Following the ‘informal engagement’ survey on residents parking carried out by local councillors in May, the Greater Cambridge Partnership have now published further details and maps on a proposed scheme for the Milton Road area (Mitcham’s Corner to Arbury Road) which also incorporates the existing Ascham zone. All households should by now have received a leaflet signposting how to find the information and the survey questionnaire. If you don’t have the leaflet to hand, you can find the full details here, or request paper copies of the maps and questionnaire either by emailing or phoning the GCP on 01223 699906. The committee is of the view that our responsibility is to make sure residents have all the information needed to form a view so that we can all take part in the consultation before the deadline of 14th November. We will not be expressing a view ourselves on behalf of residents, and recognise that there are different opinions within the estate. KEY DATES
19th October 5-7pm Drop-In Meeting at Chesterton Community College (Drama Studio) – an opportunity to put questions and suggestions to GCP officers responsible for designing the scheme.
2nd November 6pm Online Public Meeting Please register here
14th November 12 noon Consultation closes
ON-GOING COSTS On-street parking resident permit - £54/year per car (max 3 per household) Off-street parking (e.g. on driveway) – no permit needed Business permit - £78/year Staff permits may be available on application. Visitor permit - £13 to cover 5 separate days Free permits – Medical, carers, Blue Badge holders Tradesperson permit - £8/day, £40/week TIME OF OPERATION 9.30am to 3pm Monday to Friday Alternatives can be suggested on the GCP questionnaire. SOME POINTS TO CONSIDER The cost of planning and implementing the scheme is being met by the GCP and has been made possible by the change in political control at the county council which was previously against such schemes. If this opportunity is turned down then the GCP funding and resources for the scheme will be diverted to developing another residents’ parking zone elsewhere. There would then be little prospect of other public funding becoming available for any new parking scheme here in the foreseeable future. There would then be an ongoing risk of commuter parking being displaced to our estate from other areas. For example, when the current Milton Road works are completed all the existing parking spaces on the road will have been removed - a total of 56 from Mitcham’s Corner to the roundabout. Up to 53 spaces will now be lost from Arbury Road under these new plans which show all the on-street parking being replaced with a cycle lane. Around 30 of these spaces are used by Arbury Road residents who do not have their own off-street parking. The proposed scheme will dissuade commuters from parking in the estate but it will also displace some Arbury Rd residents with permits to find parking here, and it will pose a challenge for the Milton Road shops unless limited time parking bays can be provided nearby. These aspects of the plan were not available to us prior to this consultation and need to be raised with the project officers. New communities being planned (8350 homes in N-E Cambridge and 11000 at Waterbeach) are likely to increase traffic coming in from the north needing somewhere to park. This might be mitigated to some extent if the proposed transformation of bus services followed by a congestion charge actually come into operation at some future date, but there is no guarantee of that. Scheme regulations concerning the size and placement of parking bays should eliminate inconsiderate parking practices but may mean that there is a small reduction in the number of on-street spaces available in the estate – do check the maps provided by GCP. In some very narrow roads outside our area such as Herbert Street for example, the loss of spaces will result in some residents having to park further away within the enlarged zone. The configuration of yellow lines and parking bays is not set in stone and we should take every opportunity to question the project team and make alternative suggestions. Some examples are single yellow lines with limited waiting time, parking bays for disabled, pay&display, EV charging, car-share or cycle storage. OUR RECOMMENDATION Please do try to look at all the information provided and to get along to the drop-In meeting on 19th October to ask officers questions and suggest modifications before you fill in the questionnaire.