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cab
Joined: 01 Nov 2004
Posts: 32429
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 Posted: Mon Dec 12, 05 11:32 am Post subject: Guided Bus in Cambridge |
 
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I could almost cry 
https://makeashorterlink.com/?F30015D4C
The BBC reports that the government enquiry into whether we're getting a 'guided bus' on the old St. Ives railway line is over, and it has been approved.
Should be a time for celebration, I know, but it isn't. You see, what they're doing is taking a railway route and covering it in concrete, and putting busses on it. The busses will run along the line to avoid the A14 (where they could go just as fast as they will on the new route). And when they get to Cambridge, Huntingdon and St. Ives they'll get off the route and use the roads. Meaning that the new scheme links traffic bottlenecks without relieving traffic at all.
And to achieve this, they're ruining one of the most thriving wildlife habitats in the area. I've seen badgers, common lizards, foxes, woodpeckers, countless species of soldier beetle and dragonflies, kestrels, and many other animals using that area. And the diversity of plants and fungi there is huge. It would appear that despite receiving letters about those aspects (I know they got such letters, I sent them) such objections have been ignored; I can find no planning in place to reduce the impact of this scheme on the wildlife in North Cambridge.
The public consultation was absolutely, totally, unquestioningly negative about the scheme. While there's enthusiasm for re-opening the railway line, no one wants a bus route instead. No one believes it'll work, and no one who commutes from that direction says they'll use it.
And it's going to be built. I could scream. |
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Behemoth
Joined: 01 Dec 2004
Posts: 19023
Location: Leeds
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ele
Joined: 05 Sep 2005
Posts: 814
Location: Derby
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dougal
Joined: 15 Jan 2005
Posts: 7184
Location: South Kent
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| Posted: Mon Dec 12, 05 3:27 pm Post subject: |
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Cab, agree that it would surely be fairly straightforward to do a few little things to minimise the impact on wildlife. But I think that any such campaign would now seem best targetted to achieve the implimentation of those specific measures. Doubtless the project would like to have "good news" stories, which the 'green' angle would offer.
AFAIK, the idea was to house new "Cambridge" residents in satellite communities, and there was a question of how those might best be linked with the city. I understand that the tracked bus scheme is supposed to be much cheaper than reintroducing a light railway and that the A14 is a byword for capacity problems and almost daily accidents, which, apart from the tragedies, cause frequent disruptions to transport.
As you indicate, the critical thing is how the link would integrate with the existing city transport schemes, and work within the limitations of the preservation of the historic city centre.
It wouldn't surprise me if the tracked bus scheme was merely the least bad answer to part of the problem of the economic success of Cambridge. |
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cab
Joined: 01 Nov 2004
Posts: 32429
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| Posted: Mon Dec 12, 05 3:52 pm Post subject: |
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| dougal wrote: |
| Cab, agree that it would surely be fairly straightforward to do a few little things to minimise the impact on wildlife. But I think that any such campaign would now seem best targetted to achieve the implimentation of those specific measures. Doubtless the project would like to have "good news" stories, which the 'green' angle would offer. |
Trouble is, whenever I've tried to raise that with the chaps at the county council, I've got nowhere. I haven't found a local environmental group who seem concerned with this yet, which as far as I can tell seems to be because this is the other side of town to where they all live
| Quote: |
AFAIK, the idea was to house new "Cambridge" residents in satellite communities, and there was a question of how those might best be linked with the city. I understand that the tracked bus scheme is supposed to be much cheaper than reintroducing a light railway and that the A14 is a byword for capacity problems and almost daily accidents, which, apart from the tragedies, cause frequent disruptions to transport.
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Yet busses on the A14 already move faster, on average, than they will over the guided busroute. That's the problem you see, the busroute doesn't take anything out of the daily commuting time for anyone, it doesn't make travelling by bus more convenient or faster for anyone along that route.
One of the questionnaires that came round had a question like "Do you approve of a modern, fast public transport link between Cambridge and Huntingdon". The answer is, of course, yes. Unfortunately what is on offer doesn't fit the bill
As for the A14, if you go and stand on the cycle bridge over it and watch, the problem is obvious; it's covered with freight, which doesn't have any option. One alternative would be rail, and a good route would be the old St. Ives line, which is now to be concreted over for busses
| Quote: |
As you indicate, the critical thing is how the link would integrate with the existing city transport schemes, and work within the limitations of the preservation of the historic city centre.
It wouldn't surprise me if the tracked bus scheme was merely the least bad answer to part of the problem of the economic success of Cambridge. |
The problem here is that it doesn't really answer any of the needs we have in Cambridge. It doesn't give us a faster route in or out than we already have, it doesn't reduce the load of heavy vehicles on the A14 significantly, so it doesn't speed that up, and it comes back onto the road at the key bottlenecks that control the speed of your trip anyway, thus having the disadvantage of rail (stuck to a certain route) without rails key advantage (it has its own infrastructure, thus avoiding road bottlenecks).
This scheme doesn't exist in isolation, of course, there are also proposals to widen the A14 and speed the traffic up there, and of course increase capacity, begging the question of why we need the guided bus
I can't find anyone who commutes into the city from that direction who believes they'll use this bus route.
Sorry, getting all ranty. |
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Nick
Joined: 02 Nov 2004
Posts: 34535
Location: Hereford
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tahir
Joined: 28 Oct 2004
Posts: 45420
Location: Essex
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Nick
Joined: 02 Nov 2004
Posts: 34535
Location: Hereford
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tahir
Joined: 28 Oct 2004
Posts: 45420
Location: Essex
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Nick
Joined: 02 Nov 2004
Posts: 34535
Location: Hereford
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| Posted: Mon Dec 12, 05 5:22 pm Post subject: |
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This is Downsizer. I await my locking in the stocks and that, but I have done 17,000 miles since mid August.
I'm assuming you're talking about 90 minutes each way, rather than split into a bunch of tiny trips. Get your mp3 player, a CD player, your phone, anything. Record a bunch of stuff and listen. Treat it as 3 hours of your day to listen to a novel, a play, a new CD, 6 episodes of ISIHAC, whatever. 90 minutes in the evening? 5 Live, and discover football! During the summer? Test match special!
People say they can't believe I can cope with the miles, the hours. Whoever you are, you do a job which probably involves doing something pretty mindless and repetitive, be it sitting in front of a monitor, working at a machine, stacking shelves, orbitting the earth, whatever. I drive. So, you have to look at it as a heated or air-conditioned environment, with a comfortable leather seat and a decent stereo.
It's survivable. The bit that's not, is getting stressed because you're in a jam, and going to be late. Make a call, tell them. Everyone understands about bad traffic. Then, chill. Drink water, and start a new novel.
Last edited by Nick on Mon Dec 12, 05 5:27 pm; edited 1 time in total |
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sean
Downsizer Moderator
Joined: 28 Oct 2004
Posts: 42207
Location: North Devon
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