Arbury Road East Residents Association – A Cambridge Community website
Elaine’s has been in Arbury road for 34 years now it would be great to encourage more walking and cycling for those that can, there is a lot of pollution with the volume of traffic. We have now experienced less pollution because of the lock down and the air has been so much healthier so for the residents the schools and us shop keepers I think the modal filter would be safer and healthier for us all . Elaine
The article told a one-sided story from the perspective of group of Havenfield residents
However, many Arbury Road residents are pleased to support the idea of trialling a road closure and a recent Residents Group questionnaire showed that those who live on the road are ready and willing to try pilot schemes to develop proposals that would stop the rat-running, reduce pollution and bring our community together once again. Link: https://arera.org.uk/2020-01-22-survery-results/
The modal filter would be a temporary measure which could be reversed but we think that the effect would positively transformative for everyone
It doesn’t make sense to have “no change” to avoid a 5 min detour. We need to prioritise quality of life for the whole community
Those of us that live on the road see at first hand the problems of congestion, pollution and dangerous conditions for cyclists and pedestrians. Havenfield is set well back from Arbury Road so it is not in the front line
Secondly, many of the assertions of the article are incorrect:
Havenfield will not be cut off. They can have the closure either side of the Havenfield entrance. Worst case is a 5-minute detour if they go by car which is about how long it takes to queue at the traffic lights now!
On the question of emergency services access, Cllr Manning is arranging for a test. To state now that there may be a delay is jumping to conclusions and the test results need to be assessed against all the health benefits due to the scheme.
The proposal is for a modal filter and people can still access Arbury Road by car, no change there
The difference will be that Arbury Road will no longer be used by through traffic and this is what causes most of the pollution and the danger to pedestrians and cyclists because of the narrowness of the road and pavement
This danger has got worse under the pandemic due to speeding cars which has made it more difficult for pedestrians to pass each other
The block will help us maintain safe local distancing and contrary to Ms Purrs assertion this will be of benefit to elderly and infirm pedestrians who are particularly impacted by the current problem
Arbury Road residents have been talking about a scheme like this for some years and are really pleased that there is now some funding to try out the ideas
Survey and headline figures – 87% supported (from 63 households) filtering and with COVID-19 this figure has probably increased.
It was the most popular of proposed solutions:
Question submitted to Greater Cambridge Partnership Joint Assembly on 4th June 2020
Question regarding agenda item 10, ‘City Access Strategy, update and support for Covid-19 recovery’:
Arbury Road is a residential street with terraced homes close to narrow pavements in the easternmost section, and the 20mph speed limit is routinely flouted. It is an important link in the county cycle route network but the GCP installation of cycle lanes on the western part left a gap in cycle provision at the east end which remains dangerous for pedestrians and cyclists – especially acute when social distancing for Covid-19. The Histon Road project works are expected to flush additional cars down our street creating even more hazardous conditions and worsening air quality.
Agenda item 10 paras 3.5 and 3.6 says that the GCP is supporting work to identify measures to create more space for pedestrians and cyclists in response to Covid-19, however Arbury Road does not appear on the list.
The Department for Transport expects councils to use pop-up and temporary interventions to create environments that are safe for walking and cycling. They expect measures like ‘point closures’ to be used to create low-traffic filtered neighbourhoods.
Our recent survey* shows that a large majority of those who live on the road are ready and willing to try experimental or temporary schemes that would stop rat-running, reduce air pollution and improve community health. A point closure between Leys Road and the Cambridge North Academy on Arbury Road would achieve that.
Will the Joint Assembly resolve to add Arbury Road, with description ‘prohibit through movements between Cambridge North Academy and Leys Road’, to the list of schemes prioritised for implementation to enable and encourage more walking and cycling between West and East Cambridge?
Here’s the video of the question being read out (the answer comes a bit later after all the questions are read out & the discussion occurs):
To support community aspirations for a safer and cleaner Arbury road, ARERA is launching a poster campaign to raise awareness of the traffic related issues that so many of you have highlighted to us via the survey and in person.
These could be placed in your windows, inside your parked cars and on fences and posts along Arbury road. (Next to your NHS rainbow for instance?)
We invite children to participate by drawing/painting pictures of how they envisage a clean and safe Arbury road – how we could better use the space for our community? They can be titled with simple 3-4 word slogans
We have some materials available to create posters and we can help with printing so lets us know if we can help the creative process..
Please put up and send us a copy of your poster for us to print and distribute. Send to ‘info@arera.org.uk’
There will be a prize for the best poster!
Traffic speeding is getting worse on Arbury Road and we need visible community support for action!
Best wishes,
ARERA
PS Remember to please sign the petition: https://www.change.org/arburyroadeast
Use the files below to print posters and put them up in a visible place facing Arbury Road!!
Could this measure be applied to Arbury Road? There’s little sign of it at present but why not?..
Arbury Road resident Dr Cameron Petrie is interviewed and talks about the problem of speeding with journalist Josef Hall
https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/p08b4ft6
Fast forward to 1hour 40minutes in..
UK Councils to enforce temporary road closures:
We haven’t seen or heard anything about this here in Cambridge, but Arbury Road is the perfect candidate with two schools on the road
Sign our petition for safer walking and cycling on Arbury Road East during the COVID-19 lockdown and into the future
https://www.change.org/arburyroadeast
Our recent survey demonstrated how much our community was concerned with levels of traffic on Arbury Road East and particularly the consequent safety concerns due to traffic volume, speeding traffic, and pollution.
* 95% of you wanted action now due to serious safety concerns and pollution.
* 87% of you supported filtering the road to prevent through commuter traffic (whilst still allowing access for residents, taxis, deliveries, emergency vehicles and business users).
Now, since the current COVID-19 crisis began, the speeding problem has got much worse and made it even riskier for people walking and cycling here. We are trying to do our part to protect the NHS and keep a safe 2m physical distance from each other while walking to the shops or for daily exercise, but this is becoming increasingly difficult.
The pavements are too narrow and the road is often too dangerous because of the high-speed motor traffic passing through.
Our community needs more space to walk and cycle safely, while respecting physical distancing guidelines. Filtering is a solution that will open up more community space, stop the speeding through-traffic and protect key workers who are cycling on Arbury Road, all while ensuring that everyone’s essential services are accessible by any transport mode.
Many other parts of the country are working on ways to make their streets safer to help people who are making essential journeys on foot or bike. It makes a lot of sense and we need to get started before the problem gets any worse.
Let’s work together to ensure safe walking and cycling on Arbury Road East during the COVID-19 lock down and into the future.
Please support our proposal to filter Arbury Road by signing this petition
https://www.change.org/arburyroadeast
Please share this with your neighbours
Thank you!
ARERA
Results from the Make Arbury Road better! ARERA Survey.
The Arbury Road East Residents Association (ARERA) was officially inaugurated on 9 December 2019. ARERA aims to provide a forum for discussion of issues affecting residents and business owners on Arbury road, and its side streets, from the North Cambridge Academy school to the junction at Milton Road.
Residents/business operators have come together to discuss options as it is felt that the use of Arbury Road as a through-route/cut through is not keeping with its designated status – e.g. 20mph designation, its narrow width, multiple schools, shops, popular cyclist route, and a pedestrian zone accessing homes/schools/shops/businesses etc.
Issues discussed at the meeting included:
In this survey, we want to collect your views concerning traffic and road usage from both residents and businesses on/just off Arbury Road, with the aim of trying to develop and present ideas for improvements to the County Council and the Greater Cambridge Partnership.