Traffic speeds at Busway/A1096 crossing in St Ives

This week's Hunts Post (25 February, page 15) reveals the effect that the opening of the busway has had on traffic speeds on Harrison Way (the A1096) which links St Ives with the A14. The article is based pm department of Transport figures which show that speed on the A1096 has fallen by 5.8mph since July 2007. Not all the falls in speed can be attributed to the busway, however.

An 'all time low' was reached in January 2013, but since the traffic lights were re-sequenced to prevent pedestrians and cyclists from triggering the lights so frequently, speeds have started to rise again.

To read the article, visit the Hunts Post here.

The article does not, however, deal with other causes of delay on the A1096 such as closure of the A1123 at Earith Bridge when the river is high and St Ives becomes gridlocked. When are politicians going to vote money to raise the A1123 onto stilts at Earith to prevent these disruptive closures?

Nor does the article touch on the innumerable delays caused to bus passengers by  congestion in the narrow streets of St Ives, or in central Cambridge.

Cheeky cyclists

This week's Hunts Post (13 August, page 13) report a story about what are described as 'cheeky cyclists' who have been triggering the busway traffic lights at the Harrison Way crossing in St Ives to change for them. These lights were intended for buses. And this has been causing delays to motorists.

Cambridgeshire County Council engineers have now altered the lights so that cyclists can no longer benefit from them. The article says 'The junction had been designed so that cyclists and pedestrians would use a traffic-light controlled crossing - a crossing that does not give priority to the detriment of traffic on Harrison Way'.

Delays to motor traffic at busway crossing in St Ives

This week's Hunts Post ( 6 August, page 6) has a letter form a St Ives residents whose commute by car to Bar Hill is seriously slowed by traffic queues cause by the busway traffic lights on Harrison Way.

The letter writer thinks that there should have been a bridge or subway for pedestrians and cyclists. He suggests (1) installing traffic lights at the Meadow Lane roundabout giving priority to traffic on the bypass rather than traffic emerging from the town centre, and (2) allowing southbound traffic to use the Town Bridge at peak hours.

Cars and other incidents on busway

From time to time the local newspapers report incidents on the busway, for example, when motorist drive onto the busway and get stuck.

In fact, there have been more than 56 incidents in the past 6 months, including 20 cars being driven onto the tracks. 18 of these were at the busway crossing of Harrison Way in St Ives. There have been fires, obstructions, signal failures and bus breakdowns.

For full details see Cambridge News website.
Also reported in Huntingdon & St Ives News & Crier (17 January, page 16)

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)

Harrison Way congestion and bus connections to Huntingdon Railway Station

This week's Hunts Post (8 August) has two items about the busway.

First,  a piece entitled 'Ring road peak flow now smoother' (page 2). Engineers have changed the timings of the traffic lights at the Harrison Way/Busway crossing to reduce the number of times cars have to stop when both pedestrians and buses are at the junction.  It is worth noting that traffic is light at the moment because of the school holidays, and it remains to be seen how the new lights sequence will perform when traffic increases at the start of the school term.

Second, a letter from a Bluntisham resident about connectiosn between the busway and trains at Huntingdon Railway Station. It is a response to Philip Newell's comment last week on behalf of Stagecoach. The letter gives a couple of example of how the service B does not connect with trains.

Continuing saga of Station Road bus stop and congestion at Harrison Way

There is a cracking letter in this week's Hunts Post (13 June, page 6) about several of the on-going issues to do with the busway in St Ives. First, the proposed bus stop in Station Road, close to what the writer describes as a 'dangerous junction'. He recommends viewing the junction on the Fink Creative webcam. The webcam only refreshes every minute, so you may have to wait a while to see a bus coming round the corner. It is a sharper-than-90-degrees corner, and buses have to swing right out to make the turning. He is certain that extending the service A into the town centre will reduce congestion on Harrison Way, but questions why the County Council thinks it must provide a bus stop near St Ives Bus Station when at Cambridge the A does not stop at Drummer Street Bus Station. The existing bus stops at East Road and The Quadrant are being ovelooked as alternatives to Station Road. The letter also discusses the lack of a car park at Swavesey, concern about the extra £2m of government money to ecnourage traffic off the A14, the extra traffic on the A1096 due to motorists coming off the A14 to St Ives Park & Ride, and proposes peak-hour traffic lights at the Meadow Lane roundabout linked to measures to prevent rat-running through central St Ives.

New bus stop in Station Road, St Ives

This week's Hunts Post (23 May, page 6) includes only one item about the busway - a letter from a St Ives resident who doesn't think anything is to be gained by creating a new bus stop in Station Road outside Hyperion. He can't believe that passengers are willing to walk from St Ives Town centre to the Park & Ride to catch a bus to cambridge. He thinks the problem of congestion at the Harrison Way crossing is about people parking (free) at the Park & Ride and walking into St Ives. He thinks they are misusing the Park & Ride. There may indeed be some people parking in this way, but I do know that many people walk to/from the Park & Ride because they want to use the Service A which starts and terminates there, which is often more reliable than the B, serves places that the B doesn't go to, and is generally a few minutes quicker than the B. I often arrive back in St Ives on the A which is due in at 1733, though it's usually about 5-10 minutes late. It is rarely worth waiting for the B to take me into central St Ives. What do readers of the blog think about this issue?

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.

Traffic jams at St Ives

Cambridgeshire County Council has now agreed that traffic congestion in Harrison Road, St Ives, at rush hour is a problem, and that guided buses crossing Harrison Way have contributed to that congestion. ( Hunts Post, 21 March, page 4) The Meadow Lane roundabout is mentioned, but the newspaper does not mention the possibility that extra car traffic to/from the Park & Ride may be contributing to the problem. The article refers to tailback up Needingworth Road, rat-running through villages, traffic going through the town centre to get priority at the roundabout. Cllr Criswell said the Council is looking to adjust timings of the pedestrian aspect of the Harrison road lights to synchronise with the buses. Anyone who has ideas for solving the problem is invited to email editor@huntspost.co.uk. On page 5 are several letters commenting on the proposal to route buses through the market square.

New bus stop in St Ives Town Centre

Cambridgeshire County Council is proposing to build a new bus stop in Station Road, St Ives. (Huntingdon & St Ives News & Crier, 12 January, page 32)

This will be used by Cambridge-bound busway services, and by reducing pressure on St Ives Bus Station, will make it possible for Service A buses to terminate at St Ives Bus Station. At present most service A buses run to/from the Park & Ride and do not serve the bus station. Many passengers (including me) have to walk the quarter mile from the Park & Ride to the town centre.

Hopefully, the extended bus route will cut down on the number of pedestrians crossing Harrison Way and so minimise delays to motorists on the A1096. The change will also stop Cambridge-bound buses from having to loop around the bus station. This will cut 2 minutes from the journey time. Cambridgeshire County Council cabinet meets on 17 January and is expected to recommend the project to the Council.

Harrison Way traffic lights

Last week there were complaints about the pedestrian phase of the lights being too slow to respond. It was reported that the the response time was 90 seconds.

Since then, the lights have been responding instantly to the press of the button by pedestrians - which is good news for pedestrians, perhaps not so good for motorists.

Last night around 9.30pm, the lights were  off completely and a group of workmen were digging up the road between the lights and the control box at the roadside.

This is a daytime photo of the lights looking out from Station Road  towards St Ives Park & Ride.

Delays to motorists and completion of the cycle track

Four letters in this week's Hunts Post ( 23 November, page 6) about delays to motorists using Harrison Way, St Ives -  caused by the busway traffic lights.

On page 5 of the same issue is a report saying that the County Council has promised to keep the performance of the Harrison Road lights under review. They were set so that pedestrians had to wait 90 seconds when traffic was heavy compared with 30-50 seconds at 'normal' pedestrian crossings.

Next time I am walking across there I shall check the waiting time.

The same article refers to the final completion of  the busway with the raising of the cycle track to reduce flooding to an average of one month per year.

Peter Quest of the Cyclists' Touring Club says it's the best cycleway he has seen in this country.