Partial closure/diversion this weekend

Stagecoach report that the Busway track will be closed between St Ives and Swavesey this weekend - Saturday and Sunday, 27-28 August. Buses will use the authorised diversionary route between the St Ives Park and Ride and the Swavesey Buway stop (i.e. the A1096, A14, and the village road from the Trinity Foot through Swavesey - and reverse for services heading towards St Ives). Fen Drayton Lakes stop will not be served during this period.

I've been unable to find any announcement about this on the County Council's Busway site. And a technical glitch means that it seems to be the case that you can only find it on the Stagecoach website if you're using a mobile device (running Android? or perhaps it's only visible to Chrome users? or something...). I was at St Ives Station Road and FenDrayton stops yesterday afternoon (Wednesday) and there was nothing to warn of this imminent diversion. Not exactly great customer service!

Thanks to Simon Norton for spotting this.

Greenery (again)

Less than four weeks ago this blog carried comments by Paul Verbinnen on verge cutting along one section of the busway, the destruction of wildflowers and the lack of litter collection before any cutting took place.

Elsewhere, though, it's a lack of maintenance which has been causing problems. The Cambridge News reports the views of regular cyclist David Palmer that the rural cycle routes leading into the city are in a dreadful state. Included in his criticisms are the Busway between Histon and Oakington (Mr Palmer is a Histon resident), where overhanging brambles “pose a risk at face level" and weeds obscure the ground-level reflectors (something, without undertaking any research whatsoever, I seem to recall someone on this blog - or in the Comments - anticipating would be a problem when they were first installed).

Follow this link for the full story.

Trumpington accident

The bus driver who caused an accident on the guided busway near Trumpington on 7 July has been dismissed.
http://www.cambridge-news.co.uk/guided-busway-crash-driver-sacked-by-stagecoach/story-29620568-detail/story.html

New bus stop for Houghton village

After coming off the guided busway at St Ives, Stagecoach's route B heads towards Huntingdon. But it doesn't stop at the sizeable village of Houghton & Wyton (population around 2000) because there is no bus stop on the main road that skirts the village.

An article in the Hunts Post (3 August 2016, page 19) reveals that a long campaign by the Houghton & Wyton Parish Council may be about to bear fruit. Cambridgeshire County Council has now agreed, in principle, to fund a pair of bus stop and a pedestrian crossing to allow bus passengers to cross the A1123 safely. The crossing will also improve access to a local cemetery and make it easier for vehicles exiting from the village onto the main road.

Guided busway bus stop was 'darker than hell'

The husband of a woman killed while crossing the busway track at the Fen Drayton stop in November last year  has described the location as 'darker than hell'.

There is no lighting at the bus stop, possibly to minimise disruption to bird life at the adjacent nature reserve.

The question of lighting at the stop will be considered at a review hearing on 9 December. A full inquest is expected in early 2017.

http://www.cambridge-news.co.uk/guided-busway-was-darker-than-hell-when-cambridgeshire-pensioner-was-hit-by-bus-inquest-hears/story-29558569-detail/story.html