Separating buses from cyclists and pedestrians

At a meeting of the Cambridge South Area Committee on 4 June, Councillor Katie Thornburrow proposed the erection of fencing along the stretch between Trumpington Park & Ride and Addenbrooke's Hospital to help keep cyclists and pedestrians separate from buses.

A brief report of the relevant part of that meeting has appeared in the Cambridge Independent.

UPDATE 0940 on 11 June: Less than an hour after I posted the above, the Cambridge News is reporting some sort of collision involving a pedestrian and a guided bus, close to Long Road. Inevitably the details are somewhat sketchy at this point.

Turning railways into busways?

The Institute of Economic Affairs has published a report  Paving over the tracks: a better use of Britain’s railways?,  by Paul Withrington and Richard Wellings which outlines how commuters could pay over 40% less for their journeys and more passengers could enjoy the luxury of a seat if the industry was sufficiently liberalised to allow some commuter railways in London to be converted into busways.

Today's Times newspaper (3 February 2015, page 14) covers this news referring to successes in Latin America and Asia, and noting that 'the system' has been adopted on our very own Cambridgeshire Guided Busway.

The Times article can be read here although you may need to be a Times subscriber to gain access.

There's also a leading article Trains, buses and sardines on page 28 of today's Times, viewable here.

Guided Busway Lessons Learned Review

Cambridgeshire County Council has published the report of a review it commissioned from Bill Edwards FICE, FCIHT, MCICES, FCIArb, a partner at EC Harris LLP, entitled the "Cambridgeshire Guided Busway Independent Review". It's due to be discussed at next Tuesday's meeting of the Economy and Environment Committee. The title of this blog post is the one assigned to it in the committee agenda (follow this link if you want to read the report).

The review was initiated following the court case involving the County Council and BAM Nuttall, and is principally concerned with the contract, and the procurement process leading up to it, aspects of which were at the heart of the legal action.

I haven't had time to read the report, but  Cambridge News reporter Jon Vale has, and writes about it here. If you value your sanity you might want to skip the comments below the line, though...

Busway track in need of major repairs

A report published by Cambridgeshire County Council has revealed that the busway track is in need of around £20 million worth of repairs, according to an article in the Cambridge News.

The faults are in the bearings which support the concrete track beams, and in the foundations of the beams. There are mid beam cracks which are bigger than permissible.

As these problems arise from the way the track was constructed, legal action against  BAM Nuttall, the engineering firm which built the busway, is being considered.

Busway passes 6 million

The busway has now carried over 6 million passengers since it opened in 2011.

The Cambridge news quotes Councillor Ian Bates as saying, in effect, that the busway means you don't have to worry about traffic on the A14 and A428. If only that were true!  Has he never travelled on the busway when A14 gridlock has caused gridlock in Huntingdon and St Ives, with knock on effects on buses?

The busway does offer consistent times on the busway section, but off-busway conditions frequently cause problems.

Peter Lee of Whippet is calling for more segregated routes within Cambridge.

Cllr Bates also talks about providing other busway routes in the area, specifically links to the new Alconbury development.

View article here.

A14 upgrade and the Busway

Today's County Council Cabinet meeting also considered the Council's response to the Highways Agency consultation on the A14 upgrade. Buried in the paperwork for this agenda item was the following paragraph:

There is a need to complete an unsigned 2010 agreement with the HA to protect the integrity of Guided Busway services during modifications to the A14 over bridge on the Cambridge Northern Bypass and it is proposed that this be flagged up in the consultation response.

My understanding of this is that there is no statutory protection for the Busway when it passes under a road bridge, in the way that exists for rail lines. So the County Council has to negotiate with the Highways Agency to ensure that work - as and when it's carried out - doesn't prevent Busway services from running. If anyone has a clearer, more informed understanding of the situation, please add a comment.

Extension of busway to new railway station at Chesterton

The planning application for the new railway station at Chesterton was published a few days ago by Cambridgeshire County Council. You can view it here.

It includes erection of a station building, platforms, footbridge, lifts, car and cycle parking, and new vehicle access from Cowley Road.

An extension of the guided busway  will be built from Milton Road to the new station.

Read Cambridge News article about the new railway station here.

Busway botany

Yesterday I cycled from St Ives to Cambridge and on the return trip, I took my time stopping to photograph some of the wildflowers that fill the verges.  I've tried to identify their names but would welcome any comments or corrections and help with identifying the ones I'm not sure about.

Hedge Bindweed

Probably Wild Carrot 

Wild Parsnip

Opium Poppy

Great Mullein

Evening Primrose

Spear Thistle

Purple Loosestrife

Chicory

 Hedge Mustard

Field Scabious

Teasel

Incident with guided bus near Somersham

Today's Hunts Post ( 20 March, page 3) carries a photograph of a guided bus at an angle across a road.

The incident took place yesterday (Tuesday 19 March) shortly after 07.35. A passenger on the bus reported that there was a bang form the back of the bus, a hissing sound and the bus swung onto the grass. The bus then slid down the road at a 40-50 degree angle. Fortunately no other traffic was affected and no-one was hurt.

It's not possible to see from the photograph whether this was the 0725 service C from Somersham to Cambridge Railway Station via Needingworth.

Cycle track flooded yet again

The River Ouse has risen a lot today ( Monday), and as a result the busway cycle track is now under water near the concrete bridge just east of the Ouse Viaduct.

Tuesday 19 March - flood water in the dip between St Ives Park & Ride and the Ouse Viaduct

Busway court case

The outstanding dispute between Cambridgeshire County Council and the construction company which built the busway, BAM Nuttall, will now go to court in January 2014. This has been decided by a judge at London's Construction and Technology Court, according to a recent report in the Huntingdon & St Ives News & Crier (April 12, page 3).

Proposed bus stop in Station Road, St Ives

Earlier posts have mentioned the proposed new bus stop in Station Road, St Ives, that would allow more busway services to continue to St Ives Bus Station instead of terminating at the Park & Ride. The advantage of this would be to reduce the number of pedestrians crossing Harrison Way and delaying motorists, particularly at peak times. If you know Station Road, you will realise that there really isn't enough space to locate a bus stop there. Outside the auction house might be an option, but several mature trees would have to be felled. Between there and Waitrose there are several side turnings to/from the bus station, the Girl Guide building and the car park. The Hunts Post (11 April, page 14) reports thconcerns that a stop in this position might increase the risk of road accidents. A county council road safety report about the proposed stop suggests moving and redesigning it.

Delays to busway services

While buses on the busway regularly travel the St Ives-Milton Road section in 20-22 minutes, punctuality of buses has always been affected by road conditions elsewhere. On Thursday 5 April an accident,took place on Milton Road, Cambridge about 2.49pm forcing busway routes A and C to be diverted via Victoria Road, Histon Road and Kings Hedges Road. I travelled home from work on the 16.59 Service A, boarding at Parkside. Fortunately traffic levels were light, and the notoriously slow and congested junction at Victora Road/Histon Road was flowing smoothly. My bus reached St Ives about 10 minutes late. The diversion route ran parallel to the Orchard Park (un)guided busway, and it was noticeable that we covered that section much faster than the regular Service B which is slowed down by the lack of guide kerbs and by numerous crossings and traffic lights. Passing the back of eth CRC stop, I noticed a number of passengers waiting who usually travel on the same bus I do. By the time my Stagecoach bus had reached CRC, these people were no longer on the platform. They had been picked up by the Whippet C running just ahead of my bus - so some evidence perhaps of the two rival bus companies co-operating unofficially. A report of the unfortunate accident which caused these delays can be seen at here.