A lot of the proposals in the transport strategy - along with a general emphasis on Fewer car journeys and more walking, cycling and public transport - are fairly long term and strategic.
There is a suggestion about improving bus services along the A1307 recognising the jobs growth at Babraham and Granta Park at Abington, with transport interchanges at Granta Park and Babraham with possibly a park and ride further out than Babraham park and ride. Longer term the plan is to use the old railway line as a bus route running alongside the 1307.
There is a recognition that the rail crossing at Foxton near Fowlmere has to be replaced with a bridge or a tunnel rather than close the A10 road eight times an hour. A major piece of infrastructure.
There is also the proposal that Whittlesford Parkway rail station should become a transport hub with "improved interchange facilities".
Whittlesford Station is very well served in terms of the new fast trains to London, which have free wifi and air conditioning (and I'm on one right now) as well as giving good links to Cambridge (10 mins). There is a big car park, though expensive, next to the Red Lion Hotel and Duxford Chapel and people drive in from Linton and beyond to get to London. There will be a new cycle way heading east from the station along the A505 to Granta Park at Abington thanks to County Council winning some govt funding.
But the station itself is still a small country halt with little infrastructure. There are no loos, nor CCTV, and the large numbers of people with bikes have to carry them up and over the stairs as there is no bike rail. The coffee from the little stand is excellent but that isn't anything to do with the Railway, just a local entrepreneur. A little bit of graffiti every now and then just to cheer the commuters up.
So the key thing will be to ask the County what it has in mind and what specifically the "improved interchange facilities"
might mean, and whether the infrastructure locally can carry them.
1 comment:
Re the 'transport hub' at Whittlesford station. Access & available space would look to be the problem here. The only current bus service the No7A finds it difficult to access the station & it involves reversing the bus onto Red Lion property to turn round. Frankly the 7A bus service to the station has prooved a waste of time as little or no passengers use it as it does not connect well with train services & the bus only runs infrequently. (I have commented on this previously.)
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