Residents’ Parking Scheme: what we now know (and still don’t)
We have been asked if we could write a short piece, in plain English, about where we are on the Residents’ Parking Scheme.
Here goes ….. two versions – a simpler and a more complicated one.
Simpler version
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1. The Residents’ Parking Scheme is going to be implemented.
2. The County Council decided on September 16th to go ahead (they just haven’t got round to informing affected residents or businesses yet).
3. The County’s Head of Parking and Traffic Management has told us that she doesn’t know when scheme will be implemented. This decision rests with the Greater Cambridge Partnership.
4. The scheme will be implemented just as described in the information issued in the spring – despite the 288 objections recorded by residents and businesses about what was proposed.
5. Because of these objections, the scheme will be run as a pilot for the first six months.
6. At the end of this period, the scheme will be reviewed.
7. If elements of the scheme are found not to be working well, they could be altered. (BUT see more complicated version below.)
8. An email link is going to be set up to allow residents and businesses to comment on the scheme’s operation during the pilot period.
9. So do use this channel if you feel that you have been adversely affected by how the scheme works once implemented.
More complicated version
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1 & 2 above. The decision to go ahead with the Parking Scheme has been taken as an executive decision by Jeremy Smith, Interim Assistant Director, Transport Strategy and Network Management following a resolution (see attachment) to:
“Recommend that the Executive Director of Place and Economy, in consultation with local Members, approve the introduction of the Milton Road Area Residential Parking Scheme, as published;
and
Approve a review of on-street parking in the affected area six months after the Residential Parking Scheme commences operation.”
“The local Members either attended or were invited to the CJAC meeting. Given the political sensitivity of this item, the Chair and Vice Chair of Highways & Transport Committee have been given the opportunity to ask that the matter be referred to that committee, but have not made such a request.”
So the decision on whether to implement the scheme has not had to wait until the next meeting of the Highways and Transport Committee in December as we were previously advised.
It has already been taken by a County Council Officer. The H&T Committee has chosen not to ‘call this decision in’ despite (or perhaps because) it is ‘politically sensitive’.
Note too the suggestion that our locally elected have been consulted about this. None of them has contacted our residents’ association about this.
4. The only one of the 288 objections to scheme recorded in the attached document – ‘Cambridgeshire County Council Record of Officer Delegated Decision taken following consideration by Cambridge Joint Area Committee’ – deals with exclusion of properties on the northern boundary of Arbury Road, see attached report.
Note that “no other options were considered.”
5 & 6 & 7 & 8 above. The Cambridge Joint Area Committee recommended in July that “a thorough review be carried out 6-month after implementation to assess on-street parking in the area. Should it be deemed that sufficient parking capacity exists to accommodate additional the parked vehicles generated by Arbury Road properties, including Havenfield, then a proposal to amend the Milton RPS will be pursued.”
This recommendation did not meet with our request that the performance of the scheme during six month pilot should be actively monitored by an independent third party.
HOWEVER ….
Through protracted correspondence with County Council Officers, we have found out that our Residents’ Parking Scheme has been set up using a PERMANENT Traffic Regulation Order.
The procedure for a PERMANENT TRO does not allow for a trial period or for subsequent changes.
If, after the trial period introduced by the County Council, changes – such as that quoted above from the report attached – are deemed necessary, then the existing TRO cannot be amended.
Instead it will have to be revoked.
And then a new TRO will have to issued in line with Department of Transport’s regulations which appear to require that a new consultation will have to be conducted once a new TRO has been issued.
_______________________________________
AND SO ……..
Given the complexity surrounding the introduction of the Residents’ Parking Scheme, ARERA is committed to keeping a close watching brief on what is happening.
This is not easy given the inadequate/tardy information issued by both the County Council and by the Greater Cambridge Partnership.
If you have any queries, please let us know.
If you hear of anything that we need to be aware of, please let us know.
If you have any concerns about what is happening, please send them to your local elected councillors (details on ARERA’s web site).
ARERA Committee
Imminent County Council decisions affecting Arbury Road East
Much has been happening over the summer that will have significant impacts on Arbury Road East.
Decisions about whether a new zebra crossing will provided, under the Local Highways Improvement Programme (LHIP), and about the implementation of the Milton Road Area Residents Park Scheme, are imminent.
These decisions will be made at two meetings of the County Council’s Highways and Transport Committee (H&TC) to be held during the first week of October.
We have been trying to get access to the agenda papers for these two meetings to find out what is being proposed.
We were treated kindly by the Cambridge Joint Area Committee when we were invited in July to make submissions to it in support of our LHIP submission. But we have been unable to discover what recommendation it made about our proposed zebra cross to the H&TC which is going to make a decision about on October 1st. We have been told that no minutes of the CJAC meeting were made.
At a separate meeting, the CJAC recommended acceptance of the Greater Cambridge Partnership’s (GCP) proposals for our area’s residents parking scheme, despite the 288 objections made about it.
And this recommendation was made by the committee despite the public statement given our former councillor Jocelynne Scutt, who was the chair of the CJAC at the time of the GCP’s ‘consultation’ on the scheme in 2022. She publicly stated, as we consistently maintained, that the GCP had not provided information making clear that the north (even numbers side) of Arbury Road East would be excluded from the parking scheme.
The CJAC is recommending to the H&TC that the six-month trial of parking scheme, as described in the Traffic Regulation Order published in the Spring, should go ahead with the provisos that:
1. a detailed evaluation should be made of the scheme at the end of the trial period
And
2. an online channel of communications should be set up so that residents and businesses can log their experiences during the trial,
ARERA has requested that the evaluation and the communications channel should be provided by independent third parties because of the GCP’s dire performance to date in relation to the parking scheme.
This all sounds very bureaucratic – because it is.
But this won’t make the consequences of decisions about to be taken any the less significant for those of us who live and work on Arbury Road East.
We will let you know when the committee papers for the two H&T committee meetings next month become available – in case you want to make your own representations to the committees.
And we will let you know the outcomes of the decisions the two meetings make as soon as they become available.
Cambridge News : Parking scheme on Cambs street could cause ‘a lot of ill feeling’
By Cait Findlay – Cambridge News Senior Reporter
The proposals would see residents’ parking bays on one side of the Arbury Road and double yellow lines on the other
A group of Cambridge neighbours have described plans to introduce parking measures in their area as ‘divisive’. Members of the Arbury Road East Residents’ Association (ARERA) criticised plans to introduce double yellow lines down one side of Arbury Road, with residents’ parking bays on the other.
Ian Cooper, secretary of ARERA, described the proposals of a Traffic Regulation Order (TRO) for Arbury Road as ‘divisive’. He said they split the street in half by providing residents’ bays on the south side of the street but not the north – and residents on the north side will not be eligible for residents’ parking permits under the scheme.
The proposed changes to Arbury Road have been put forward by the Greater Cambridge Partnership (GCP) as part of the Milton Road area resident parking scheme. Mr Cooper said he had asked the GCP why the two sides of the street would be treated differently and was told there was “inadequate on-street parking capacity”.
Simon Crisp said he would need to get the kerb lowered in front of his house to be able to park in front of his house. He said he would have to pay for the kerb to be lowered – when he began to research this, he found he would have to pay to make an application to the council for permission before paying around £1,200 for the work to be done.
Maggie Fernie said she only experiences issues with parking on Arbury Road on Saturday mornings. She said she is concerned about where tradesmen would park on the street with restrictions in place: “How is anybody going to get any work done?”
Mrs Lund added that the scheme might push parking onto adjoining streets like Maio Road that are not included in the proposals. She said this would “cause a lot of ill feeling”.
Lynne Miles, Director of City Access at the GCP, said: “The proposed scheme would see a combination of measures introduced to improve parking and road safety along a busy route in and out of the city. These measures would include new residents’ parking bays, pay & display and/or limited waiting bays, and double yellow lines in places deemed unsafe for people to park. The majority of residents were in support of the scheme as consulted upon.”
A consultation on the Milton Road area resident parking scheme, which includes proposed changes to Arbury Road, was carried out in 2022. Ms Miles added: “The scheme would help to provide dedicated parking for residents who currently find it difficult to park within a reasonable distance of their home, while also continuing to support the needs of businesses and community facilities in the Milton Road area.
“All schemes of this nature have to balance tricky issues about where to draw boundaries and how to accommodate differing needs to minimise any displacement effects to neighbouring areas. Cambridgeshire County Council, the highways authority, is expected to take the final decision on the proposed residents parking scheme – which has been subject to public consultation – in due course and if the decision is to go ahead, then a six-month review is recommended to consider whether the scheme needs to be amended.”
Findlay, C. (2024, June 24). Parking scheme on Cambs street could cause ‘a lot of ill feeling’. Cambridge News. https://www.cambridge-news.co.uk/news/cambridge-news/cambridge-neighbours-concerned-divisive-proposals-29395313
County Council answers to questions about how proposed Residents’ Parking Scheme will affect Arbury Road east.
On March 18th, the County Council published a Traffic Regulation Order. This reveals how the County’s Residents’ proposed Residents’ Parking Scheme will affect those who live, work and travel to school along Arbury Road east.
The ARERA committee submitted more than 20 questions to the County Council asking for clarification about what it is planning to do.
Implementation of the scheme is being managed by the Greater Cambridge Partnership. The County’s Policy and Regulation team asked the Greater Cambridge Partnership to provide the additional information requested. The GCP’s project manager for the scheme has done so, leaving one question unanswered, see below.
The answers that have been given make clear that what is being done is the result, not of mistakes or oversights, but of deliberate policy decisions. These decisions will advantage some and disadvantage others. Which of these two groups will you find yourself in?
Are you personally going to be disadvantaged? Or can you see that others will be – including children going to school, pedestrians, cyclists and car owners, those shopping or working on Arbury Road east?
If so, you only have a short opportunity to make objections to, or comment on, what is being proposed.
Comments and objections have to be submitted by April 12th.
You can do this, quoting reference PR0998,
online using https://consultation.appyway.com/cambridge
or by email to Policy.andRegulation@cambridgeshire.gov.uk
or by writing to Gary Baldwin at the County’s Policy and Regulation Team*
* Box No. DBE, Huntingdon Highways Depot, Stanton Way, Huntingdon, PE29 6PY>
Here is the additional information provided by the County Council.
A new zebra crossing for Arbury Road East?
Arbury Road East Residents Association has, as two of its primary objectives, improving pedestrian and cyclist safety on the eastern end of Arbury Road (between Arbury Court play area and the Milton Road traffic lights).
As one way of achieving this, ARERA’s committee has explored local support for a new pedestrian crossing on Arbury Road East. This could be funded out of the County Council’s Local Highway Improvement Programme. This invites any group that represents the local community to apply for funding. The schemes are community driven and give local people the opportunity to put forward proposals for highway improvements in their area, https://www.cambridgeshire.gov.uk/residents/travel-roads-and-parking/roads-and-pathways/improving-the-local-highway/local-highway-improvement-funding
A new crossing could improve safety for children walking via Leys Road to local primary and secondary schools, those living in Maio Road, Havenfield, Twickeham and Marfield Courts using Arbury Road shops, as well as all those who live and work on our street.
Results of survey of Arbury Road East residents and businesses
In December 2023, we asked those who live and work on Arbury Road East and its tributaries whether they would support a new zebra crossing situated between Milton Road and the Arbury Court play area, potentially funded by the County Council’s Local Highway Improvement Programme.
Two locations for a new crossing were suggested.
The committee surveyed people by distributing a paper flyer to 156 households, 5 businesses and 1 church, delivered door to door. It asked them to vote online for or against the proposal and to tell us why they voted as they did. Paper survey forms were also delivered to the 62 residential flats in Havenfield.
The survey generated a large response. Here is what those who responded told us.
A large majority support a new crossing but a small minority don’t.
47 people replied using ARERA’s online survey. More than 8 out 10 (39) of them supported the installation of a new zebra crossing. Only 8 of them did not. 9 completed forms were returned by residents of Havenfield. All bar one se supported installation of a new zebra crossing.
About two thirds of those who voted for a crossing prefer Location B.
Given this level of support, the committee is applying to the Local Highway Improvement Programme requesting installation of a new zebra crossing at Location B.
Why did people vote as they did?
The largest number of responses to the survey were received from those who live in the narrowest and most frequently congested part of Arbury Road East – post code CB4 2JB
The second largest number came from those who live in retirement flats in Havenfield – post code CB4 2JY – who could be expected to benefit most from the installation of a new zebra crossing.
People who were in favour of a new crossing were asked why they preferred the location they had chosen. In answering this question, they revealed that they had used just four assessment criteria:
- proximity to destinations and/or other crossing points
- location in relation to number/range of potential users
- increased safety for pedestrians, and
- traffic calming potential.
Viewed against these criteria, Location B emerges as front runner.
| Table 2. The pros and cons of the two suggested locations | |
| Location A | |
| Pros | Cons |
| Proximity to destinations: shops, church, vets and schools | Too close to Milton Road traffic lights – so motorists might be tempted not to stop |
| Closest location to Havenfield retirement housing | Too dangerous |
| Link to footpath to Kirby Close | Serves least number of residents on Arbury Road |
| Safe crossing avoiding traffic junction with Milton and Leys Road | |
| Good location to deter speeding to and from Milton Road traffic lights | |
| Location B | |
| Pros | Cons |
| Closest location to Havenfield retirement housing | Too close to Milton Road traffic lights with controlled pedestrian crossing |
| Mid-point between Milton Road junction and zebra crossing at Arbury Court play area | |
| Reduces average distance anyone on Arbury Road East has to walk to reach a crossing | |
| Improved safety for school children crossing to go to Chesterton and NCA secondary schools | |
| Act as traffic calming measure to slow down vehicles on long straight stretch | |
| May stop vehicles exceeding 20 mph speed limit | |
| Good location to slow down traffic at dangerous junction with Leys Road and Havenfield | I |
| Provide alternative to dangerous zebra crossing between North Cambridge Academy and Arbury Court play area | |
| Improved visibility (fewer parked cars) at this point for pedestrians trying to cross | |
Opposition to a new zebra crossing is not related to where people live on Arbury Road East. Most opposition came from those living in CB4 2JB – the narrowest and so least safe part of the road in terms of pedestrian and cyclist safety. But this is also the post code where most people voted for a new crossing.
| Table 1. Opposition to new cross and respondents’ locations | ||
| Respondent’s post code | Number of respondents | Number opposed to new zebra crossing |
| CB4 1FY | 1 | – |
| CB4 2JB | 16 | 5 |
| CB4 2JD | 11 | 1 |
| CB4 2JE | 10 | 1 |
| CB4 2JY | 13 | – |
| CB4 2GA | 1 | – |
Those who had voted against a new zebra crossing were asked why they had done so. They had used three assessment criteria:
- proximity to other crossing points
- traffic blocking potential, and
- loss of on-street parking
All those who replied to the survey were asked if they had any other comments to make. Their replies reveal that there are very divergent, unreconcilable, views held by those who live on Arbury Road East Road about the nature of the problems, if any, faced by pedestrians and cyclists using it. There are those who think there aren’t any, e,g.:
“I think Arbury Road East is already safe for pedestrians and cyclists.”
and
“Having lived on this road I think pedestrian and cycle safety is very good, with ample zebra crossings, 20mph speed limit, speed bumps and a cycle lane where it is needed near schools, shops and play areas.”
But these are outnumbered by those who think that extensive improvements need to be made. The called-for improvements include:
- adding dedicated cycle lanes
- making Arbury Road East one-way
- banning on-pavement parking
- banning on-pavement cycling and e-scooters
- banning heavy goods vehicles
- installing a speed camera and enforcing the 20mph speed limit
- traffic calming to deter speeding
- retaining on-street parking (to narrow road and slow down traffic), and
- introducing a modal filter to prevent commuter traffic.
Given these demands, the committee of ARERA will continue to press the County Council, its Highways and Transport Committee, and the Greater Cambridge Partnership, along with our local councillors, to take the requested actions required to improve pedestrian and cyclist safety on Arbury Road East.
The Greater Cambridge Partnership has just released a set of FAQs about the residents’ parking schemes that it is introducing.
The FAQs appear to be generic.
And so it is likely that the answers given will also apply to us if/when we get included in the Hurst Park Estate residents’ parking scheme.
The questions are worth reading in full.
You can find them at: https://consultcambs.uk.engagementhq.com/gcp-york-area-parking/widgets/61706/faqs#question16711
Some are particularly pertinent to us on Arbury Road East – for instance, about on pavement parking and front garden parking if you don’t already have a dropped kerb.
You can see these below, and visit link above for all.
Please let us know if you have any issues, comments or queries that any of this raises for you.
Ian Cooper
Secretary, ARERA
What about parking on the footway alongside the road?
The Council receives a lot of complaints about parked cars blocking footways for pedestrians, pushchairs and wheelchairs. We cannot introduce a parking scheme that allows parking on the footway and forces vulnerable road users to walk in the road. The exception to this is in streets where such an arrangement is already in place and spaces have been formally marked as such.
Will we have to have signs and road markings in the street?
It is essential that drivers are aware of where they can and cannot park. Generally speaking, where parking is permitted, the areas will be marked out as white boxes with upright signs alongside. Where parking is not allowed, yellow lines are used. In some schemes it is not practical to mark out bays on the road. In such areas, there will be zone entry signs and repeater signs but no bay markings. These schemes are known as Permit Parking Areas (PPA).
How will the scheme affect the use of my private driveway?
You do not need a permit to park on your driveway or any other private areas of land.
If you have a constructed access with dropped kerbs, we will not mark a bay across it.
However, if you use your garden to park on and do not have dropped kerbs this is an unauthorised vehicular access, and we may allow parking across your frontage. In this situation, you may wish to consider applying for dropped kerbs. You can obtain more information here: www.cambridgeshire.gov.uk and enter Dropped Kerbs in the search bar.
Letter in the Cambridge Independent : A ‘pre-emptive GCP strike’ on parking review
A ‘pre-emptive GCP strike’ on parking review
The Arbury Road East Residents’ Association has expressed concern about the Greater Cambridge Partnership’s (GCP) use of the consultations on the Milton Road parking schemes to launch a pre-emptive strike to strip Arbury Road East of its parking and turn the whole of Arbury Road into a de facto ‘urban clearway’ – even though consultation on the GCP’s Review of Road Classifications has yet to take place.
We know that this concern is shared by looking at the responses left in the comments book at the ‘consultation’ meeting held recently by the GCP at Chesterton Community College.
We have been warned that the GCP may seek to solve this ‘problem’ (of its own making) by removing Arbury Road East from the proposed Hurst Park Estate parking scheme.
We here put on record that the residents and businesses on Arbury Road East:
- have not voted for Arbury Road East to be removed from this parking scheme
- have not voted for the status of Arbury Road East, which is very narrow, to be changed from a residential street to a de facto ‘urban clearway’ by the addition of double yellow lines along both sides of the road
- have not voted for all parking on Arbury Road East to be removed
- have not voted for Arbury Road to lose its previously allocated status, as shown on maps issued by both the county council and the GCP, as a ‘designated priority cycle route’ along its whole length.
What the GCP is currently proposing will not improve the safety of those who live, work, shop and go to the schools located directly on Arbury Road or to the schools in the near vicinity.
The single painted advisory cycle lane shown on one side Arbury Road East in the GCP proposals is not compliant with the government’s 2020 requirements as set out in Local Transport Note 1/20. No provision at all is made for cyclists travelling in the opposite direction.
The GCP’s current proposals for Arbury Road will not help it achieve the 15 per cent reduction in motorised traffic in Cambridge that it has set as its objective.
We urge our elected representatives – Cambridge’s MP and the leaders of the county and city councils – to use their oversight to ensure that the GCP will not be allowed to use its Milton Road Parking Scheme, its Road Hierarchy Review, or any other mechanisms at disposal, to make undemocratic decisions about the fate of those who live on or use this road, as well as the neighbouring roads adjoining it.
Ian Cooper
Secretary, Arbury Road East Residents’ Association (arera.org.uk)