Transport
As Cambridgeshire grows, so does the pressure on the County's transport network. Cambridgeshire Horizons worked in partnership with the Local Authorities and the Highways Agency together with other transport providers to ensure the County has the right transport solutions to meet the needs of the growing population.
To ensure the sustainable growth of Cambridgeshire, the county's transport infrastructure must be reviewed, and improved, where necessary. The first solution is to build new communities in the right places, to reduce demand for travel in the first instance.
The main transport projects that Cambridgeshire Horizons is worked conjunction with, or advising, partners on are:
The A14 improvements - withdrawn
As confirmed in the Comprehensive Spending Review on 20th October 2010, the A14 Ellington to Fen Ditton scheme, which was estimated to cost over £1 billion to build, was withdrawn by the Department for Transport (DfT).
The Department for Transport states: "We recognise that this corridor faces severe congestion, and that mobility along the route is critical for economic success and growth. However, the current scheme is simply unaffordable under any reasonable future funding scenario. The Department is therefore withdrawing the current scheme. We will undertake a study to identify cost effective and practical proposals which bring benefits and relieve congestion - looking across modes to ensure we develop sustainable proposals. This approach will also provide an opportunity for the private sector to play its part in developing schemes to tackle existing problems in the corridor."
The Busway
One of the best bus services in the country The Busway connects Huntingdon, St Ives and Cambridge. The Busway will offers a reliable, fast and frequent service as a genuine public transport alternative to driving into Cambridge on the unpredictable A14 and gives particularly good access to the employment areas in the north of Cambridge.
The Busway route is 25 kilometres (19 miles) long in total and is the longest track of its kind in the world.
You can watch a short film online to find more about how The Busway works here.
CB1 (Cambridge Station Area) Improvements
Cambridgeshire Horizons worked in partnership with developers, Network Rail, and the local authorities to bring forward a major transport interchange at Cambridge Station. Cambridgeshire County Council made a successful bid for £3 million from the Communities Infrastructure Fund (CIF) in March 2009 to create the new 'gateway' route to improve public transport and safety for pedestrians and cyclists travelling to and from the station area. The CIF was managed on behalf of Government by the Homes and Communities Agency (HCA), and complementing the £1.5 million of Housing Growth Fund money allocated by Cambridgeshire Horizons for the proposed bus interchange at the station.
The new bus and cycle route links from the junction of Hills Road and Brooklands Avenue into the station area, joining the Busway route in front of the rail station, which is unguided at that section. A new 'arm' has been connected to the Brooklands Avenue junction which will form a new gateway to the station to accommodate the increased demand for travel arising from growth across the city and wider area.
Rail enhancements
Network Rail is progressing the installation of a new Island Platforms on the east side of Cambridge Railway Station to increase capacity for longer trains that are due to be introduced as a part of planned service improvements. Platforms 7 and 8 should be ready for service by the end of 2011.
Sustainable Transport
For more information on sustainable transport click here.