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.

Delays on busway due to accident on A14

A fatal accident in which  two trucks collided on the A14 between junctions 32 and 33, had a knock on effect from busway passengers this evening. Traffic ground to a halt on Milton Road and buses leaving Cambridge on routes A and C were delayed. I was on the 16.53 from New Square, which did not reach the Science Park until 18.40. Arrival into St Ives was at 19.00, 1 hour 35 minutes late. See report in Cambridge News.

Although the busway has effectively bypassed the Fenstanton-Girton section of the A14, Milton Road is still susceptible to delays when there are problems on the A14. There are few options for buses diverting from their normal route to avoid Milton Road ( e.g. Gilbert Road and Arbury Road) but on this occasion my bus was past Arbury Road before the traffic came to a standstill.  I was not aware of any radio communication between the bus driver and the busway control centre at Longstanton.

The lorry driver killed in the accident has  been named as Richard Plumb (52) from Bury St Edmunds. See Cambridge News.

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.

Threat to St Ives market

The Hunts Post reveals that Andy Campbell of Stagecoach wants to run Service A right through the centre of St Ives via Market Hill and Hill Rise. Market traders fear that his will displace up to a third of market stalls from their regular places. Mr Campbell has been invited to the next meeting of St Ives Town Council (14 March). Mr Campbell's view is that re-routing buses through central St Ives would improve the service by preventing them getting stuck in the St Ives one way system at peak times.
Hunts Post (29 February, page 13)

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.

One million passengers

According to today's Hunts Post ( 4 January, page 2) the busway will soon have carried its millionth passenger. Andy Campbell of Stagecoach expects they'll reach 2.5 million passengers in the first year, and so they have ordered some new buses. However, they haven't yet decide on the shape of future bus services.

The article also refers to a survey conduced by Pure Resourcing Solutions suggesting that the busway has opened up new job opportunities. Two thirds of those questioned would now consider travelling further to work. Only a quarter used the busway instead of their existing travel method, though 42% said they would in future.

On page 6 of the same issue is a letter from Tim Phillips, chairman of CAST.IRON, the organisation that campaigned for the St Ives railway to be reinstated as a railway, not a busway. He writes in response to a letter (Hunts Post, 21 December) complaining that the Huntingdon to Addenbrooke's bus journey is now slower than before the busway opened. Factors contributing to this sad state of affairs are

• two thirds of the bus journey is on ordinary roads and therefore subject to normal traffic delays
• there is no through service from Huntingdon to Addenbrooke's and 10 minutes has to be allowed fro changing buses
• the busway route out of Cambridge heads north east towards Milton and the science park, so after a few miles and several minutes of travel is actually no nearer Huntingdon than it was at the start, whereas Whippet services via the A14, Bar Hill and Fenstanton  get a head start on their way out of town

To those delay factors, I'd also add that the Cambridge-Huntingdon buses now make a lot of extra stops at intermediate villages, which slows them down compared with the old non-stop route along the A14.