Update on dispute between Cambridgeshire County Council and BAM Nuttall

See the Cambridge News website here for an update on the dispute between the County Council and the contractor. The Council has now gone to mediation in an attempt to  bring the dispute to a close. The Council is looking to reclaim the £61million it believes it is owed by the contractor. This includes  penalties for late completion of the project and the cost of remedial works that were found necessary after the busway was handed over to the Council. Also reported in the Hunts Post (22 May, page 5)

Lights on busway cycle track

Thanks to George Alexander for alerting me to a news item on the Cambridgeshire County Council website here.

It's a proposal to spend £95,000 on providing solar powered lights for the busway cycle track - between Orchard Park and St Ives. Very handy, I'm sure. But how will the lights cope with being under water for 4 weeks a year?

The money is coming from  the Cambridgeshire Sustainable Transport Fund, which  is about 'Getting Cambridgeshire to Work'. The government has awarded £5m to be spent over the next 3 years.

If they are trying to get people to work, then, in  my opinion, it would be better spending the money on raising the level of the track so that it doesn't get flooded every time the River Ouse bursts its banks.

Very brief piece about this in the is weeks Hunts Post (5 December, page 5) where it is hailed as 'fantastic news' by Councillor Ian Bates.

More information on Cambridge News website here.

Car trap at St Ives

On 3 September, a motorist, who failed to see the road signs, drove into the car trap  at St Ives. She claims that a double decker bus obscured the signs, though Cambridgeshire County Council says that the signs are 'ample'. The person driving the recovery vehicle says he has about two call-outs a week to the car trap. ( Hunts Post, 12 September, page 15)

New bus stop for Houghton and Wyton

It seems absurd that Stagecoach's route B does not stop at Houghton, a sizeable village of perhaps 2000-3000 people. The Hunts Post ( 12 September, page 15) reaveals that Stagecoach would call at Houghton if a bus stop could be provided on the main road (A1123). Cambridgeshire County Council says a bus stop would cost £50,000 and it seems also there are design problems about where to site the stop. Yet, a mile along the road, buses call at the stop beside the Marina where there is no layby and scarcely even a bit of pavement from people to wait on. I also wonder why there is no bus stop at Huntingdon Garden and Leisure, which must surely be a magnet for passengers.

More about the Station Road bus stop and a comment on the economic impact of the busway for St Ives

Today's Hunts Post ( 5 September) includes three letters about the Station Road bus stop in St Ives, including one from a Fenstanton resident who has been in correspondence with the County Council about the problems. The letter is well worth reading as it reveals quite a bit about the process that resulted in this very  inadequate response to perceived overcrowding in St Ives Bus Station. This is on page 6.

Pressure on St Ives Bus Station is evidently reducing, as instanced by an article elsewhere in the paper (page 11). This covers withdrawal of an early morning bus  (service 21) that was used by young people from Needingworth travelling to St Ivo School. Stagecoach lost the school transport contract for Pidley, Somersham, Colne, Bluntisham and Earith to Whippet and Dew's, which has rendered that particular journey uneconomic. Needingworth pupils live less than 3 miles from the Ivo and are therefore not entitled to free travel to school. Whippet and Dew's buses currently have only 13 places available, at a cost of £150 per term, for pupils from Needingworth to use.

On page 7 are two letters grouped together under the heading of  'The sorry tale of two market towns' i.e. Huntingdon and St Ives. There is clearly a perception that St Ives has better shopping facilities than Huntingdon, but  the owners of an independent St Ives shop refer to their declining  trade. Although it has  been suggested that the busway has brought trade into St Ives, these shop owners would dispute that.

Busway's first birthday - report in News & Crier

Today's  Huntingdon & St Ives News & Crier (9 August, page 19) includes a full page devoted to the busway's first birthday. Chris Havergal asks whether the celebrations are justified. Although the number of journeys ( 2.5 million) in the first year is above target, it includes journeys made in guided buses off the busway, and bus operators do not expect fully to recoup their investments until Northstowe new town is built. Has the busway been 'value for money'? What evidence is there that the busway has reduced traffic on the A14? Finally there is the court case between Cambridgeshire County Council and BAM Nuttall still to be resolved - the case will not start until January 2014.

A similar article can be viewed on the Cambridge News website here.

There are two letters in the News & Crier ( 9 August, page 6) about the Station Road bus stop in St Ives.  Note that this bus stop is still unfinished : the top layer of tar hasn't been added, and there is no shelter.

Comments from readers of this blog welcome. What have been your experiences of the busway?

Pedestrian shortcut from busway to Cambridge Station

The Cambridge News reports that a steps are to be built linking the Hills Road Bridge with the guided busway path below. This will provide a pedestrian shortcut to/from Cambridge Rail Station. Due to the constricted site, a cycle path cannot be provided, but there will be a channel beside the steps allowing cyclists to wheel their bikes. Cambridgeshire County Council has voted £500,000 for the project.