The last picture of Last Year

Phew I have reached 2014 (pictorially speaking). This is going to be the last 2013 picture, well unless a few old pictures creep in for effect. It was one of those days with a fantastic sunset, which I missed. So this is the pink sky afterwards.

I am pleased to see that the investment in cycling infrastructure continues – e.g. “£166K Jesus Green path widening approved in bid to stop grass becoming muddy mess”. Poor infrastructure leads to problems. Cambridge already suffers from congestion so it makes sense to encourage more people to cycle. For many of those people they want routes that don’t bring them into conflict with cars or pedestrians.

The trouble is when improvements are made to road infrastructure, even in the name of safety cyclists get short-shrift. The £410,000 improvements to the accident blackspot at Perne Road will still create potential conflict for cyclists and pedestrians. Whereas what they should be doing is prioritising crossings for cyclists and walkers. Apparently the budget would be lost if it wasn’t used now – often an excuse for making the wrong decision. 

Mind you people why use bicycles also need somewhere to securely park them. The good news is they take up less space than cars, the bad news is that cycle parking is often an afterthought and can cause problems for disabled parking. The were plans to increase cycle parking in Cambridge, some of which was delayed to ensure disabled parking was also properly considered. That is progressing with 180 more bicycle spaces moving ahead.

Apparently plans are also afoot to replace some car parking spaces in the Grand Arcade with cycle spaces.  Well given the huge amount of apartments being built up in near the Station I would imagine this would make commercial sense for the shops in the Grand Arcade.  Mind you the building of many new homes provides funds – or as referred to in the article the “new homes bonus”! Cycles also cause less damage to the roads as well.

Talking about the Railway Station the new ticket hall and piazza get the green light. Apparently it will also reduce traffic gridlock and cut chaotic queues.  Although the real issue is how to make it easier for drivers to switch to other modes of transport to get to the station I reckon.

Mind you cycle parking needs to be secure and it is still a significant problem in Cambridge. Yet something else to deter people from cycling. (Apparently five bikes a day are stolen on the streets of Cambridge).

Pink Skies over Cambridge – 9^th December 2013