Girton. Providing access to the primary school and to the West Cambridge employment hub. Provides a safer route between the Thornton Road residential area and Eddington. |
01/09/2023 |
30/11/2023 |
|
|
Buckden to Brampton scheme |
New section of shared use path, new toucan crossing and reduction in speed limits. |
23/06/2023 |
20/08/2023 |
Work in progress, due for completion end of September 2023 |
|
Alconbury - Little Stukeley - Great Stukeley - Huntingdon Business Park - Huntingdon Station |
Detailed design to include: · widening of existing shared use path on Ermine St, · improvement of crossings of side roads and accesses, · installation of solar studs, · parallel crossings on Wertheim Way · short sections of linking shared use path, · widening and improvement to lighting, surfacing and drainage along Stukeley Meadows path to Edison Bell Way, · improvement to crossing to station. |
01/09/2023 |
01/03/2024 |
|
|
Godmanchester - Huntingdon Centre |
Design work for installation of a modal filter on town bridge. Utilises the new A14 route to reduce traffic within Godmanchester. Improves active travel in Huntingdon. Links to the town centre, rail station and Hinchingbrooke secondary school. |
01/09/2023 |
01/03/2024 |
|
|
Granta Park - A505 roundabout |
Detailed design of new shared use path next to slip road with signals for vehicular traffic. Provides link between existing shared path on A505 with Granta Science and Technology Park. |
01/09/2023 |
01/03/2024 |
Contact Us
If you have any queries related to active travel, please contact us at: ActiveTravel@cambridgeshire.gov.uk
