Cambridgeshire car restriction traffic schemes to be permanent

A layby on East Road, Cambridge, is to be permanently closed to traffic after the decision

Five temporary traffic schemes aimed at encouraging more people to walk and cycle will become permanent, a county council has said.

These included the removal of a lay-by on East Road, Cambridge, and restricting car access along Ambury Road, Huntingdon.

The active travel projects were funded by the government's active travel fund.

Cambridgeshire County Council also agreed to extend two cycle lane trials in a bid to improve them.

Some of the schemes have divided opinion, as reported by the Local Democracy Reporting Scheme.

Some people have written to the council saying the restrictions make them feel safer, while others raised concerns about the impact on businesses and of displacement of traffic to other areas.

It is one of five traffic schemes discussed by a Cambridgeshire County Council committee

The projects included two modal filters, where access was restricted to through motor traffic through the use of bollards or planters, on Vinery Road and Church Street, Cambridge.

They also included the creation of one-way sections on Cambridge Road, Madingley, as well as on Ambury Road, Huntingdon, in both cases to make room for cycle lanes.

Conservative councillor Simon King said he was "very dubious about any measures that are pursued to penalise the motorist".

"I know climate change is an issue, but the use of cars and other commercial vehicles is essential to the economy," he said.

Liberal Democrat councillor Lorna Dupré said if the economy was "entirely driven by the car" then that needed to change.

She said: "We need not only a functional economy, we need liveable spaces."

More work was needed to establish the future of protected cycle lanes on East Road roundabout, Cambridge, and at the junction of Trumpington Road and Lensfield Road, Cambridge, the highways and transport committee agreed.

The council is run by a joint administration of the Liberal Democrats, Labour Party, and independent groups.