Busway speed limit reduced in safety move

The new limit will cover the busway between Histon and the A14

The speed limit has been reduced on a stretch of guided busway near where a 13-year-old boy was hit by a bus in March.

Cambridgeshire County Council said it had reduced the speed limit from 50mph to 30mph at Histon to improve safety, particularly for pedestrians.

The change covers a one-and-a-half-mile section between Pagram Way and the Park Lane crossing.

The council said the changes refelcted its "full acceptance" of failures relating to the busway, after a judge fined the authority £6m over three deaths and other serious injuries.

The highways and transport committee agreed to further safety improvements after the council was sentenced at Cambridge Crown Court in April.

It said "lessons had been learned" and the busway safety regime had changed, with a new programme of comprehensive risk assessments and a team of officers focused on its safety.

Further improvements were also being worked on, including a fence or barriers along the busway and options to prevent flooding on sections of the path.

A spokesperson said: "The speed limit reduction will enable potential risks we have identified with pedestrians crossing to be further reduced, in advance of installing new safety fencing and [signs] on this section.

"The new speed limit will not adversely impact journey times, and the bus operators have been instructed."

The new speed limit comes into effect near where a 13-year-old boy was seriously injured by a single-decker bus travelling towards Cambridge.

It happened on 4 March on the guided busway north of King's Hedges Road in Orchard Park, between Cambridge and Histon.